fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
🔥 5 Practical Lessons Learnt as a VC Associate + Actionable Takeaways for New VCs 🔥
By: David Guérin
Tags: Associates, Lessons, Venture Capital, VC, Practical

👯‍♀ Lesson #1: VC is definitely an apprenticeship business and new VCs need to be like a sponge 🧽

I’m convinced that the most efficient way to learn how to become a VC is by receiving guidance from someone who is more experienced, who deeply understands the mechanisms, and who is willing to accompany you on your journey. If you think about it, it’s very much like mentoring. You (the mentee) need to acquire a specific skill set in a short period of time such as sourcing deals effectively, spotting great opportunities according to your investment thesis, negotiating terms, closing deals, managing relationships with founders/other VCs, among others. Trust me, these are skills which cannot be learned independently via books/podcasts/articles/etc — they need to be transferred by a more experienced person (the mentor). In my case, I work directly with two Partners — Alex & Ben — and therefore am fortunate to be able to learn directly from them, which is priceless. Let me explain: this structure gives me direct daily access to two mentors with different backgrounds and styles who constantly share insights, knowledge and advice. I’m seated in the front row and get to witness their thought processes from A-Z every single time we see a new opportunity, close a new deal or come across a new challenge. On top of that, these are the three best pieces of advice they have given me to hit the ground running:

(1) Don’t trust the hype. It’s easy to get FOMO on a “hot deal” and follow social signals but that only triggers irrational thinking and it clouds your judgment. Trust your gut feeling before anything else.

(2) Build your own network ASAP among key players in the ecosystem, including other funds. Be transparent and don’t be afraid to give more than you receive.

(3) Find and leverage your superpower. In my case I’d like to think it is marketing. So I have been empowered to create content around EdTech marketing (a series of EdTech marketing guides with leading CMOs + a global EdTech marketing report) and spend time with the CMOs of our companies in order to be as helpful as possible.

Takeaways: Find more experienced VCs (including at others funds) who are willing to provide guidance, support and encouragement during your journey. Absorb their knowledge and constantly assume that you are the least knowledgeable person in the room (…and you probably are 😉). Focus on your strengths and real domain of expertise to stand out and be authentic.
Meet the team: Mike Balestrino
By: Brianna Jo Thompson
Tags: Venture Capital, VC, Operations, Startup, Investing

What do you focus on at B Capital?

I spend the majority of my time working hand-in-hand with our incredible founders on a range of projects, from strategic to operational, to help grow their businesses. Tactically, this means getting “under the hood” to gain a first-person perspective of what’s really happening with the business to help them prioritize and execute on their strategic objectives. Beyond the direct engagement, I spend the remainder of my time helping grow our firm, which could mean advising on our growth strategy or looking for solutions to help us become more efficient.

What attracted you to working at B Capital?

At the onset, the first thing that attracted me to B Capital was how much progress the team had made in its first five years. From building a global firm to managing $1.5B AUM, it was clear that this was a team that both had a vision and executed on that vision. Beyond the growth, however, was the people. Each person I met was incredibly impressive in their own right yet had a curious humility that was very attractive. Now, having been part of the team for a while, it’s clear that we grow through one another, with each person pushing and educating his/her peers to help the collective get better. I haven’t seen this dynamic elsewhere in my career, and it’s a big reason why I was attracted to the firm.

If you weren’t in this career, what would you be doing?

As an avid sports fan, I’ve always imagined that I would end up working in some sports-related field. And while my aspirations to end up on a field ended years ago, I’d like to think I’d be trying to be the next “Brad Pitt in Moneyball.” My love for sports coupled with my inner nerd who’s obsessed with statistics and data tell me that if I weren’t in VC, I’d be somewhere in the sports business realm, ideally as a team general manager.

What is most interesting or unique about working in venture capital?

The most interesting part of working in venture capital, and specifically growth investing, is seeing first-hand how decisions impact the growth trajectory of a business. Having come from the F500 world, it wasn’t always clear how one’s work impacted the business, but the venture space provides a nearly real-time assessment of how decisions shape the business in the near and long-term.

What is something someone might not know about non-investing roles at a VC firm?

Something that surprised me about working in VC, outside the traditional investor role, is the amount of exposure you can get when experiencing growing companies’ inner workings. The ability and opportunity to see the mechanics of the business, coupled with the variety of the work, is extremely rare. Consequently, the learning is off the charts as you’ll be talking growth strategy with one company in LATAM one day and operational efficiency with a completely different company in the US the next.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn today!

Recommended Reads:

Meet the team: Nick Thompson, Head of Technology at B Capital Group

Meet the investor: Shwan Kazzaz

Meet the investor: Aditi Sharma
Welcome to the BlackFin Tech family, Likvido!
By: Michele Foradori
Tags: VC, Fintech, Portfolio, Fundraising

Today, we are pleased to announce our 9th investment (and second Danish deal!): Likvido.

Based out of the busy Copenhagen, Likvido provides an SME-dedicated platform to automate dunning and significantly improve the collection rate of overdue invoices. Because cash is the lifeline of all SMEs, Likvido is setting out on a mission to support them in growing their business without fearing to go bankrupt every other month.

