Self-Defense and Yoga for Refugee Women on Lesvos

Hannah Ulijn has lived in Lesbos for twenty-five years. She is married and the mother of two sons. Since 2008 when the first refugees began arrive on the island, she joined with a group of friends in the village of Molyvos to organise immediate basic help, handing out food, clothes, shoes and blankets. In 2015 at the height of the refugee crisis, she was one of the founding members of Starfish Foundation. Together with a group of enthusiastic volunteers, she organized the distribution of donated items from all over the world. Hannah is now are project manager for the Self-Defense project of Starfish. She states, “This project is needed because the Moria camp is a very frightening place for women, given that the majority of the residents are unaccompanied young men. Our program will teach women how to say ‘no’ to violence and threats of violence.”