Phones.Without.Borders.
Shipwrecks, police violence, accidents or theft:
...there are numerous reasons why more than 50% of asylum seekers cross the border without a working phone.
Smartphones are indispensable on the move.
They provide the main means of communication with the asylum authorities, help individuals find their way in a foreign environment, seek help in emergencies, and make it easier to stay in touch with family and friends.
That's exactly what "Phones without Borders" is all about:
We collect used smartphones in Europe, process them on site (including repairs and data deletion), then distribute them directly and easily to those who need them most.
Our strategy
We collect, repair and distribute used smartphones.
Phones without Borders (PWB) collects used smartphones, repairs them and distributes them to people on the move in humanitarian emergencies at European borders. We enable those seeking protection to organize their lives in a new environment, to stay in touch with relatives and to communicate with the authorities.
Through sustainability and responsible use of resources, we help unused smartphones in Europe to become life-changing companions on the run.
Our work step by step:
Collecting smartphones
We cooperate with partner organizations and private companies that share our vision. They set up collection boxes for Phones without Borders, where people can donate their used smartphones and make a valuable contribution.
The donations are then regularly collected and sent to our central workshop.
Do you want to organize your own collection campaign in your area? Learn more below.
Registration, refurbishment and repair in our workshop.
Our talented and experienced local team works hard to register and repair the donated devices. We repair them, replace defective parts if possible, ensure that they are fully functional and that all data is completely erased.
Distribution to refugees in emergency situations
The refurbished smartphones are then distributed to asylum seekers and people in need facing humanitarian emergencies throughout Europe.
We work closely with our partner organizations to get the phones to those who need them most.
Training
The work in our workshop, checking and reconditioning the donated smartphones, offers an excellent opportunity to train interested people in their profession. Our experts work closely with trainees to support them and pass on their knowledge.
Join us!
Ways to support us:
1) Donate your old smartphone
Would you like to give your unused smartphone a new life? Donate it to PWB and directly support a person in need. Find out about our existing collection boxes or send the device directly to our association. Please leave us a message with your phone number or email address so we can contact you if the device is PIN locked so we can reset it.
address Switzerland:
Verein selfm.aid
Wisacherweg 4
8182 Hochfelden
CH-Switzerland
address Greece
SELFMADE-AID MKO
Skills Factory
Sofouli 2021
83100 Vathy, Samos
GR-Greece
2) Organize a phone-raiser
Organize a collection campaign in your neighborhood, your circle of acquaintances, at work or at school. Every donated smartphone counts!
You can simply use our posters or contact us directly if you need further assistance.
Plakat Sammelaktion Smartphones DE I Flyer Phone Collection EN
3) Donate
In order to set up the project and buy spare parts, we depend on donations. Every contribution makes a difference - sometimes a few euros is all we need to get a device running again.
for partner organizations
Does your organization work with asylum seekers at the European borders and need smartphones?
Please contact us. We will reply as soon as possible to get to know you and discuss the details.
pwb@selfm-aid.ch
Context
Nothing is more important on the run than your smartphone.
Because only with a working phone is it possible to organize an escape, to find your way around in a strange environment, to call for help in an emergency, to stay in contact with family and friends and even all communication between the asylum authorities and aid organizations takes place via WhatsApp and email.
"My family thought I was dead because I didn't have a phone to call them. I will never forget my mother's crying when I was able to call her for the first time to say I was fine..."
Shipwreck, police violence, accidents or theft, there are countless reasons why refugees lose their phones when crossing borders.
Over half of asylum seekers arrive without a phone.
Applying for asylum is a human right. However, the reality is different. Since the agreement with Turkey in 2016, borders have been closed and controls tightened. As a result, violence at the borders has increased massively, and violent pushbacks or illegal returns are being carried out systematically.
Every day, refugees are intercepted at and after the borders, arrested, often beaten up, robbed and brought back again in life-threatening maneuvers. This brutality goes so far that there are known cases of people hiding in the woods in fear of the police and dying of thirst, or being thrown back into the water by the Coast Guard without life jackets.