Max and Lars — the founders — built a great sales machine, which, coupled with a wonderful and slick product, has already convinced more than 2000 companies. And this is only the beginning!

Meet the two co-founders

We are proud to lead this seed round of 2.5m euros to support their early growth and their vision to become the SME’s right-hand man.

As it often happens, the idea and vision around Likvido were born out of personal frustration. In this case not only frustration but failure. Max and Lars did, in fact, go bankrupt during an earlier journey as startupers. The reason? You guessed right! Unpaid invoices impacting their cash position. But thankfully there is always a silver lining to a cloud. Or a massive thunderstorm in their case to be more accurate perhaps.

This, coupled with our strong belief around the vast improvements of tools for the SME segment (see also our investment in Agicap as well as our predictions for the 2020 fintech trends) made our decision to invest in Likvido a no-brainer.

This round of funding will enable Likvido to become the undisputed market leader on its home turf of Denmark, build new features (sorry no spoilers, you’ll have to just wait for them), and launch in a new market!

We are confident that this kind of service will substantially improve SMEs’ financial health and the peace of mind of their CFOs. We believe that Max, Lars, and their team have all it takes to become the clear leader in Europe in the years to come. We’re proud and grateful they chose us to assist them on the way there.

Again, congratulations guys on what you achieved so far! We are excited to support you in this adventure going forward!
Money Talks #15: Digital VC, Dorsey, Zuckerberg & Elon Musk
By: Pete Townsend
Tags: Musk, Zuckerberg, VC, Jack Dorsey

This episode is kindly sponsored by Ireland’s fintech and financial services recruitment specialists, Top Tier Recruitment. If you would like an intro to the team at Top Tier Recruitment, please click here.

In this episode, Eoin and Pete dig into pieces of content from this week that are relevant to the cosmic cloud of startups, tech, venture deals and enterprise in which they live. The stories covered in this week’s episode include:

1 — ‘Video is fine’: venture capitalists find the benefits in digital due diligence (FT, 3rd June 2020, paywall)

What is it about human nature that makes VCs want to meet someone face to face? Facial gestures? The cut of their jibe? What they say to their colleagues (or not say) when passing them in the hallway on the way to the meeting room?

What are we potentially missing from the pre-investment decision-making by not being able to meet in person? The lockdown will ease, but by ditching the in-person demands?

What about the post-investment phase, i.e. the next 5–10 years of the relationship between a founder and a VC?

2 — Facebook, Twitter and Trump: The terrifying war on truth (Decrypt, 2nd June 2020)

What’s Jack Dorsey from Twitter thinking? Following his moral compass or making a commercial move?

What’s Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook thinking? Deal with the devil or an ideological resistance to warning labels?

3 — A look back at the first 2 years of the MoneyNeverSleeps podcast:

Guest demographics: 60% Startup Founders — 26% Startup ‘Ecosystem’ — 12% Venture Capitalists — 3% Intrapreneurs

Topics covered: 39% Fintech — 32% Tech — 17% Blockchain & Crypto — 10% Human Interest

Where we need to get better: 70/30 Male/Female split of guests — room to improve!

Listeners from 80 countries, but 46% of trackable downloads from Ireland

Chartable stats: Top 20 in Ireland (covering global podcasts) for Business & Entrepreneurship

4 — Multiple viewpoints on the massive achievement of SpaceX and Elon Musk this week with the advent of commercial spaceflight and the ‘mission of a mission’ to deliver Earthlings to Mars.
Welcome to the BlackFin Tech family, Likvido!
By: Blackfin Tech
Tags: VC, Fintech, Portfolio, Fundraising

Today, we are pleased to announce our 9th investment (and second Danish deal!): Likvido.

Based out of the busy Copenhagen, Likvido provides an SME-dedicated platform to automate dunning and significantly improve the collection rate of overdue invoices. Because cash is the lifeline of all SMEs, Likvido is setting out on a mission to support them in growing their business without fearing to go bankrupt every other month.

Max and Lars — the founders — built a great sales machine, which, coupled with a wonderful and slick product, has already convinced more than 2000 companies. And this is only the beginning!

Meet the two co-founders

We are proud to lead this seed round of 2.5m euros to support their early growth and their vision to become the SME’s right-hand man.

As it often happens, the idea and vision around Likvido were born out of personal frustration. In this case not only frustration but failure. Max and Lars did, in fact, go bankrupt during an earlier journey as startupers. The reason? You guessed right! Unpaid invoices impacting their cash position. But thankfully there is always a silver lining to a cloud. Or a massive thunderstorm in their case to be more accurate perhaps.

This, coupled with our strong belief around the vast improvements of tools for the SME segment (see also our investment in Agicap as well as our predictions for the 2020 fintech trends) made our decision to invest in Likvido a no-brainer.

This round of funding will enable Likvido to become the undisputed market leader on its home turf of Denmark, build new features (sorry no spoilers, you’ll have to just wait for them), and launch in a new market!

