ACTIVITY REPORT (2020-CURRENT)
CITIZEN JOURNALISM PROGRAM
CNN #MyFreedomDay Spotlight Project- Moria Refugee Camp (Lesvos, Greece)
ReFOCUS Media Labs has been privileged to partner with scores of major media networks in reportage from within the humanitarian crisis zone. From peaceful protests against inhumane and illegal conditions inside the camps, to unrest on the island from fascist forces, to the impacts of CoVid-19, ReFOCUS has been a constant and dedicated source of news and in-depth coverage. Visit our social media for up-to-date reports as we continue our coverage and proving that the next generation of media creators should be the authors of the stories they are forced to endure.
FEATURE REPORTAGE
ALJAZEERA FEATURE
ReFOCUS: Poland-Ukraine
Feature based off ReFOCUS Cofounders Sonia Nandzik-Herman and Douglas Herman’s work along Polish border and time inside Ukraine.
FEATURE ARTICLE HERE
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
Feature Story
Led by professional photographers and filmmakers from around the world, ReFOCUS Media Labs courses have given students the ability to express themselves and share stories of struggle and resilience.
Many students go on to make their own films, and some work as freelance journalists, chronicling the migrant experience. Others remain with ReFOCUS to teach new waves of asylum seekers, who often struggle to find work in a foreign country where they do not speak the language.
“When I was little, it was my dream” to make movies, says Maliheh. “Now, I can.”
FEATURE STORY
CRISIS
The Marble Life:
a year of limbo on Lesvos
News coverage of the situation at the border often focuses on isolated events. But those who have made dangerous crossings and become long-time residents of camps have their own accounts to share. On Lesvos, this past year has been a particularly turbulent one.
FULL STORY by Nazanin Foroghi
#HRFFBerlin
Trapped in the Playground
The multimedia photography, video and audio installation provides an insider’s perspective and conveys an immediate sense of what it means to be a refugee living in constant uncertainty and poverty within the borders of Europe. All images and multimedia elements were produced by the participants of the ReFOCUS Media Labs in 2020-2021. An exclusive world premiere installation for #HumanRightsFilmFestivalBerlin.
FULL REPORT
ALLIANZ
GORKI THEATER
Nothing About Us Without Us
Our latest film serves as a call to action for mainstream media to develop a new standard of engagement with the communities they report upon. Co-written, co-directed and co-edited by Nazanin Foroghi, Yaser Akbari two senior citizen journalists and teaching artists from ReFOCUS Media Labs collective.
BERLINER KORRESPONDENZEN DEBATE
AL JAZEERA
‘I was handcuffed to a guy who had murdered two people’
Sean Binder recounts his ordeal as one of several activists facing charges relating to refugee rescue work in Greece.
FULL STORY by Katy Fallon,
photography by Nazanin Foroghi
CPH: DOX
ThoseLeftWaiting
A film experience like no other- the first ever live documentary filmed by refugees from around the world – edited and scored live on stage.
Director: Michael Beets in collaboration with citizen journalist filmmakers from ReFOCUS Media Labs. World Premiere at CPH:DOX; Official Selection for MIFF Melbourne Intl Film Festival, Singapore Intl Film Festival and more announced soon.
FILM TRAILER
BBC Newsnight
Who Started Moria Fire?
With the help of a group of young refugee film-makers and exclusive access to a huge archive of footage from the fire and its aftermath, Newsnight’s International Editor Gabriel Gatehouse investigates the events surrounding the blaze and the roots of Europe's dysfunctional migration policy. Filmed in collaboration with ReFOCUS Media Labs. Camera, editor and producer: Jack Garland.
FULL REPORT
AL JAZEERA
Refugee Journalists on Lesbos Tell Own Stories. Reporters from ReFOCUS Media Labs document the aftermath of the devastating Moria fire, and other tragedies, on troubled Greek island.
FULL STORY
by Katy Fallon and Nazanin Foroghi of ReFOCUS
T T T Das Erste 1
Endstation Moria
Titel Thesen Temperamente on assignment in Moria, worked with ReFOCUS citizen journalists-artists Atifa Akbari and Nazanin Foroghi on the ways they continue to develop media skills and report from within Moria camp.
FULL REPORT
RAI 3- ROME
with Nico Piro
The infamous camp of #Moria has been burned to the ground. It was an horrible place with many rays of hope, like @refocusmedialabs who teach #migrants how to shoot, edit and produce videos, using #mojo too. The power of imagery for an inside view of an untold crisis
FULL REPORT
JOKO & KLAAS
A SHORT STORY OF MORIA
Milad Ebrahimi, citizen journalist of ReFOCUS Media Labs, served as the protagonist for 15 minutes on Joko and Klaas’s ProSieben program. The 21-year-old says he came to Moria from Afghanistan nine years ago. Today he says: "Coming to this island was the biggest mistake of my life."
