Radar

The School of Stars

Overwhelming obstacles did not deter two talented kids from opening an informal school in the largest refugee and migrant camp in Europe

BY Janine di Giovanni | Lesbos, Greece

MORIA RECEPTION and Identification Centre, on the Greek island of Lesbos, was built to accommodate 2 200 people but soon reached a swelling population of over 18 000 men, women and children. Life in Moria was a challenge, a testament to people’s resilience and endurance.

Many expected to be there for only a few weeks or months. Instead, families routinely waited over a year for their asylum claims to be processed, living in tents and waiting in line for toilets and showers with cold water. Access to drinking water was a perennial challenge and residents walked over one kilometre to the nearest town to get it. In these circumstances children grow up quickly. They become responsible early on: waiting in food collection lines, collecting empty bottles from garbage piles and trading them for new ones of water to carry back to their families’ tents.

When COVID-19 reached Moria, aid organizations had to scale back their operations to an emergency-only basis, and authorities heavily restricted the movement of people in and out of the camp. With few health and sanitation interventions, residents fashioned their own hand-washing stations to lower their risk of contracting the virus. With schools temporarily closed, and no access to online learning systems, the children of Moria were left without the ability to continue their education.

Vision for Education

Manija, 13, and Atefe, 11, migrants with Afghan roots, had time on their hands and a passion for education. The two set up their own ‘School of Stars’, initially begun as a role play between both of them. Soon, parents eager for their children to have something to do and continue learning, dropped them off for lessons and much-needed socialization with other children.

For nearly four hours every afternoon, Manija and Atefe taught English and Persian to over 20 children. Apart from alphabets and vocabulary, they taught the young attendees’ other vital skills such as how to ‘treat’ the camp water, wash their hands, and sanitize their families’ tents with the limited resources available.

The school also became a site of psychosocial support and provided a sense of belonging. Manija and Atefe understood the emotional needs of their students. They talked to them openly about their happiness and wellbeing. “Teaching is my passion. In the class we provide masks to every student, we suggest they wash their hands, and we sanitize. I want to grow up so I can be useful for the community,” Manija says.

In an uncertain time, the School of the Stars brought pride and joy, and gave these two young teachers a goal: to become professional teachers one day.

Devastation

On the night of 8 September 2020, the school faced its first major challenge. A large fire engulfed the camp, destroying the facilities, decimating informal accommodation structures in the olive groves surrounding the camp, and displacing thousands of residents.

Families who had struggled to make their shelters had to sleep outside, with only the trees for cover. Most went several days without food or extra clothes, homeless for weeks as they waited to move into a new camp.

Authorities expanded another camp, Kara Tepe, to accommodate those displaced from Moria. However, the camp lacked many of the facilities of Moria, including toilets and showers.

Never give up

Weeks after the fire, Manija returned to Moria to assess the damage to the tent that housed the School of Stars. The young woman searched for school supplies that may have survived the blaze. She was determined to continue with the School of Stars. The fire would not set back her goals. Undaunted, Manija and Atefe opened their School of Stars in the new camp. With no defined space, they taught lessons outside and cancelled classes on days of poor weather. Manija has since resettled in Germany, her friends still in Lesbos long to expand their opportunities beyond the island.