We are confident that this kind of service will substantially improve SMEs’ financial health and the peace of mind of their CFOs. We believe that Max, Lars, and their team have all it takes to become the clear leader in Europe in the years to come. We’re proud and grateful they chose us to assist them on the way there.

Again, congratulations guys on what you achieved so far! We are excited to support you in this adventure going forward!
Re-Re-Re-RELAUNCH!
By: Mike Asem
Tags: Midwest, Venture Capital, VC, Startup, Tech

Nearly 3 years ago (wow) we took on an ambitious task. Creating virtual density in the Midwest for all things tech startups. Now, bigger and better than ever before, we couldn’t be more excited to announce the total relaunch of Midwest Startups. Welcome to version 2.0.

Brand. Spankin’. New.

Why do this? In case you didn’t catch my original launch post in August 2017, here’s a refresher.

The Midwest is a huge economy, burgeoning with opportunities, but it needs some “infrastructural support.”

Yes, roughly a quarter of all U.S. Fortune 500’s are based here…

Yes, the Midwest has great access to world class talent through the universities and major corporations…

Yes, the Midwest has access to capital through funds based here and those coming in from outside…

Yes, innovation is alive and well via accelerators, incubators, universities and big companies…

But… at the end of the day, the Midwest as a whole does not share the same natural connectivity as Silicon Valley or the East Coast — simply as a result of larger geography and less resource density.

Midwest Startups was created, and now relaunched, to act as the “connective tissue” for the growing Midwest startup ecosystem. Now, let me tell you about what’s new and worth getting excited about.

tons of jobs, tons of places

join the network!

Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.

Did I say jobs? Midwest Startups now has a fully functional job board and talent network for anyone that’s actively or passively looking to work for a venture-backed startup company in the Midwest. In 5 quick steps, you tell us about the type of opportunities you’d be interested in next, and we’ll make you discoverable by nearly 100 venture-backed companies and connect you to relevant opportunities in the Midwest Startups network. And, of course, you can always update your information later.

Insights from across the region

Hear from the voices of the Midwest. We’re not only creating our own thought leadership, but partnering with entrepreneurs, industry experts, and community champions from all over the region to provide fresh and interesting insights and perspectives. Follow our publication and subscribe to our newsletter to keep your finger on the pulse of the heartbeat of the Midwest.

fresh content every week

Turn-by-Turn Navigation

Outsider looking in? Insider looking… around? Whether you’re looking to “break in” to the region, looking to better access resources around you, or just trying to get educated on what the Midwest has to offer — we’re partnering with community champions all over the Midwest and mapping it out for you. Check out our first 5 cities (Chicago, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and St. Louis), and stay tuned as we’ll be launching a new city every week for the next several weeks! Check out our annual Midwest Cities Power Rankings and our growing list of resources by city to learn more.

And, don’t forget… follow our publication and subscribe to our newsletter to keep your finger on the pulse of the heartbeat of the Midwest.
Demetrix Secures $50M Series A funding For Cannabinoids Commercialization
By: Singularity Maker奇點創創
Tags: Commercial, Cannabis, Cannabinoids, VC, Legalization

Demetrix Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the production of cannabinoids, announced that it has secured $50 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Tuatara Capital with participation from existing investor Horizons Ventures. The funding will be used to scale its operations and commercialize the first of more than 100 unique cannabinoids. Horizons Ventures previously led Demetrix’s $11 million Series Seed round.

Driven by consumer demand, medical potential and pharmacological efficacy, the cannabis industry is booming rapidly. Followed by the legislative changes, the industry has reached a critical mass on a global scale, with 33 states in the United States approving medical programs related to cannabis, 10 states in US and the federal government of Canada are legalizing cannabis social consumption, and more than 32 countries have approved medical cannabis projects. By 2029, the global market size of cannabinoids is expected to reach $100 billion.

Following is CEO Jeff Ubersax ‘s interview about series A funding:

About Tuatara

Tuatara Capital is a specialized alternative investment manager to support the legal cannabis industry. Tuatara currently manages over $330 million in cannabis-focused assets and is making long-term investments into market-leading companies.

About Horizons Ventures

Horizons Ventures, the private investment arm of Mr. Li Ka-shing, is a leading investor in some of the world’s most innovative companies and disruptive technologies including Facebook, Spotify, Siri, Zoom, Impossible Foods and Perfect Day.

Source: https://bit.ly/2LRVnYp

獲首富李嘉誠青睞 Demetrix完成A輪5000萬美元加速大麻素商業化

美國生物技術公司Demetrix Inc.日前宣佈已獲得5000萬美元的A輪融資，由專注扶植大麻合法化的Tuatara Capital領投，和香港首富李嘉誠私人投資部門Horizons Ventures跟投。此輪資金將用於發展其行業領先的發酵技術，推動大麻素的生產和商業化市場拓展。先前李嘉誠的Horizons Ventures也曾參與Demetrix 1100萬美元的種子輪。

在消費者需求、醫療潛力和藥理功效的推動下，大麻產業正在成為歷史上發展最快的產業之一。立法變革已在全球達到臨界規模，目前美國33個州批准了與大麻相關的醫療項目、美國10個州和加拿大聯邦政府也正在合法化大麻社會消費、超過32個國家批准了醫療大麻專案。到2029年，大麻素的全球市場規模預計將達到1000億美元。

以下為Demetrix Inc. CEO Jeff Ubersax 於A輪融資期間所做的訪談。https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvrHfIsQpOM

資料來源: https://bit.ly/2LRVnYp
Collected Advice for Aspiring VCs
By: Tomáš Vyšný
Tags: Startup, Venture Capital, VC, Advice

I have recently come across an amazing thread on Twitter. Started by Samir Kaji, he broadcasted the following question to the ever present venture capital community on the platform — “What is the best piece of advice you could give an aspiring new VC that you wish you had before you started”?