FULL REPORT
Citizen of Moria
“Citizen of Moria” documents the plight of amateur filmmaker Ahmad Ebrahimi, as he flees the Taliban in Afghanistan, leaving behind his wife and daughter and travels to Moria, a refugee detention center located on the Greek island of Lesbos. In Moria, Ahmad documents the difficult living conditions endured by the refugees, and tries to build a simple life on the island as he begins the process of seeking asylum in any country that will take him and his family.
FILM TRAILER
SEA WATCH
CantWashHands
While some are busy washing their hands on camera in Brussels and others only find dried taps in the muddy Camp Moria on Lesbos, still others have a chance to clear the way to save thousands of people from a catastrophe: The Berlin Senate could light a beacon of humanity and launch a relocation program today! SPD Berlin, no more excuses – #LeaveNoOneBehind!
FULL REPORT
WALL STREET JOURNAL
After Escaping War, Migrants on Greek Island Now Live in Fear of the Coronavirus
Crammed into tents and shipping containers, migrants worry over how they can keep their distance or even wash their hands to prevent infection
By Raja Abdulrahim with ReFOCUS Media Labs
FULL REPORT
NPR- PRI
The World
REFUGEES CAN’T PRACTICE DISTANCING
Over 70 million displaced people around the world are stuck in overcrowded refugee camps. The coronavirus outbreak is putting a strain on already poor living conditions. The World’s host Marco Werman speaks with Douglas Herman, co-founder of the nonprofit ReFOCUS Media Labs, about the situation at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
FULL REPORT
FOCUSonline We’ve Never Seen Moria Like This
Refugees Trained as Journalists
The people behind the camera also write their own story. Because almost all of them live in the camp themselves and are part of a non-profit training project. The Refocus Media Labs network teaches the refugees media and journalistic tools and thus prepares them on site for their later working life after their time in the camp. Through her eyes, Moria and its inhabitants move particularly close to the viewer in the pictures.
FULL REPORT
CNN
MyFreedomDay
Despite unrest here on #Lesvos we revel in every second we get to spend with our students. Given current situation a very appropriate opportunity came up to make this Short on the fly with our crew in #moriacamp What does #freedom mean to you? #myfreedomday #CNN #refocusmedialabs
FULL REPORT
SEA WATCH/ BEN & JERRY’S
Camp Moria, Lesvos Island, Greece:
More than 19,000 people, including many children and unaccompanied young people, live under miserable conditions in a camp that designed for just 3,000. Crammed together by an EU policy that wants to prevent migration, but above all the arrival of refugees in the core countries like Germany and France.
The Moria Monitor offers daily live-reports directly from the camp - as a foundation for the increasingly louder demand for immediate evacuation and German State admission programs ! #LeaveNoOneBehind!
FULL REPORT
BBC PANORAMA-
Panorama, led by ReFOCUS filmmakers, investigates conditions inside Greek migrant camps, locked down as coronavirus spread across the world. Vulnerable people have to share taps and toilets with those who have tested positive for the virus, risking onward transmission. Strict quarantine is enforced on camps where coronavirus cases are confirmed, leading to shortages in food, water and medical care inside. Fear of the virus and anger at camp conditions have led to violence. Panorama hears from charity and public health experts who warn that any failure to control the spread of the virus inside the camps could lead to potentially dangerous outbreaks.
FULL REPORT
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH-
Greek authorities have not done enough to address the acute overcrowding and lack of health care, access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene products to limit the spread of Covid-19 in camps for asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch said today. Greece’s government should immediately take measures to protect those most at risk of Covid-19 in the island camps to avert a public health crisis.
FULL REPORT
BBC NEWS
Lack of access to sanitation and water facilities in refugee and migrant camps poses a challenge for residents trying to avoid coronavirus. In Moira in Lesbos, Greece, a facility built for 3,000 holds 18,000 people. The BBC's population correspondent Stephanie Hegarty works with ReFOCUS for an in-depth look.
All Footage; ReFOCUS Media Labs
FULL REPORT
QUICK TAKE by BLOOMBERG NEWS
"If this virus gets into this camp with this overcrowding who will come and help?"
The largest refugee camp in Europe— housing 20,000 and designed for under 3,000 — is bracing for Covid-19.
Here’s a rare insider's view into Moria camp with footage and interviews by Refocus Media Labs
FULL REPORT