Greece, and the hundreds of thousands of refugees currently trapped in the country, are no strangers to ‘crisis’. Financial collapse and migration mismanagement were already severely impacting newcomers’ ability to participate in education before COVID-19 lockdowns made the situation even more dire. Based on interviews from a study on young refugees’ (aged 15–25) engagement with education in Greece, this paper explores how exactly lockdowns impacted learning and compounded pre-existing issues. It details how crisis was felt at the micro level as lost and disrupted learning opportunities, and as uncertainty and immobility–demonstrating the social, material and affective impacts of crises in the everyday. The paper also shows how youth expressed their relational agency by navigating constraints with the support of peers, educators and non-governmental organisations, even as technological and family-related issues came into play and supporters (or ‘co-navigators’) faced their own bureaucratic and practical hurdles. It concludes by arguing for sustained financial and political support for refugee-serving organisations, alongside greater flexibility and accessibility in the public education system. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

DOI: 10.1080/17508487.2024.2442400
ISSN: 17508487