The thread has garnered a lot of varied responses from some of the most prolific VCs active on Twitter. I filtered out the (purely subjectively) best pieces of advice, loosely categorized and annotated the tweets. See the result below — hope it is useful for some budding VCs out there!

All credit goes to the people as quoted below, original Twitter threads can be found here and here.

Obligatory world cloud of the collected advice (src: https://www.wordclouds.com/)

On The Investment & Decision Making Process

Never confuse a good story with a good product. Never confuse a good product with a good company. Never confuse a good company with a good investment. (Stephen Fleming)

Invest in founders you would want to work for (Jonathan Struhl, Indicator Ventures)

Have conviction in your judgement if you’ve done the work to understand the opportunity and don’t “borrow conviction” from other firms/investors (Justin Caldbeck)

Do all the great investment you can as quickly as you can. Worry less about ownership and boards at first. You can enhance those in the next batch. (Jason Lemkin, SaaStr)

Don’t rush into every exciting deal as most pitches will sound amazing. Instead get to know the team and, it sounds cliche, invest in the people. Focus on those who articulate the ways they will fail and how they will mitigate them instead of those who think its all blue skies. I would add to not convince yourself to do a deal. If the the initial impression is “no” then 99% of the time it should likely remain “no”. (Eric Dadoun)

Embrace teams that challenge your views/hypothesis. Challenge teams that confirm them. (Shahin Farshchi, Lux Capital)

On Empathy

Ask yourself whether the person pitching you is smart and has done enough homework — and if they have, push yourself to try to see the opportunity from their perspective. It’s too easy to be dismissive. (Charlie O’Donnell, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures)

Be empathetic to the entrepreneurial journey/how challenging it is. Be on time, treat them w respect, follow up,etc (Justin Caldbeck)

Make sure your significant other is on the same page. First 3 funds will be 10 years of non stop fundraising and hustle. Similar advice for founders too. (Hustle Fund VC)

On Mentors

1. Investing: find a mentor who has built brand / mktg that drives deal flow

2. Fundraising: find a mentor who has raised >$100M from inst investors

3. IR / back office: find a mentor who has gone thru multiple annual audits / made distributions / made it to carry (Dave McClure, 500 startups)

On Respect and Being Founder-First

Respect the time of a entrepreneur (Jeffrey Silverman)

Take a hippocratic oath to…
Investment Thesis and Opportunities in eSports / Competitive Gaming
By: Manas Punhani
Tags: Investment Opportunities, Venture Capital, VC, Esports Market, Esport

The State of eSports

Gaming represents a large and rapidly growing market opportunity. As of 2019, Gaming was 3.5x the size of Movies and 2.5x the size of Music. Even in growth terms, Gaming’s past 5 years growth CAGR and future growth CAGR had outpaced other forms of entertainment — TV, Movies, Music, Books.

Data sourced from Allied eSports Investor Presentation, Skillz Investor Presentation, Newzoo, PwC, F&S

400 million+ tuned in to watch eSports on YouTube and Twitch, which is larger than the combined audience of Netflix, Hulu, HBO and ESPN. Besides, eSports also have more viewers the NHL and MLB.

It is evident that the youth are spurning traditional sports in favor of eSports and Competitive Gaming. Moreover, eSports is captivating audiences at a larger scale than OTT.

Source: Super League Investor Presentation, Aug 2020

Nowhere is this more visible than in China and South Korea, where eSports champions and streamers are the new celebrities, youth icons, and stars of pop culture.

The shift towards Gaming is not only an Asian phenomenon. American youth are also hooked. ~65% of Americans play video games monthly and it is capturing more share of wallet and time. Millennials are spending more time playing games and watching others play

All this while, how sports is being viewed and consumed is also changing — ESPN has lost about 20% of subscribers since peaking in 2011. The decline is only accelerating with 87 million in 2017 vs 78 million in 2020

Source: Findmevalue.net

eSports is becoming a staple of our entertainment diet, culminating in a dramatic increase in industry revenue and audience sizes.

eSports Audience Size (Source: Newzoo)

eSports Revenue (Source: Newzoo)

The different eSports participants are able to access multiple revenue streams ranging from sponsorships, media rights, streaming, publisher fees, audience donations, merchandise & ticketing, in-game purchases etc.. However, monetization lags traditional sports in terms of revenue ($) / viewer.

Compiled from Nielsen, Allied eSports Investor Presentation, a16z

The writing is on the wall. And while I have been aloof to the massive potential and growth in this space, brands and investors have been ramping up efforts for many years already.

