This website was created as a tool for the ‘A letter from Greece’ bottle mail project. This project was started by Dutch citizens who felt called upon to let hear the refugee’s voice. The idea was aimed at the direct confrontation of a refugee seeking help with random beach visitors who would find the letters in bottle mail. Nearly 700 letters were distributed in bottles along the Dutch coast.
The letters were picked up by the citizens themselves in Greece. These letters are written by refugees who are stranded in Greece and who live in camps under inhumane conditions.
All letters have been translated and stored in a database. The finders of the bottle mail could find the translations on this website and indicate where the letters were found. You can find the locations on the ‘The bottle mail project’ page. Reactions could be given and reference was made to options for being able to do something about the situation (page ‘What can you do‘).
The letters were read by thousands of people – in addition to the finders also by participants of the Capital Event in Amsterdam on October 3 and people who read the letters at themed meetings in churches. They are also distributed on social media. The letters can still be read on the “Letters” page and can be used and shared by anyone.
The website now serves as a testimony to the situation in the summer of 2019. Since then, the situation on the Greek islands and on the mainland has deteriorated further due to a sharp increase in refugees and a tightened refugee policy by the Greek government. A solution to the situation is not yet expected. That is why we consider it important to keep the letters on the website permanently accessible. The content of the letters is still current and shows the human rights violation in Greece. It is the task of everyone to oppose this and to take his own responsibility to end this injustice.
For financial reasons, the website can remain online until August 2020 at the latest. Organizations and individuals who want to donate for the website can do this here: