For refugees and asylum seekers residing on Lesvos, mental health remains an invisible vulnerability
Lesvos, May 24, 2022 POLICY NOTE For refugees and asylum seekers residing on Lesvos, mental health remains an invisible vulnerability Since 2015, several reports[1] have shed light on the shortcomings of mental health support offered to asylum seekers and refugees...
Changing the narrative of victims and saviours
Changing the narrative of victims and saviours “We miss this complexity and only label people using one aspect of their existence.” Nikos Gionakis, Director Babel We asked Nikos Gionakis, scientific director and head of Babel, about access to mental health services in...
OPEN LETTER: “ALL CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO TO SCHOOL. DO NOT TAKE THAT AWAY FROM THEM”.
Recent data by Greek Ombudsman show access of refugee children to schools almost non-existent, due to systemic & systematic obstructions. Greek & EU authorities should act now. OPEN LETTER: “ALL CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO TO SCHOOL. DO NOT TAKE THAT AWAY...
Protect the most vulnerable to ensure protection for everyone! ‘Restore legality to protect refugees and the society at large amidst the pandemic’ – Open letter signed by 121 Organizations
Protect the most vulnerable to ensure protection for everyone! 'Restore legality to protect refugees and the society at large amidst the pandemic' Open letter signed by 121 Organizations To The President of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou The President of the...
Are refugees in Europe facing a mental health crisis?
Since 2014, MSF has run a joint programme with Babel DC - a local Greek NGO that offers mental health services and support to the refugee and migrant community currently stuck in Greece. "We share patients," says Anastasia. "They [Babel] have a psychiatrist on...
Beyond the Workshops of HR&SR – The Inside out of the “Babel Project”
I started to write this article just after the last support workshop in Babel – trying to remember most of it. Impossible. Then I looked at the guidelines for an article: short and energetic content.... Personal – this could be a place to start. I remember the...
Return of the far right: Greece’s financial crisis has led to a rise in violent attacks on refugees
Nikos Gionakis faces a similar predicament. He is the head of a mental health centre called Babel whose stated mission – until now – has been to help destitute foreigners. The problem is that the more public health spending is cut, the greater the need for aid...
AYS SPECIAL: Closed borders are damaging our mental health
The Babel Day Care Center team, has been worked with refugees, migrants and volunteers for years. One of them is Nikos Gionakis who in the interview with for AYS warns about the conditions people are left to live in, conditions devoid of hope, and they urge for...
Experts sound alarm over mental health toll borne by migrants and refugees
Nikos Gionakis, a psychologist with the Athens-based mental health unit Babel, tells the story of Hassan, 34, who fled Syria with his four children. “Passing from Turkey to Greece, he was forced to get into a boat by smugglers. Two of his kids drowned as the...