Source: a16z, Pitchbook

eSports Market Map and Considerations

The eSports ecosystem can be categorized into five main participants — Game Developers & Publishers, Event Organizers & Leagues, Professional Teams, Viewing Platforms & Ancilliary
Our Investment in HealthTensor
By: Susa Ventures
Tags: Healthcare, AI, VC, Startup, Investment

Three years later, Eli, Nate and Thomas pitched us a vision of building AI tools to help emergency room doctors make better, faster, decisions. We at Susa Ventures were hooked. There is no better team in the world to do this.

HealthTensor’s software acts as a layer of intelligence between physicians and the troves of raw medical data from any given patient, which is often more than any individual doctor can handle. HealthTensor uses advanced algorithms to do AI-enabled diagnosis, ensuring no medical condition is overlooked. It was designed from the ground up with the physician workflow in mind, enabling frictionless adoption of the product by users.

Early feedback from our first hospital partners is promising.

“HealthTensor makes me a better doctor because it allows me to spend less time in front of the computer and more time in front of the patient,” said Dr. Tasneem Bholat, an early user of HealthTensor’s software. “HealthTensor synthesizes all the data from the patient’s chart, saving me from doing chart biopsy and surfacing diagnoses I might have otherwise missed.”

Eli, HealthTensor’s CEO, described it as “an AI-powered medical resident that is focused specifically on the tedious, data-driven aspects of medicine, which is what computers do best. Many doctors are forced to spend a majority of their day focused on data aggregation from medical records, which leads to missed diagnoses, patient dissatisfaction, and physician burnout. HealthTensor frees up the physician to focus on the conceptual and emotional aspects of medicine, which is what humans do best.”

We look forward to a world where HealthTensor is helping every physician focus more of their time where it matters: the patient.
AYS Daily Digest 22/04/20 ~300 people protest in Moria for safety against COVID-19
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Refugees, Coronavirus, Italy, Digest, Greece

Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and PRO ASYL released a report on Malakasa camp and the government’s lack of a response to COVID-19:

“Over 1,600 refugees and asylum-seekers are locked-up in Malakasa refugee camp during Covid-19 quarantine with more than half of the residents unregistered [1] and near 250 of them living in common areas and make-shift shelters.

Throughout last year, the refugee camp in Malakasa, has been extensively used by homeless refugees to find emergency shelter — most of them newcomers from the Evros region. As of February 2020, near 250 people resided in common areas and makes-shift shelters in dire conditions and more than half of the camp’s population were not registered as residents by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. In the midst of this situation, on 5 April 2020, the first Covid-19 case was detected in Malakasa and the camp has been locked down for a 14-day quarantine. Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and PRO ASYL have documented 27 cases of asylum-seekers who sought shelter in the camp without official referral. The vast majority of the interviewees arrived from the Evros region and some from the islands. They described vividly the harsh living conditions and the challenges they face during the pandemic. The failure of the Greek authorities to refer those arriving in the Evros region to a shelter following their release from detention means that many remain unregistered and in precarious accommodation for some time and face more risks for their mental and physical welfare particularly at the time of the pandemic.”
AYS Daily Digest 22/04/20 ~300 people protest in Moria for safety against COVID-19
By: Ellen Elias-Bursac
Tags: Refugees, Coronavirus, Italy, Digest, Greece

Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and PRO ASYL released a report on Malakasa camp and the government’s lack of a response to COVID-19:

“Over 1,600 refugees and asylum-seekers are locked-up in Malakasa refugee camp during Covid-19 quarantine with more than half of the residents unregistered [1] and near 250 of them living in common areas and make-shift shelters.

Throughout last year, the refugee camp in Malakasa, has been extensively used by homeless refugees to find emergency shelter — most of them newcomers from the Evros region. As of February 2020, near 250 people resided in common areas and makes-shift shelters in dire conditions and more than half of the camp’s population were not registered as residents by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. In the midst of this situation, on 5 April 2020, the first Covid-19 case was detected in Malakasa and the camp has been locked down for a 14-day quarantine. Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and PRO ASYL have documented 27 cases of asylum-seekers who sought shelter in the camp without official referral. The vast majority of the interviewees arrived from the Evros region and some from the islands. They described vividly the harsh living conditions and the challenges they face during the pandemic. The failure of the Greek authorities to refer those arriving in the Evros region to a shelter following their release from detention means that many remain unregistered and in precarious accommodation for some time and face more risks for their mental and physical welfare particularly at the time of the pandemic.”
AYS Daily Digest 21/07/2021 — Baby dies in Kara Tepe, where was the medical help?
By: Ellen Elias-Bursac
Tags: Refugees, Digest, Refugee Camps, Greece, Migrants

SERBIA

Info Park updates

People on the move have experienced harsh and unreasonable treatment, especially since the beginning of July. Earlier this month, several police brigades gathered all refugees and other migrants from public spaces and abandoned buildings in the Savamala neighbourhood in Belgrade and transferred them to Preševo Camp by bus.

