On Saturdays We Wear Pink - Agus Oliveri

The Samos Camp, or Reception and Identification Centre for official purposes, is predominately male. Around 56% of its population is made up of single men fleeing war or persecution, and fathers that have risked it all to make sure their families arrived safely on this island. Men are the first image you see when you go up to the camp, or roam the streets of Vathy, or walk into our Alpha Centre. Men make up most of our classes, eager young guys learning as many languages as they can and older men trying to perfect their English skills, or learn Greek, knowing that their fate is unknown. From Monday to Friday, women are a minority in our centre and in our classes.

But on Saturdays they’re not. Saturdays belong to the women. They belong to the strong African women that left their homes looking for a new life for themselves. They belong to the determined Afghan women that packed their family’s life in a suitcase and crossed borders with their family in tow to find a brighter future for their children. They belong to the courageous Arabic women learning a new language in order to better adapt to whatever their new life requires.

Saturdays belong to the women that come to have a chat and a laugh with their friends while drinking a cup of tea. They belong to the women that come and practice their English in order to be able to communicate better and adapt to this changing environment, to the women that come to find a quiet place to concentrate on their homework and read. They belong to the teenage girls that want a safe space to let their hair down and dance, to the girls that want to explore their artistic side and paint or do a craft. To the women that, one day a week, come and enjoy their day with us, and give us a little bit of their heart in the process.

We are proud to say that on Saturdays the Alpha Centre belong to us, the women of Samos.