How much further?

Filmed in Athens between October 2011 and February 2012, in the midst of social, political and economic turmoil, the documentary raises the voices of those who have fled Afghanistan, Somalia or Sudan hoping to find refuge in Europe. After months or even years on the road, they arrive in Greece, a country whose population is facing the full brunt of the economic crisis and where the asylum and reception systems are completely dysfunctional. Most people see no option but to take to the road again in the hope of reaching a country that can receive them and consider their claim for asylum. But, once they have entered Greece, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to leave the country given the European policies that legally bind them to Greece.

This documentary is the fruit of the cooperation between ECRE, the Greek Forum of Refugees and the film maker Matthias Wiessler, and supported by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM).

How much further? premiered simultaneously in Brussels and Athens on World Refugee Day 2012 (20 June)

Contact
Ana López Fontal

Senior Press & Public Information Officer
afontal@ecre.org
+32 2 212 08 12

 

 

More information about the movie >>

These men, women and families have, for the most part, spent all their savings on their long journey which led them to Europe, with most people paying smugglers to cross borders. They find themselves in severe destitution in Athens, which has just 1,000 reception places available for over 9,000 asylum seekers in 2011 alone. With no hope of leaving Greece legally and safely, with no hope of living in dignity in Greece, with no hope of returning to the countries and in a volatile environment of fraught social tension and the rise of xenophobia, they gather together where they can and wait and hope to find a way to leave. How Much Further? is a road-movie set in Athens. From hidden apartments, refugee community dwellings and public parks, these refugees tell us their stories of how they are living and offer their solutions. Representatives from relevant institutions, politicians and organisations add their comments and solutions to the crisis. How Much Further? is the fruit of a cooperation between the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), the Greek Forum of Refugees, an organisation uniting several refugee communities in Greece and the film maker Matthias Wiessler. The movie has a duration of 47 minutes.

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