Police, assisting Serbian Commissariat for the Refugees and Migrants (SCRM), don’t take into account the individual situation of the arrested individuals. They force the transfer upon them as different cases show: Two young men who already had their ID cards that had been issued by SCRM in another camp were put onto buses to go to Preševo. The police dismissed this apparent official proof of their regular registration. As far as children were concerned, police disclaimed responsibility for following official registration procedures, even in the case of an official ID card by SCRM. Stating that even with the document in front of them only SCRM could approve children’s minorities, the police would not let go of an obvious underaged boy until externals succeeded in reaching a SCRM official. He approved the boy as underage after “assessment” and so he could leave the bus eventually.

But even this lucky case spotlights the random age assessment taking place. This is undertaken by momentary SCRM shift managers without proper medical, psychological or any additional assessment. Inappropriate age assessment practice leads to violations of human and children rights in Serbia. This can be illustrated by two separate cases from the previous week. In the first, two unaccompanied boys from Afghanistan were assessed as adults, even though they possessed documents issued in Greece and their appearance matched their proclaimed age. On the other occasion, three unaccompanied boys were assessed as underage by SCRM’s evening shift and therefore allowed to spend the night there. However, in the morning they were ordered to leave, as the assessment changed and they were considered adults. They were referred to a reception center for adults in the south of Serbia, so Info Park provided tickets for safer arrival. Once the boys were on the bus, SCRM called and claimed they would not be accepted for accommodation there, as they are, in fact, underage. These occurrences show how random the whole registration procedure is and therefore key decisions develop in the bigger frame.
AYS Daily Digest 21/07/2021 — Baby dies in Kara Tepe, where was the medical help?
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Refugees, Digest, Refugee Camps, Greece, Migrants

SERBIA

Info Park updates

People on the move have experienced harsh and unreasonable treatment, especially since the beginning of July. Earlier this month, several police brigades gathered all refugees and other migrants from public spaces and abandoned buildings in the Savamala neighbourhood in Belgrade and transferred them to Preševo Camp by bus.

Police, assisting Serbian Commissariat for the Refugees and Migrants (SCRM), don’t take into account the individual situation of the arrested individuals. They force the transfer upon them as different cases show: Two young men who already had their ID cards that had been issued by SCRM in another camp were put onto buses to go to Preševo. The police dismissed this apparent official proof of their regular registration. As far as children were concerned, police disclaimed responsibility for following official registration procedures, even in the case of an official ID card by SCRM. Stating that even with the document in front of them only SCRM could approve children’s minorities, the police would not let go of an obvious underaged boy until externals succeeded in reaching a SCRM official. He approved the boy as underage after “assessment” and so he could leave the bus eventually.

But even this lucky case spotlights the random age assessment taking place. This is undertaken by momentary SCRM shift managers without proper medical, psychological or any additional assessment. Inappropriate age assessment practice leads to violations of human and children rights in Serbia. This can be illustrated by two separate cases from the previous week. In the first, two unaccompanied boys from Afghanistan were assessed as adults, even though they possessed documents issued in Greece and their appearance matched their proclaimed age. On the other occasion, three unaccompanied boys were assessed as underage by SCRM’s evening shift and therefore allowed to spend the night there. However, in the morning they were ordered to leave, as the assessment changed and they were considered adults. They were referred to a reception center for adults in the south of Serbia, so Info Park provided tickets for safer arrival. Once the boys were on the bus, SCRM called and claimed they would not be accepted for accommodation there, as they are, in fact, underage. These occurrences show how random the whole registration procedure is and therefore key decisions develop in the bigger frame.
Hellenic Art
By: Rishabh Choudhari
Tags: Hellenistic Age, Sculpture, Greece, Hellenic Art, Art History

Hellenic Art

The Hellenic period saw art emerge which went deep into details to capture subjects in the height of a highly emotional or action packed moment. Faces would often be tainted by a perfectly sculpted intensity. Artists from this era were not interested in the perfect beauty of the classical period, but the raw extreme emotions of the imperfect.

There are many diagonal lines, in contrast to the the vertical lines of the classical and pre-classical art. Vertical lines convey a sense of achievement, authority, or power. On the other hand, diagonal lines show action, struggle, the fight, the suffering, the raw moment of the extreme. Nothing sits still in these Hellenic works, and it is understandable why. The idealized world of the Greek city-states was collapsing, the dynamic Macedonian Empire marched East lead by the ambitious young emperor and commander Alexander the Great. This was a time of change, cultural diffusion and clash, war, and adventure. A time of ceaseless campaigns of conquest. After Alexander’s death came even more turbulence. Civil war, succession crisis, rebellions, a time of strong ambitious individuals drawing borders in blood, dicing the land for all its worth. This is a period which saw the rise of Rome, a squabbling republic. The betrayal of the Triumvirate, the crimson ides of march, fall of the Persian Empire, rise of a foreign dynasty in Egypt, the children of Sikandar (Alexander’s name in India) bringing new hunger to the conflicts of Northern India. This is a time of action, suffering, strife, the perfections of past shattered by cruel reality.

