A photograph published on the front page of the New York Times on May 25, 2016, and many other media outlets, showing Syrian refugee Nidhal Al Harfoush, 36, and his two daughters Ghadeer, 7, and Gharam, 6, carrying their belongings as they walked towards Greek policemen, during the evacuation of the makeshift camp in Idomeni, is the starting point of this story. This picture gave the a opportunity to the family to find a home in Nea Karvali, a town close to the city of Kavala. Α Spanish volunteer, who had met the father and daughters during their days in Idomeni, recognised them and after a short inquiry about their transference conditions, he had eventually managed to find them a home, through the Spanish NGO “Himaya.” On November 22, 2015, wife of Nidhal, Wafaa, left Syria and after a long journey managed to reach Germany. Today, Nidhal, Ghadeer and Gharam live along with other three Syrians and a newborn child at a house rented by “Himaya”. The neighbours are friendly towards them and the girls take walks and play at the swings around the house. Their father tries to fill the void of their mother’s absence. He takes them to the park, plays with them, bathes them, puts them to bed. In the evening he exchanges messages with his wife hoping they will reunite quickly. He misses her a lot and the girls keep asking about their mother. But time passes slowly. Nidhal will have his first interview for asylum in Greece in February 2017 and then he will have to wait to be relocated.
Lignite is considered the black gold of Greece and renders the country more energy independent. The largest lignite deposit of Greece is concentrated in the area that extends from Florina to Ptolemaida in western Macedonia. Entire villages such as Charavgi, Klitos and Komanos are expropriated and their inhabitants are removed so that the mines are extended. Thousands of people work every day under harsh conditions in a landscape where black dominates. Smeared faces where only the eyes stand out, ash, dust and dense clouds of smoke from burning coal cover the sky. Men, who work every day in the most dangerous posts of the power plant, clean the conveyor belts from the ash and scoop out the dust from the lignite, wearing only a simple protective mask. According to the president of the workers, “Life expectancy for those working in the lignite center 67 years compared to the average in rest of the country which is around 10 years more.
Known in Greece as Evzones, the soldiers comprising the presidential guard – a term dating back to Homer, meaning the “well-girt” men, implying an elite status – are a symbol of discipline. The unit is often referred to as “the jewel of the Greek army”, and rightly so. Their primary mission is to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier around the clock, which may seem like a piece of cake, except it isn’t. During their watch, they have to remain completely motionless and stand at attention at all costs in all kinds of weather, even then during violent demonstrations. As a sign of respect to this select unit, the presidential guard is also in charge of the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag on the sacred rock of the Acropolis.
Akis Andreou, 55, has been performing stunts since he was 17 and in 2006 set up the Wall of Death, a narrow wooden barrel 5.5 metres high and 9 meters wide. Andreou, one of the few remaining performers of such motorcycle stunts in Greece and one of only two owners of these barrels, does other odd jobs to earn a living during winter, when the Wall is closed due to weather conditions.