Project Elpida e.V.

Samos Campaign 2026 – Day 1 🇬🇷

Our fifth campaign on Samos started in a local tech shop 💻 where we equipped the office of our partner organization with four monitors, keyboards, and mice — creating better working conditions for their vital legal support.

Next stop: essential supplies 🧼🧺
We purchased bus tickets, laundry detergent, and dish soap for , who provide these items to asylum seekers through their Free Shop — ensuring access to basic dignity.

We also met with our legal partners and ⚖️ to discuss the current situation on the island. A key concern: the increasing criminalization of asylum seekers and NGO workers, alongside the upcoming reform of the European asylum system (CEAS) in June 2026.

To close the day, we delivered all donations — including a projector for legal workshops 🎥 — to .

If you can, support our campaign!
Every contribution counts. 🤝

🌿

What exactly do we do at Project Elpida — and which projects are we supporting in Greece?

*Athens*
In Athens, the Victoria Community Centre (VCC) stands as a vital hub for people seeking safety and community in the heart of the Greek capital. Inside this multi storey building, seven organizations offer essential services — from medical care and legal advice to safe spaces and cultural activities.
At its core lies the Community Café: a warm, welcoming spot where up to 200 visitors a day can enjoy a hot meal or drink, charge their phones, and connect through shared events like public viewings and picnics.
When the future of the VCC was uncertain in 2024, our amazing partners at stepped in to take over operations. Thanks to generous funding from the German Postcode Lottery, we contributed €20,000 to sustain the café — covering rent, coffee and tea supplies, and essential equipment.
In 2025 alone, the VCC welcomed over 8,000 visitors who found support, warmth, and belonging within its walls. None of this would be possible without your trust and contributions.
A huge thank you to for making this project possible — and for standing by our side every step of the way! 💛
Every item counts.
Every contribution matters.
Thank you for helping us continue this work (link in bio). 💛

Unsere Freund*innen von Zur Senke e.V. machen wieder eine Party – und wir sind mit dabei.

Neben guter Musik von House bis Trance geht dieses Mal 1€ pro Ticket an Project Elpida e.V. und unsere Arbeit mit geflüchteten Menschen in Griechenland.

Kommt vorbei, tanzt mit uns und zeigt Solidarität. ✨

Tausend Dank an für unsere neuen Laufshirts! Wir sind so gut wie ready für den Berlin Halbmarathon 2026 🧡🤝

Helft uns mit euerer Spende unser Spendenziel von 8000€ zu erreichen, um Geflüchtete in Griechenland zu unterstützen. Spendenlink in der Bio.

Human Rights Legal Project (HRLP) on Samos provides independent and holistic legal support to people on the move at the EU’s external borders. The organization focuses on defending individuals who are criminalized for acts directly linked to their own flight, while simultaneously engaging in strategic litigation and advocacy to challenge systemic injustices in Greece’s border regime.
In Spring 2025, HRLP represented unaccompanied minors on Samos who were living in unsafe and inadequate conditions. After exhausting domestic options, they filed collective applications and requests for interim measures before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to highlight failures in child protection. Parallel to these legal efforts, they collaborated with Swiss media to draw attention to the gap between taxpayer funding and the actual lack of protection for children on the ground.
A core part of their work involves the defense of asylum seekers charged with smuggling, many of whom were arbitrarily identified as facilitators or simply took the helm of a boat during their journey to safety. In June, HRLP achieved landmark acquittals before the Samos courts, including a historic ruling recognizing that seeking asylum should not be punished. These decisions represent a significant step toward restoring legal safeguards in a context where convictions have long been the norm.
In February 2026, the organization became involved in legal efforts following a fatal shipwreck off Chios. They have highlighted that survivor testimonies differ significantly from official statements and that official recording cameras were turned off during the incident. Despite being publicly targeted by the Greek Minister of Migration in statements linking legal defense to the facilitation of irregular migration, HRLP remains committed to representing their clients with integrity. They maintain that access to legal defense is a cornerstone of any democratic system and continue to insist that human mobility must be addressed through protection and rights rather than punishment.