Thus, the art of this period is riveting. Humans caught in the raw moment of struggle, action, an extreme, imperfection. The world around these artists was shifting dynamically, it was not the idealists dream, it was chaos incarnate. Thus, the art represented this imperfect world; its beauty timeless. Faces scratched and scarred. Bodies exhausted, bloodied, injured, and pillaged. Emotions flaring in the extremes. There were statues of the dying in their final moment, of the mourning, of the suffering of the human condition.

Struggle is the greatest story, action is the greatest art; thus, the Hellenic period occupies a special place. A period of time when rocks were turned into tragedy, stones struggling and striving to survive on Shakespeare's stage. What a time it was, when the ancient made the Earth cry.
Petani and Myrtos beaches
By: Xcel Trip
Tags: Vacation, Xceltrip, Greece, Petani, Travel

Greece is the queen of luxurious beaches and breathtaking landscapes. Three seas, many islands with unique natural landscapes and a variety of beaches — the wealth of Greece is incredible…

On the Greek islands, everyone can find their paradise on earth. Do you doubt it? Then meet the best beaches of Greece! In Greece, almost all beaches are municipal. They, like other natural resources, belong to the state. From which it follows that you can visit them without any restrictions and for free. But for the convenience (umbrellas, deck chairs) will have to pay, unless they belong to the hotel in which you could settled by booking at XcelTrip.

Petani beach



Petani is an excellent beach, located 20 km west of Argostoli, the capital of Kefalonia, on the beautiful Paliki peninsula. The beach, up to 600 meters long, is located at the foot of a mountain serpentine, in a curved bay. Petani beach is blue clear water and stunning surroundings — huge rocks covered with green vegetation reaching the sea.

Myrtos beach



One of the most famous and beautiful beach of Kefalonia. Milky blue water and great depth is already near the shore along with steep serpentine which leads to the beach. From the observation deck offers a magnificent view of the panorama of the beach.



Myrtos beach is the business card of Kefalonia. His photos can be seen on the cover of posters, calendars, postcards, souvenirs. It is one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world and is one of the most spectacular views of Greece. Twenty kilometers south of Fiscardo is the town of Divarata, where the descent to the famous beach begins. The track in this place runs along a steep mountainside, rather high above the sea, revealing breathtaking landscapes. Believe me; it is worth stopping and admiring the opening view of the blue-blue bay at the snow-white coast under the rocks rising up! The suspension raising from the bottom leaves milky stains on Before the beach, get ready for the fact that one lane of the road will be completely filled with cars of tourists. A fabulous view will open before you if you decide to retire on the beach in the evening — the sunset on Myrtos is just stunning!

Petani and Myrtos beaches are worth to visit. You can book a hotel through XcelTrip today. Book trips for flights and check into hotels using XcelTrip today and get a refund of up to 50% on all your orders!
Wisdom of The Silence (I)
By: Emilia Reyes
Tags: History, Silence, Greece, Philosophy, Thinking

While in bed with my favourite parrhesiast (that is, with the person exercising the parrhesia *), he was telling me that, in Ancient Greece, in philosophy schools, at first the students did not have the privilege of logos, of the word, but these should first study two or three years with a philosopher and only later could he make use of speech. Restriction perhaps to prevent them from saying something without thinking, during that time they learned to structure their thinking better and express their ideas more clearly, since the Greeks understood that speaking by speaking carries some risks by itself. But then, he continued talking about other issues. But surreptitiously, he changed the subject, or rather, silenced himself by kissing me …

Nevertheless, the subject remained in my mind many days later, and I kept thinking in silence what education would be like, say the university, if we had this practice. There is something in silence that draws the attention of all peoples, especially the Orientals. Who does not understand a long look will not understand a long explanation, say the Arabs, and it is said that Indian philosophy is the philosophy of silence; the manobratha, it is said, produces various associations, thoughts, when the "noise", the "interference", the manifestation of the ego has been annulled; The imperative need to speak.



Although some monastic, European religious confessions resumed this practice during the Middle Ages, we know that in the West silence has been used not as a tool of thought, but as a weapon to silence others: "Who silences, grants," it is said, thus, in a stroke the invisibility of marginalized peoples is erased, (barbarian peoples, lower castes, women, etc.), that is, those who were forced to shut up at the time.

No, who is silent does not always grant.
AYS Daily Digest 6/8/20: New testimony of Frontex involved in pushbacks
By: Ellen Elias-Bursac
Tags: Refugees, Digest, Frontex, Greece, Albania

NNK reveals illegal action at the Albanian-Greek border // First “voluntary return” flight leaves Greece // Locals stage racist protest on Gran Canaria // 50 people drowned in 24 hours // Italy resumes deportations to Tunisia // Increasing violence of smugglers in Northern France

Are You Syrious?

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Aug 7 · 8 min read

A group was deported from Albania to Greece in late May, NNK reports. Credits: No Name Kitchen

Feature: Pushback by Frontex officers

No Name Kitchen reports on illegal pushbacks happening from Albania to Greece with the support of Frontex officers — the EU’s border protection agency. The case happened in the end of May, and NNK published it just now. According to witness testimony, the group was stopped in Miras, some two kilometers from the border. While the Albanian police were described as polite, the Frontex officers with their iconic blue badges and their national uniforms were not:

They don’t treat you humanely at all.

