One 24 hours before the official start panhellenic courts exams, 19-year-old Cisse Waffing from Guinea, a student at the General Pythagorean Lyceum of Samos, admits that he is very worried. For him, the goal of entering the school of his dreams – the Faculty of Translation in Corfu – was another difficult test, one of many that he had to face since he came to our country.

A few days ago, he finished the 3rd grade and, wanting to thank his teachers for the undivided help they gave him, he shared a letter with them. Among other things, he wrote:You made sure to give me the smile I needed for a long time in my life.[…] When I am alone at night and think about what I went through, how hard it was for me, I cry. But these tears are fading“.

His teachers responded in kind: “Our boy, we were honored that you were our student and classmate with the rest of our children. Now that it’s time for you to spread your beautiful black wings again, we hope we’ve done our best to empower you and give you everything you need to get on with your life.”.

Just before throwing himself into the battle for exams, Cisse stole some time to tell K his story.

Tough road for Greece

His journey to our country began in 2019. “In that year, my parents, who were sick, passed away. I was left alone in Guinea. The situation in the country began to become dangerous, and it was noticeable. A year after I left, there was a coup,” he describes.

“I had to drop out of school. I had to leave,” he explains his decision to board a plane bound for Iran. He arrived in Greece at the beginning of 2020. “From Iran I went on foot to Turkey, and from there by boat to Samos. This was the hardest part. There were 30 of us in the boat, it was night and I couldn’t swim. I was very afraid, it was my first contact with the sea.”

From the camp to Lyceum “A” in the midst of a pandemic

From the moment he entered Greece as an unaccompanied minor, Cisse spent six months at the Reception and Identification Center in Vathi, Samos. There, with the help of people from NGOs, he learned the Greek alphabet, while the main goal for which he left Guinea, namely to go to school, was constantly on his mind.

“I kept telling people from the organization that I wanted to go to school.” Through their mediation and while the asylum application was pending, Cisse left the camp and settled with other refugees in one of the apartments set aside for that purpose. Landing at the school was not smooth. “Lyceum made it very difficult for me,” he admits, explaining that in addition to having to “dive” directly into the complex material of high school, he also had to do this during distance learning due to the pandemic. .

“For a long time, I didn’t understand much,” recalls Cisse, noting that everything changed when life lessons began at the 2nd Lyceum. “When I went to a regular class, I devoted myself to the lessons,” he says.

A wave of social solidarity

Despite this, the asylum issue continued to be a thorn in his daily life, and while he was constantly taking steps forward in his integration into our country, his second year of high school was ending and he had already received two rejections from his studies. request.

“Last summer, at this time, there was a big mobilization in Vathy in the presence of school teachers and other members of the local community. We wanted to attract public attention and solve their problem,” describes this moment, the deputy director of the general Pythagorean lyceum of Samos, Stefanos Yannulis.

Finally, a few months later, Cisse succeeded. “He asked for the protection of the school, and the school as an institution was morally obligated to do so,” says Mr Yannoulis, explaining that the wave of solidarity received by the student from Guinea was not self-evident on the island, which has lived for years with a very strong problem. immigrant refugees.

“Think about the fact that the previous camp was adjacent to the city, and although its infrastructure was designed for 300 people, it grew to 6,000, people lived in tents that reached the mountain. The city has exceeded the limits of its endurance. However, there are certain things in society. Things we shouldn’t even be discussing,” says Mr. Yannoulis.

That’s why, according to him, Cisse was treated as an equal with his classmates from the very beginning, and he even went so far as to hold the school’s sign at the student parade.

“We wanted to give him a role,” explains Mr. Yannulis, mentioning why the professors responded to his own letter a few days ago: “It is important to highlight these stories that show that our people have social reflexes and solidarity. These stories should dominate our daily lives.”

Panathinaikos, cod and love of Greek history

Now his ultimate goal is to enter the faculty of translations in Corfu, and in the second case, the faculty of French literature in Thessaloniki – as he himself says, a school in Athens, which he does not want to name, because the capital he once visited seems too big for him – Cisse does not hide the fact that he is sad to leave his home in Samos.

After all, it has long “left” the hands of the MCO and “passed” into the hands of the local community. With the help of the Samos, he now lives alone in the apartment provided for him, and his fellow citizens provide him with everything he needs – from the basic necessities to private lessons that a lady gives him to help him in the exhibition, also in Latin.

In fact, he really likes the exhibition. “I like it because I can write my ideas in Greek. This is good practice for me. I also really like History and especially this part from the time of Venizelos. Ancient and Latin are difficult for me, but in addition to the special one, I also go to a tutoring school.

And what does he like about Samos and his life in Greece?

“I love football. I’m pretty good at it. I also play in the sports club of Samos. I’ve been playing good football since I was in Guinea. I support Panathinaikos. My favorite Djibril Cisse also played in this team. From the products I I love cod most of all, and I really like that the Greeks are so helpful in everything.”

As Mr. Yannulis says: “Cisse managed to become a 15-year-old student. His goal for a school in Corfu is achievable. Our Cisse will manage, and if he goes to Corfu, we will continue to help him until the day he needs us at all.