By Jack Allen
ATHENS – With its graffiti, posters and history of activism, the area around the National Technical University declares its political fervor. It is a natural home for an organization like Solomon, a new media nonprofit that covers diversity while simultaneously training young Greeks and refugees to produce their own journalism.
“Our name comes from a Portuguese novel, The Elephant’s Journey,” explained Editor in Chief Elvira Krithari. In the tale, Solomon the Elephant is a wedding present from King Joao III of Portugal to Archduke Maximilian of Austria. Solomon makes a perilous journey from Lisbon to Vienna, tromping through a war-torn, disease-ridden land in a trek that has become a metaphor for the journey that many modern-day migrants take to reach Europe. The name lends itself well to another meaning, Krithari added: “We write about the elephant in the room, whatever that may be.”
Fanis Kollias founded the website in 2016, focusing on migration issues and investigative reporting. The site, which publishes in Greek and English, publishes two articles a week on topics that range from far-right European politics to Greece’s controversial “golden visa” scheme, which allows foreigners to obtain Schengen Zone visas in exchange for an investment or house purchase in Greece of more than 250,000 euros ($280,000).
The magazine is only one strand of the NGO, however; the 10-person team also offers classes in photography, writing and video production through its “lab.” Kollias said he is excited to be educating and training the “young Greek journalists of tomorrow,” and regularly invites alumni of the classes to write stories for the site.
“Solomon has given me incredible opportunities,” says one alum, Khaled Suud. He fled the Syrian Civil War in Damascus and is waiting for the “very slow-moving” bureaucracy
to process his application for asylum. Meanwhile, he takes classes at Solomon and works as a writer and Arabic translator for the site.
“We’re really excited to be expanding our reach and readership by publishing more articles in Arabic in the future,” he said.
To fund operations and expand its audience, Solomon does writing, graphic design, filming and photography for other nonprofits and businesses in Athens. Krithari said that does not affect the organization’s ability to publish stories, stressing that “independence is very important to all of us at Solomon.” To avoid conflicts, the team does not take money from companies or NGOs that it covers as journalists, she said. Much of their work is funded by the Open Society Foundations and the Engaged Journalism Accelerator.
With looming national elections where anti-immigrant parties are expected to gain votes, Krithari sees sites like Solomon as key to countering negative public opinion on diversity in Greek society. “We are not biased, but we are progressive, inclusive and pro-refugee,” she said.