As some tried to escape the round-up, six of the police officers used physical force, including a tool similar to a baton, made of metal. “The transit group claim that the policemen wore balaclavas. They say that while they were being taken to the car, they were kicked from behind. At this point in the episode, the officers even pulled out their guns and shot twice in the air,” they claim further. They were brought to three camouflaged cars.

Afterward, they were brought to a police station, photographed and fingerprinted. However, they were denied food, although they stated they were hungry. Despite promises in the beginning that they would be transferred to a camp in Albania’s capital, Tirana, they were taken to a basement and told the camp was closed — which apparently was a lie. Contrary, they were told there was nothing for them to expect in Europe and they should leave. The next morning, they were brought to the border to Greece and threatened with violence if they didn’t go back.

Over the last months and years, there have been numerous reports of Frontex officers involved in illegal actions.
AYS Daily Digest 1/9/20 Freedom for Hamza and Mohamed
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Refugees, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Sweden, Melilla, Greece

Featured: Northern Greece — Appeal hearing for Hamza and Mohamed

On Tuesday 1st of September, in the northern town of Komotini, the first appeal hearing for Hamza and Mohamed was held.

On the 4th of February 2020, they were sentenced to 4 years and 1 month in prison for “smuggling” and “aiding illegal immigration”. They had fled Morocco in search for a better life and, together with other people, made it to Greece on a makeshift boat.

Borderline Europe has followed their case since the beginning:

Hamza Haddi and Mohamed Haddar were accused after their own escape of illegally transporting two other Moroccans, including the brother of Hamza, Yassine Haddi, to Greece. They were also prosecuted for their own illegal entry. In addition, they were accused of acting for profit. […] According to the defendants and the two other Moroccans who entered the country and were questioned as witnesses, the facts of the case are as follows: Hamza and Yassine travelled to Istanbul in order to travel on to Europe in order to escape persecution by the Moroccan authorities for their political activities. Relatives of theirs had already been granted political asylum in other European countries. In Istanbul they met two other Moroccans and decided to cross the border with Greece, which is marked in the European part of Turkey by the river Evros, together with them. They found a smuggler who took them to a small island in the river (of which there are many, especially in summer, when there is not much water in the river) and left them to their own devices. The four of them stayed overnight on the island and the next day they found a makeshift boat which they set off towards the Greek shore. All four took turns rowing; just before they reached the Greek shore, Hamza and Mohamed held the paddles. Arriving on the Greek side, everyone was arrested by the border police and criminal proceedings were opened against Hamza and Mohamed for holding the paddles. They would have made themselves guilty of an offence by illegally bringing the other two to Greece.

The case of Hamza & Mohamed is emblematic for the systematic criminalisation and incarceration of people on the move. The European Union not only criminalises those supporting migrants and refugees; following pressure by the EU, Greece has established the necessary legal framework to criminalise people on the move themselves for their own flight.

In this way, the Greek Coast Guard arrests 1–2 people from each arriving boat and accuses them arbitrarily of smuggling and aiding illegal entry. The majority of them disappear unknown and unheard of and with no access to support from outside. According to official data by the Greek ministry of justice, they make up the biggest group of people imprisoned in Greece.

Several groups and individuals — among them Carola Rackete and the European Democratic Lawyers (AED) — declared their solidarity with Hamza & Mohamed.
AYS Daily Digest 18/11/2020 — Frontex dismissed investigation into its involvement in illegal pushbacks
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Spain, Digest, Frontex, Greece, Balkans

Forensic video investigation of illegal pushbacks on Croatian border (BVMN) // New developments on Canary Islands // Greece to build new camps on its islands by end of 2021

Refugees on the sea between Greece and Turkey — Turkish Coast Guard

EU and FRONTEX

Evidence emerges of EU border agency FRONTEX dismissing investigation into human rights violations

On 2 March 2020, the EU border agency Frontex was allegedly involved in an illegal pushback of a boat with 33 refugees in Greek waters, near the island of Kos. When confronted by a group of investigative reporters on the matter, Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri described the incident as a “misunderstanding”, and publicly assured that the matter would

“be treated with great concern and carefully investigated.”

However, as it appears from a chain of emails obtained through a freedom of information act, the Hellenic Coast Guard was ordered to push back the boat into Turkish water, an action that is illegal under international law.

Moreover, it appears that there was no serious commitment on the side of the agency to investigate the matter, neither at the time, nor afterwards.

According to Frontex, there is no further information on the incident in the files. The Frontex staff did not check the command structures and did not check why there was no internal report on the illegal order. They also made no other attempts to ensure that pushbacks from the Frontex command would no longer occur.

The emails confirm what, unfortunately, is familiar to those who follow the issue of illegal pushbacks: 1) the Hellenic Coast Guard was definitely involved in ordering the illegal pushback; 2) Frontex fails to report or investigate human rights violations; 3) this incident was much more serious than a mere “misunderstanding”, as Frontex officials claimed.

You can find the whole Frontex internal email thread here.