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Life for Syrian siblings in a Greek refugee camp near Athens

Sofia Kleftaki at the Schisto refugee camp near Athens
July 29, 2024

Ayham and Lin have been living with their parents at the Schisto refugee camp outside Athens for some eight months. While their family awaits the result of their third asylum application, they are trying to make the most of their situation.

https://p.dw.com/p/4isPu

Eleven-year-old Ayham Albahsh has been living at the Schisto refugee camp near Athens, Greece, with his parents and his younger sister Lin for about eight months now. 

In 2015, the family fled from Syria to Turkey, where they lived for eight years. In November 2023, they left Turkey by boat for the Greek island of Kos. They were later transferred to the Schisto refugee camp on the Greek mainland. 

The Greek authorities have already rejected their asylum application twice, but the family refuses to give up and is trying again. For them, Greece is only a stopover: they want to move on and start a new life in a different country.

Head shot of a woman (Sofia Kleftaki) with blond hair and wearing a pale blue blouse
Sofia Kleftaki Writer and reporter, predominantly for DW's Greek Service