library - ECHO Refugee Library in Athens, Greece

Hello from Lavrio We are speaking at the Rebel Book Club later about the library, borders and the power of books. Come along if you fancy. It’s 7 - 8pm UK time (9-10pm Greek time)... Here’s your invitation https://hopin.to//rebel-book-club-x-the-ungrateful-refugee

A new 27km long fence, 5m high and 6m deep. Sound cannons, new cameras, drones, armoured vehicles - and of course, more guards. A new step in the militarisation of the Greek/Turkish border. Featured photo: Paris, 17th October 1961 - "Here we drown Algerians", when the French police killed more than 200 peaceful protesters.

"I was unhappy for a long time, and very lonesome, living with my grandmother. Then it was that books began to happen to me, and I began to believe in nothing but books and the wonderful world in bookswhere if people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas." New Farsi books have arrived, including a fascinating translation of "Black as my own Africa" by African American poet and social activist Langston Hughes. Translated by one of Iran's most famous poets of the twentieth century Ahmad Shamlou, this book is a perfect demonstration of literature crossing boundaries.

Abdel Wahab Yousif, Sudanese poet also known as 'Latinos'. Untitled poem. You’ll die at sea.... Your head rocked by the roaring waves, your body swaying in the water, like a perforated boat. In the prime of youth you’ll go, shy of your 30th birthday. Departing early is not a bad idea; but it surely is if you die alone with no woman calling you to her embrace: Let me hold you to my breast, I have plenty of room. Let me wash the dirt of misery off your soul. Latinos is a Sudanese poet. He was one of 45 people who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea a few days ago when their ship was shot at by a group of men and caught fire. Authorities from Libya, Malta and Italy were all called but no one came to their rescue. His was one of four shipwrecks off the Libyan coast in just four days. One of four shipwrecks that the the Libyan Coast Guard, subsidised by the UK Government, failed to help. One who survived these shipwrecks, saved by local fishermen, said: "The Europeans let people drown and take them to Libya, because it is easy for them. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe what happened to us. We drowned and there was fire everywhere! Nobody came! Some ship could have saved us! But no one came."

Two novels and a picture encyclopedia for the daughters. Good choice.

How a government treats refugees is instructive it shows how they would treat the rest of us if they thought they could get away with it. - Tony Benn https://www.aljazeera.com//after-moria-fire-refugees-decry

One team, one dream! (Becka, Samira and Keira. Photo taken by Abo Jafaar).

Athens Airport By Mahmoud Darwish Athens airport disperses us to other airports. Where can I fight? asks the fighter. Where can I deliver your child? a pregnant woman shouts back.... Where can I invest my money? asks the officer. This is none of my business, the intellectual says. Where did you come from? asks the customs’ official. And we answer: From the sea! Where are you going? To the sea, we answer. What is your address? A woman of our group says: My village is my bundle on my back. We have waited in the Athens airport for years. A young man marries a girl but they have no place for their wedding night. He asks: Where can I make love to her? We laugh and say: This is not the right time for that question. The analyst says: In order to live, they die by mistake. The literary man says: Our camp will certainly fall. What do they want from us? Athens airport welcomes its visitors without end. Yet, like the benches in the terminal, we remain, impatiently waiting for the sea. How many more years longer, O Athens airport? . : : : : : : . : : . : : . . . : : , . : . . : . . , !... #poemsfromthelibrary

The biggest trial of Nazis since Nuremberg has come to an end. The court finds Golden Dawn, a Nazi group, responsible for murdering Pavlos Fyssas; prominent members of the group have also be found guilty for the attempted murder of a group of Egyptian fishermen. A truly historic day in the fight against fascism! Some of our librarians attended the rally outside the courthouse to hear the ruling, along with 10,000 others. We were met with teargas, armoured tanks and water canons after a protester threw a plastic bottle. We were able to go on to run our library session in Exarcheia as usual. The fight continues! https://twitter.com/i/status/1313777295635644416

Sometimes being a mobile librarian is the best thing in the world. Thank you to our lovely friends in Lavrio for your warmth and sweet treats. Today will be a good day, I think

A message from ECHO librarian Omid: "Members of the book-reading civil society once again instructed hundreds of people today to prevent the return of the corona. They went to the village of Pashd in the Sarkano district of Kunar province, where they warned of the recurrence of the virus. They also showed the right way to wash hands.... According to Idrees Syawash, head of the book-reading civil society, they will continue to conduct a public awareness campaign in Sarkano district tomorrow, after which they will plan another province." Lots of love from one mobile library to another!

A busy afternoon in the library outside Korinthos camp

See you at the library

A man who lived in Malakasa camp has died from Corona. Our thoughts and wishes are with his family and community. The cramped, overcrowded and isolated camp system in Greece damages people's health. #evacuatethecampsnow https://www.aljazeera.com//greece-reports-first-covid-19-r