War in Syria goes on and millions refugee escape from violence and death. From Turkey, thousand of Syrians and Afghans arrived in Greece using improvised boats. Lot of them died during the crossing.
For the luckily who survived is started a new hell, waiting their destiny in tent camps outside Athens or inside the Pireo harbour. Here, near huge cruise ships full of tourists, more than three thousand people, especially families, try to survive in a tent camp inside an old, dark, crumbling building. Once, this construction was used as magazine for merchandise from all the world. Today, people from Syria and Afghanistan are clups as objects.
Hundreds tents so close each other that could be possible walk on top. The sanitary conditions are inhuman, with few water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Syrians and Afghans are forced to live near, waiting for documents of regular immigration and dreaming a new safety life in Germany or Sweden. Sometimes waiting in vain.
This reportage was made on assignment for AMURT Italy – www.amurt.it – a No Profit Organization particularly focused on managing and developing Children’s Homes, awareness campaigns at schools, humanitarian missions and fund raising to realise projects all over the world. In Greece, Amurt is present with Amurtel, the female section involved in helping women and children: in particular, the attention is on the crucial needs of pregnant women, birthing women and mothers with small infants. These women and babies are greatly affected by the lack of stable shelter and routine, nutritious and culturally familiar food and emotional support. They often look exhausted and desperate to stop and yet they go on. The team of midwives, lactation consultants, concerned mothers and women with skills in the area of childbirth and infancy go regularly to the refugee camps in Athens to offer support for breastfeeding, infant care, postpartum care of new mothers and assistance during birth if necessary.
“Waiting: refugee in Greece” was award with a Honorable Mention at International Photography Awards 2016 category “Editorial: War/Conflict”.
Photo realized with Canon 5D Mk III + Battery grip Vertax E11 + Sigma 24-105 mm f4 DG OS HSM Art
About Erberto Zani
Erberto Zani is a photographer, journalist and communication designer based in Basel, Switzerland. He started to work, in 2004, as photographer and journalist for the newspaper “Gazzetta di Parma” (www.gazzettadi parma.it). Freelance since 2008, his works are focused on documentary-social themes. He cooperates with No Profit Organizations, magazines and companies with photographs and graphics projects focused especially on awareness-fundraising campaigns. Erberto designed and published several photography books: “Drops of Life” (2010), “Haiti, fragments” (2010), “Hope” (2011), “Sahel” (2012), “Babanagar-Colombia” (2013), “Tsiry- Madagascar” (2014), “Maha Kumbh Mela” (2014), “Black World” (2015). [Official Website]
