“Free Movement Skateboarding” is an 8-member team from the UK, that has been teaching skateboarding to refugees and locals in Athens for the past two years. Their main goal is to gather people from all nationalities together and encourage them to participate in physical exercise. They focus especially on girls, helping them to have more self-confidence. I was really lucky to be able to write about this team, because I take part in their session every week. But let’s go back to the beginning.
Roby, the leader of the team, volunteered in Palestine, teaching skateboarding to Palestinian kids. When she saw all that positive energy and how happy the kids were, she wanted to do the same thing in Greece, where there was a new influx of refugees. She started with some help from the organisation “Khora” and her friends Ben and Will. The team has been growing ever since.
Every member has a different reason for joining the team. Jo was a volunteer with “Khora”. Jo used to create objects out of wood for the Community Centre and now, as a member of “Free Movement Skateboarding”, he is building ramps for skateboarding. “What inspires me is seeing how everyone attending the sessions manages to improve their skills”, he said. Amber joined the team, because she had seen the positive energy that skateboarding can create, when she taught it in Palestine and Iraq. “I believe that skateboarding is for everyone and that everyone can skateboard!”, she said. Also, Olympia explains that if she were a refugee herself, she would like to have all the help she could get, which is why she decided to help refugees.
Joanna and Conner participate in “Free Movement Skateboarding” as volunteers. Joanna decided to volunteer because she loves skateboarding and thinks it is important for kids to take part in physical activities. Conner was taught how to skateboard by an old friend and now he wants to teach others.
All these stories were very inspiring for me, so I decided to ask also the kids about their experience learning how to skateboard. Some of their answers were really emotional. Hasnan described: “Ιn the place where I was born there are a lot of Taliban. They killed my grandfather. I use skateboarding as a way of escaping, it helps me forget about all of that”. It’s not easy to hear a kid giving such an emotional answer. Of course I also asked the girls. Darea said: “I enjoy skateboarding with girls. And the reason I like it is because it teaches us that no matter how many times we fall down, we always have to get back up”.
The special thing about this team is that they provide much more than just skateboards and protection gear. It is something bigger than a team. It is a big skateboarding family. A family that will always cheer you up and help you get back up when you fall down. They say “goodbye” with a sweet smile and welcome you back again with an even sweeter one.
For more information, you can visit their website: freemovementskateboarding.com
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