Life After Evacuation: How Palestinians from Gaza Are Starting Over in Greece
ATHENS — For 15-year-old Raghad Al-Fara, life in Athens is measured in small, painful steps. She moves on crutches, her right leg and back still healing from injuries sustained during an Israeli bombing in Khan Younis last July. Evacuated from Gaza in February with her mother and younger sister, she now lives in a shelter for refugee women—a world away from the home she once knew.
“I never thought I would survive, let alone set foot on European soil,” Raghad says softly.
She is one of 10 Gazan minors in Greece described by officials as suffering from “complex” orthopedic and psychological injuries. Her mother, Shadia, watches over her with a mix of relief and worry. The rest of their family—Raghad’s father and three siblings—remain in Gaza, trapped in a war that has not ended for them.
A Fragile New Beginning
In total, 26 Palestinians arrived in Athens at the end of February under a humanitarian initiative. For many, like Shadia, Greece offered a lifeline. “When we learned that Greece agreed to host us, it was a relief,” she recalls.
But relief has been tempered by the realities of starting over. Raghad waited months for a support belt and orthopedic shoes; her mother, a former hairdresser, eventually sourced them herself. Psychological support has been scarce, even though Raghad wet the bed for months after the trauma of the bombing. “Greece took responsibility for us but then abandoned us,” Shadia says, noting the state provides no financial assistance.
Dreams Interrupted, Dreams Renewed
Not far away, 20-year-old Sara Al-Sweirki is determined to rebuild more than her safety. Evacuated in September with her mother and brother, she refuses “to just be a survivor.”
“I want to be a girl my age like others, learn guitar and piano, and study,” she says.
Accepted by the private Deree American College of Greece, Sara will begin studying psychology in January. She chose the field, she explains, to help others overcome trauma—a need she knows intimately.
Her dream, like so many in Gaza, was interrupted on October 7, 2023. “But now I am more determined than ever to pursue my goal,” she insists.
Solidarity and Shortfalls
Greece has a long history of welcoming Palestinians, especially in the 1980s under socialist leader Andreas Papandreou. Today, popular solidarity remains strong: a recent poll found 74% of Greeks support recognizing a Palestinian state. Yet the current conservative government has not taken that step, and Palestinian community leaders say there is “no political will” to host more injured evacuees.
For now, families like Raghad’s focus on the immediate—learning Greek, attending school, navigating medical appointments. A truce may hold in Gaza, but Shadia knows it doesn’t mean safety. “We cannot return to live under tents with the fear of bombings resuming,” she says.
Her other children still in Gaza beg her to bring them out. “I feel powerless,” she admits.
In a small apartment in Athens, between crutches and schoolbooks, a painful renewal is underway. It is a story of survival, yes—but also of quiet determination to reclaim a future that war tried to erase.
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