By Rita Carvalho and Francesca Pierigh, ECRE
We visited Hara Hotel near Polykastro, Greece, on 29 May 2016. The events mentioned in this story refer to that visit.
We are standing outside a big white tent in Hara Hotel, a makeshift camp on the side of the road, a bit further down from the intersection leading to Idomeni, in Northern Greece. The name comes from a hotel and petrol station which, quite unbelievably, are still running. We are approached by smiley Ali, the only teacher in the camp, who wants to open the tent and show us the school of Hara.
A little boy starts running towards us. He is visibly excited, with his notebook in hand and a small backpack, and starts chanting the latin alphabet: “A B C D E. A B C D E. A B C D E.” Another boy is following in silence.