Tag: refugees


  • “Every family cooks borscht their own way”

    “Every family cooks borscht their own way”

    “At times, someone standing next to me in a shop would start holding their bag tighter. They thought that I would steal from them. Sometimes I asked jokingly, “You know why I won’t steal from you today? Because it’s a Thursday”. On On Ukraine’s Independence Day, we talk to Nadia Ohly about religion, being a…


  • “Like some trash bags that can be thrown into a truck and taken away”

    “Like some trash bags that can be thrown into a truck and taken away”

    “Considering how many refugees’ clothes and remains of camps are found in the Podlasie forests, it is reasonable to assume that many refugees are gone forever. Some drowned in swamps; some were eaten by animals. Those bodies will most likely never be found, they may never get a respectful burial” – the photojournalist Agnieszka Sadowska-Mazurek…


  • Enrique’s search for paradise

    Enrique’s search for paradise

    He left Cuba because it became too cramped for him. When at the end of the concert he was asked to praise the Cuban Revolution from the stage, he realized he did not have enough freedom


  • ‘I dream of canoeing on the Dnieper River’. One year has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine

    ‘I dream of canoeing on the Dnieper River’. One year has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine

    It’s been a year already. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is also the anniversary of establishing the ‘Radziwiłłowska 3’ or ‘R3’ Help Point (named after a street name) run by the Salam Lab. During these 365 days, thousands of Ukrainians and refugees of other nationalities passed through this place, all fleeing the brutality of war,…


  • With a kickflip into Jordanian society

    With a kickflip into Jordanian society

    Back in 1996 a boy of Palestinian descent living in Amman was gifted a skateboard and he started skating around the city, getting into troubles with the police and pedestrians evoking the dream of a skatepark in him. His name was Mohammed Zakaria. In 2009 he founded his own skateboard brand called ‘Philadelphia’


  • A society without immigration is not a living society

    A society without immigration is not a living society

    ‘We never know who the other is, just as we never really know who we are ourselves.’ – says the author of The Guest, Ariane Koch.


  • Poles were also refugees. They were hosted by an Indian Maharaja 

    Poles were also refugees. They were hosted by an Indian Maharaja 

    We are used to the fact that it is white people who save those fleeing war or persecution. It wasn’t always this way.


  • Who founded a Polish village near Istanbul?

    Who founded a Polish village near Istanbul?

    Ludwika Śniadecka – a Polish woman, the leading spokeswoman for the Polish independence movement, the unrequited love of Juliusz Słowacki.


  • “These were the orders”. A soldier learns the truth about refugees

    “These were the orders”. A soldier learns the truth about refugees

    A couple days ago I picked up two boys seeking to hitchhike. Okay, two young men. They are both nineteen. One of them was from the Territorial Defence Forces. He has never seen a refugee. He never participated in deportation or pushbacks. When asked “what will you do when you see a refugee family in…


  • Sisterhood in climbing. Meet Asma from Afghanistan

    Sisterhood in climbing. Meet Asma from Afghanistan

    “We can’t go to school, university, work, nor can we play our favourite sports. We had no choice but to leave our country”. Interview with a climber from Afghanistan.


  • I look at Poland with great envy. Appreciate your solidarity

    I look at Poland with great envy. Appreciate your solidarity

    “Lithuania received 43 million euros from the European Union, to keep refugees in closed centres throughout the country. So, de-facto it received money so that they can violate human rights in refugee camps”.


  • “Welcome to Guantánamo”, that is, to Poland

    “Welcome to Guantánamo”, that is, to Poland

    “I had heard that through Belarus I could reach the European Union. I was supposed to find there the end of suffering and the possibility of stabilisation. The decision was taken in haste and I decided to take this step, which I now regret. At present, I’m in the EU, where instead of freedom and…


  • Sunburnt. A flee from Kabul told by Lemar Elyassi

    Sunburnt. A flee from Kabul told by Lemar Elyassi

    In our society when a girl is underage, she stays under the custody of her father, when she is married, she is under the custody of her husband. It means that a girl is never independent. Read a story of a young doctor from Afghanistan living in Poland.


  • “All I wanted was freedom and safety”. A refugee exclusively for Salam Lab

    “All I wanted was freedom and safety”. A refugee exclusively for Salam Lab

    “I am Rojin Shamo from Iraqi Kurdistan. I am a Yazidi and being a Yazidi is not easy. I’ve always wanted freedom. Europe seemed to be the solution to my problem. I arrived in Lithuania last year, on June 21st to be exact. I live in a refugee camp. My dreams of freedom in Europe…


  • Zombie in my city. A journalist who fled Afghanistan is now safe in Poland

    Zombie in my city. A journalist who fled Afghanistan is now safe in Poland

    My name is Nasratullah Taban. Before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, I’ve been working as a journalist covering affairs in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Russia for the past six years. Now I am trying to manage my life in Poland. After all, living in Europe can be a little different than living in the countryside…


  • Migration and Media. Workshops for young influencers

    Migration and Media. Workshops for young influencers

    Do you have your own social media channels? Do you want to improve your communication? Do you work in NGO? Are you concerned about the current migration crisis and want to know how to use your social media to play a positive role and create effective change? Apply to become a part of a team of…


  • Looking for accommodation for a refugee? Follow these rules!

    Looking for accommodation for a refugee? Follow these rules!

    Ninety percent of all violence happens in private homes. Ukrainians escaping, mostly women and children, are especially vulnerable in a foreign country, behind locked doors. Humanitarian crises are chaotic situations. Professional organizations know these risks – but the situation attracts well-meaning voluntary helpers who act haphazardly while looking for accommodation for someone. The resulting chaos…


  • Ukraine: here is how you can help

    Ukraine: here is how you can help

    In the face of tragedy facing our Ukrainian neighbours, a lot of people ask about the possibility to help. Each and every one of you can do something to help them. Here is what you can do now: Financial support You can contribute to the crowdfunding campaign organized by Salam Lab for the Ukrainians in…