Athens, Greece - “The morning I turned eighteen, I went directly to the local tax office to collect all the necessary documents for my driver’s licence. It was a birthday promise I made to myself”, Benyamin, shares with pride.  

Benyamin, 21, came to Greece from Iran when he was fifteen. Benyamin in Farsi means “father’s right hand” and in Greek “the youngest son of the family”. Benyamin has a sister who is six years older. 

IOM Greece met Benyamin in Athens to interview him before his work shift began. Athens is a city that he knows very well, having traversed its narrow streets filled with character, familiarizing himself with the beating heart of Greece's capital. He arrived to meet us on his motorbike carrying a black helmet that gleamed in the Athens sunlight.  

Benyamin feels well-integrated into the bustling life of the city, where he works in a small factory that produces billiard cues, studies information technology, and lives in his own apartment. He proudly reveals with a twinkle in his eye, that he ran and completed the Athens Marathon on two occasions. 

“I have lived in Athens since the day my father and I arrived in Greece in 2018 when we rented an apartment in the city center. Our apartment was close to Victoria Square, a busy urban neighborhood close to the National Archaeological Museum. We lived together for only six months. before my father had to leave the country, as he needed to secure the relevant documents to stay as a resident”, Benyamin remembers.  

During these six months, his father encouraged Benyamin to learn the language, a feat in itself, and regardless of where their future might take them next. He motivated his son to build the foundations for a good education in order to ease Benyamin's integration into his new home. 

His father insisted in registering Benyamin in a Greek intercultural school, immediately after arriving in Athens, something which he is eternally grateful for. 

“I am grateful for his persistence. In the beginning I was walking aimlessly around the city, and I recall my frustration because I couldn't understand the people around me. Now, I speak Greek fluently!”, Benyamin says proudly. 

At the school he met another student, a girl from Albania, and they became best friends over the duration of their schooling, graduating together, and becoming life-long friends. As his language skills improved, he began making more friends, immersing himself into the city where his love of the Greek culture blossomed. Before the pandemic, he spent many balmy and relaxing afternoons reading books about Greek culture acquired from a local library in Exarcheia, a bustling neighborhood right in the heart of the city. 

After his father departed, Benyamin had to move into a shelter for unaccompanied children in the city, where he stayed for more than two years, before moving on to a facility that catered for young adults over the age of 18. 

“I could not contemplate the thought of leaving Greece as my refugee status remained in limbo. I realized that my life was in my very own hands. I never thought of quitting school, not for a moment. I started planning my next steps. I knew that I wanted to continue with a college degree, after finishing high school”, he recalled. 

Benyamin obtained refugee status in October 2023 which came as a great relief to the determined youngster. His resilience echoes throughout all aspects of his life, and today he works in a small factory. His thirst for knowledge has never faded and he studies Information Technology at a private educational institution thanks to a scholarship he received from the shelter.

“I enjoy working and studying as it empowers my future in a country that I have grown to love. Through my job I can develop my craftsmanship skills, and my studies reinforce the theoretical knowledge I need to excel in my role. They complement each other”, he explains while smiling with joy.  

The next big step towards self-independence came when he succeeded in renting his own apartment in Athens with support of IOM Greece. 

“IOM Greece came into my life a few months ago, when I learned from a close friend about the HELIOS integration project.  

IOM’s HELIOS project, funded by the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, aimed at promoting the integration of refugees into Greek society, through integration courses, accommodation and employability support and sensitization public events together with the local community.  

“Benyamin’s story is a great example of resilience and determination, and the objective of a national integration project such as HELIOS, is to increase the prospects of refugees towards self-reliance and independency”, said Sanja Celebic Lukovac, Chief of IOM's Mission in Greece.

Since March 2024 IOM Greece has assisted Benjamin financially with rental costs. It is the first time that I have lived on my own and I am really embracing   my newfound independence”, Benyamin says with confidence. 

Since 2019, IOM’s HELIOS project, has assisted more than 24,500 people through the provision of rental subsidies empowering refugees towards independent living in Greece. 

For media enquiries, please contact Christine Nikolaidou, cnikolaidou@iom.int