As a result, over 50% of refugees lose their phones trying to cross a border. It is destroyed by the sea water, taken away by the border police or breaks on dangerous escape routes.
A smartphone is mandatory for the asylum procedure!
If people manage to get to Europe and register in one of the refugee camps, they can apply for asylum. However, you will only be informed about the interview dates and the decisions by e-mail. All communication between the authorities takes place via smartphone, G-Mail and WhatsApp are becoming the most important companions.
"I'm waiting for the decision on my asylum procedure, but suddenly my screen went black and nothing happened. It almost drove me insane and I couldn't sleep because of the tension. I was so afraid that I would miss an important appointment and my case would be closed because I could no longer be reached."
But the telephone is not only crucial for communication with the authorities. It is also the only way to keep in touch with family, to while away the time trapped in the isolation and waiting that is a reality in the new refugee camps, or “Closed Controlled Access Centers” as they are called, or to contact aid organizations to seek legal advice, make appointments for clothing and food distribution, or find other employment.
Large gap despite immense demand
Since the start of the refugee crisis in 2015, numerous aid organizations and civilians have formed and committed themselves to supporting and improving the living conditions of refugees, and have constantly adapted and expanded their range of services.
At most locations there are now solid offers for education for all age groups, in particular language courses, legal advice, clothing and food distribution and leisure activities. However, there is hardly any way to have the phone repaired!
In addition, the refugee camps are mostly in very remote locations (such as the five Greek islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos) where there is no possibility of repairing the hand in a local shop or buying cheap replacements.
Experiences SKILLS FACTORY, Samos
In 2021, the selfm.aid association opened the first project, the so-called SKILLS FACTORY, on the Greek island of Samos. The aim of the project is for refugees to produce or repair everything they need themselves, instead of receiving what they don't actually need from large distribution campaigns. To do this, the association combines the skills and professional experience that refugees bring with them with the resources that are already available on the island.
One of the largest and most important departments of the SKILLS FACTORY is the workshop for telephone repairs. Up to 100 devices are checked each month and repaired where possible. Thanks to donated phones from Europe, the team was able to borrow a replacement device for the time it takes to fix it.
«When I was able to pick up my phone at the SKILLS FACTORY and I saw that it was working again, the whole burden was lifted from me. This is difficult to put into words. Thank you Team SKILLS FACTORY for the great help you are giving to the people in the camp.»
workshop for phone repair in the SKILLS FACTORY, Samos (2022)
However, reality has shown that many devices, especially those that have fallen into sea water or are rare models, cannot be repaired. In these cases, the association has decided that the people concerned can keep the replacement devices.
Due to the enormous demand and the valuable experience that was gained during the work, the project team recognized how big the gap and the need is - as a result, the idea of "Phones without borders" was born.
Sustainability and willingness to donate
At the same time, there is a change in values in Europe. For many people, the topics of sustainability, repair and responsible use of the available resources have become of central importance.
The selfm.aid association was surprised by the willingness of people to donate when they first called for donations for telephones for refugees. Many were happy that they had finally found a use for their old devices, which have since been replaced by new models or for which repairs "are no longer worthwhile". But it is precisely these devices that are in demand at the borders. Even if they no longer work, the spare parts can be reused for repairs. A WIN-WIN situation.
"I haven't needed these phones for a long time. But I didn't want to throw them away either, they still work. But so far nobody wanted her. I am therefore very pleased that they are now finding a new purpose with selfm.aid.»
Phones donated by people like you, are vital for people on the move.
And this is exactly where "Phones without Borders" comes in - quickly, competently and securely.
The only catch - data protection!
Many are wary of giving away old devices because of concerns about the data that may still be on them, and we do receive many donations that are still full of contacts, photos or personal content.
In our workshop, all phones are first thoroughly checked and completely reset.
All incoming donations are registered by our team, subjected to a technical check and completely reset when fully functional. This removes all personal data and links to accounts such as G-mail, email, Facebook, etc.
Only when all these steps have been successfully completed do we give the devices a seal of approval and distribute them to our partner organizations for delivery.
