As part of our mission for the psychosocial support and mental health of the refugee population, Samos Volunteers is championing the Samos LGBTQI+ Group, a community of refugees and allies on Samos island that advocate for LGBTQI+ rights worldwide and for the protection of asylum seekers self-identifying as queer.
Among the many goals of the project, is to raise awarness on the rate of discrimination faced by LGBTQI+ people in Samos camp and to reinforce the humanitarian efforts for the psychosocial support of queer people in Samos. The group works in close connection with the Legal Centre and other legal humanitarian actors, facilitating the referral pathways of LGBTQI+ refugees in need of legal support and protection.
Overall, SV sustain the work of the LGBTQI+ Group in advocating for competent authorities to step in and produce sustainable solutions for the improvement of the livelihood of queer asylum seekers in Samos and for the promotion of LGBTQI+ rights.
You can read more here about SV support to the LGBTQI+ Group and how this ties in with our broader approach for intersectionality in humanitarian response.
On the occasion of the 2021 Zero Discrimination Day, 1st March, the Samos LGBTQI+ Group has published a press release titled ‘The Discrimination Epidemic’ with the aim to shed light on how the dangerous living conditions and barriers to adequate protection mechanisms in Vathy RIC, coupled with COVID-19 restrictions, have impacted the safety and security of LGBTQI+ asylum seekers on Samos (PDF here: English, Greek, French).
On 17th May 2021, to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), the Group has published a series of testimonies shared by LGBTQI+ refugee people living in Samos camp - you can read them here: Liliane, Aled, John.