While pressures in the US mount to militarily intervene in Syria, those who have made it to Greece await. They await for their skype interview to take place. They await to be given a choice of countries for relocation. They await for the verdict of what country that will be. Most continue to want to go to Germany. Some because they think it offers the best services and chances to ‘make it.’ Others because they have a network of family members or friends who have already arrived there and settled. A few, think Greece wouldn’t be a bad place to end up. Those who wouldn’t mind that option, feel that at the very least, there is a cultural connection. They actually feel comfortable in Greece. They mostly like the people and speak about their generosity and warmth. Yet, they are unsure mainly because both Greeks themselves and other Syrians lament the difficult economic conditions that continue because of the debt crisis. What would they do? How would they live?
For those who first want to know about the plight of these refugees, the questions revolve around the way they got here. The harrowing boat ride, the smuggler ring and the trip through Turkey. Yet now, the trip itself is behind them, though some wonder whether they would have embarked on this journey had they realized what it truly entailed. Nonetheless, that is in the past. Now the desire seems to be to get to the final destination and start over. The youngest have no desire to ever go back to Syria. They want to begin their life and can’t think of starting over once again if they ever go back. This may or may not change in the future. But at the moment it’s the waiting and the lack of certainty about what place they will next and eventually be able to call HOME.
– Sophia K.
Sophia Kalantzakos 