In the shadow of the Acropolis, Brits and other tourists wine and dine before heading off to luxury hotels. The Plaka area of Athens is steeped in history and awash with culture. But a stone’s throw away, desperate women and young children live a very different life... eased, thankfully, by the efforts of a British charity team.
CRIBS International was founded by Sally Hyman, once a language teacher, from Saddleworth, Gtr Manchester. Her supporters include former Coronation Street actor and The A Word star Julie Hesmondhalgh, 52.
And, together with the Sunday Mirror, they today highlight the plight of asylum seekers trapped in an inhumane system which leaves many homeless, forced into sex work and without healthcare.
On an emotional visit this week – as another 18 refugees drowned in a bid to reach the Greek isle of Lesbos – Julie saw first-hand the work of a charity she has supported since 2017.
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She met Sylvie, 25 – mum to seven-month-old Samuel. Sylvie fled sexual violence in Cameroon, where she was studying chemistry, only to be trafficked to Turkey. On reaching Greece, which has almost 160,000 refugees and asylum seekers, she was forced into sex work.
She says: “I felt alone, I was sleeping in the park with my son. CRIBS has given me my safety and my dignity back.”
Julie tells the Sunday Mirror: “This isn’t a refugee crisis – this is a political crisis. And people are victims of it, they are being played like a game of tennis.
“UK and European governments are playing a game with human lives. My daughters turn 18 and 21 this year and the milestones made me take stock of how difficult being a mother can be, even with all the privileges I have had while raising Martha and Lyss.
“I can’t comprehend what pregnancy and motherhood is like in horrendous situations these women have been in. They’re the strongest women I have met. They have a spirit, bravery, resilience and determination I have never seen before.
“They have skills which can contribute to the Greek economy and economies across Europe. But government policies, including our own, are too small-minded and racist to acknowledge that.”
Some of the women seeking help fled a hell in their homeland – only to end up in despairing refugee camps where they were beaten, forced to cook in sewer water and eat mouldy food out of bins.
Mum Sally launched CRIBS in 2016 after helping at a camp on the Greek island of Euboea. Her charity supports 22 women and families with seven flats in Athens for single mums and families from Cameroon, Afghanistan, Syria, the Congo, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone.
CRIBS hosts health workshops, organises food distributions and runs a Free Shop where people can get clothes, sanitary products, nappies and toys.
Sally, 63, says: “We aim to provide housing and social support to women in need, and help for women in childbirth. Otherwise these women would be on the streets, relying on sex work and eating out of bins. Just next door to us we have British tourists enjoying so-called idyllic Greece with no idea of what the government is putting these people through.”
Case manager Daphne Sinani, 44, works tirelessly to ensure women and children are safe and have access to healthcare. She helps translate – and we have changed the names of the women to protect their identity.
In an emotional encounter this week, Julie met Ivorian Jennifer, who was helped by a fund set up by the actor.
Jennifer suffered serious gestational diabetes and could have died while pregnant with daughter Aya, now two months old, but for medical care instigated by CRIBS manager Daphne.
Jennifer’s care was sponsored by Julie’s 500 Acts of Kindness project – one of several in the UK where 500 people donate £1 a week to give £500 to a person in need.
Jennifer’s eyes light up as Daphne translates in French: “That money came from the help of Julie’s project.”
Julie and Jennifer clasp hands and embrace. Then Jennifer, who escaped hellish conditions in Lesbos to gain asylum in mainland Greece, says: “I thought I was going to die. I was desperate. All my joy had gone. CRIBS helped me through my pregnancy, you’ve given me hope, and I now have the right to stay in Greece. Daphne is like my mother, my big sister. I now have a healthy baby and hope thanks to CRIBS and your organisation.”
Julie replies: “Thank you so much, it’s been an honour to meet you and Aya – such a beautiful, healthy baby.”
Marion, 32, tells how she fled wartorn Cameroon – and a sexually abusive father – in 2018. She spent a year behind barbed wire at a notorious refugee camp on Samos.
Marion, who has a two-year-old daughter Laura, says: “I was living in a squat when I first came to Athens. I had tuberculosis, pre-eclampsia and a traumatic emergency C-section.
“Doctors kept dismissing me and asking me to leave because I didn’t have the right documentation.”
Julie also meets Paul Pierre, 33, who works in the CRIBS Free Shop after he was smuggled out of the Samos camp. He has a business and finance degree and hopes to work as a banker in the UK.
Tearful Paul – who saw fellow migrants drown – tells us: “I fled Cameroon after I was attacked. My mother’s legs were beaten so badly by militia they had to be amputated.”
CRIBS’ load is set to increase as the Eleonas camp, where police quelled unrest in the summer, faces closure. Julie adds: “Listening to these stories makes me feel powerless.
“These women have fled unthinkable tragedy and human rights violations and now they face a deliberately hostile process in Greece. It’s psychological torture. If you don’t drown en route or die of hunger, you’re faced with this system. People in the most desperate situations are seen as subhuman.
"And it is organisations like CRIBS that are filling all those gaps in social services, health care and housing that shouldn’t need to exist because governments should be stepping in.”
To support CRIBS, you can text FAMILIES followed by your donation amount to 70490, or visit cribsinternational.org/donate.
