Luis Vivas Miranda/4ºB
NO NAME
KITCHEN
THE ORIGIN
In February 2017, this movement of people began to emerge with the
crisis of 2015 and the war in Syria. Millions of people were forced to leave
their country, and many had to cross the Hungarian border, but they
suddenly decided to close it and thousands of Afghans were trapped in
Belgrade, Serbia.
DIFFICULTIES
At that time, humanitarian aid was not allowed, and they only allowed an
NGO like No Name Kitchen to feed the refugees. Bruno and his
companions, in order to volunteer in Belgrade, had to go in a van from
Greece pretending to be sightseeing and with suitcases full of blankets
and coats. 25% were unaccompanied minors, and the refugees were
distributed in official camps for them, and the rest were on train tracks
and abandoned wagons.
GO FUND ME
Seeing the terrible situation of the refugees, who even used a terrible
poison to keep warm, they decided to get together and with help they
managed to set up an improvised kitchen in the barracks to be able to
give them food at night (usually soup or stew). In addition, they
created a video showing how they cooked and what they did to earn
funds through Go Fund Me. Through this video they managed to get
new people to come and offer to pay for food, the generator...
THE BARRACKS
In May 2017, three months later, they decided to make a new video and
with better quality. A dictionary is also created to communicate with
Afghans who did not know English. This contained simple expressions,
numbers, the seasons of the year... but everything falls apart when the
government decides to tear down the barracks, starting with the kitchen.
They moved the Afghans to each border and the No Name Kitchen
seems to be ending.
THE REBIRTH
Shortly after, many Afghans began to contact them on Facebook and told
them that they were in an abandoned factory in Šid (border with Croatia),
and thus the No Name Kitchen was reborn. People tried to cross any
border, many dying in the attempt, and those who survived were deported
back. A very popular case was that of Madina, a 6-year-old girl who was
released on the Croatian border and killed by a train. The police tried to
cover it up, but No Name Kitchen managed to get the media to spread
the news and Croatia was eventually condemned for the girl's death.
HAPPY ENDING?
In the end they managed to denounce what was happening with the Afghan
refugees and be believed. Many people arribad with broken phones, blows,
infections... and at the No Name Kitchen they have been offered blankets,
showers, food, medicine, and much more. They also did projects in Rome
and Greece in 2018 and 2019, but ended up closing them due to police
complications. Bruno had to choose between continuing to work in Iberia or
continuing with the NGO, and he decided to continue helping the Afghans
and continue looking for more financing and means.
And this is the story of how a group of volunteers who got their name from graffiti managed to do
something so big. They currently have projects in Ceuta, Ventimiglia, Trieste, Bihaé, Harmanli,
Subotica and Šid. They have about 15 employees and have a salary ceiling of €1,200. I hope that
they continue to improve the lives of refugees and that many more people sign up to volunteer
so that everyone can live with dignity.
