https://www.facebook.com/lighthouserelief/posts/830182733770936
Lighthouse - Refugee Relief on Lesvos
hat 4 neue Fotos hinzugefügt — in Skála Sikaminéas, Lesvos, Greece.
3. Februar um 16:44 ·
Skala Sikamineas has always been a special place. Now, it has two Nobel
Peace Prize nominees from the village.
This little fishing village by the sea, looking out on Turkey, has given
so much support to the arriving refugees in need. Years and years before
the volunteers came. Most of the local residents in Skala are the
descendants of people forced to leave their homes in Turkey in the
1920's, starting a new life in Greece, and they connect their own
backgrounds to what the refugees now have to go through.
83 year old grandmother Emilia Kamvisi and Stratos Valiamos, one of the
fishermen in Skala Sikamineas who have been rescuing refugees at sea,
are now said to have been picked to represent the helpers on the Greek
islands in a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In December, we posted this interview with Stratos. After spending
months helping each other out in welcoming people arriving on Lesvos,
taking us out on beach cleanings and chatting in the cafés, our humble
friend told us more about what he has been through here.
– People have started a journey to a better life. I will not let the sea
stop them.
The sea has always been the the love of Stratos life. Few days have
passed without him being in the water. But since the refugee crisis
intensified in May, the sea has given him problems sleeping.
– I have been so worried for the people taking the journey over the sea
that I have been out with the boat all night long, Stratos says. Every
night. Just in case. In May, when people started coming in much bigger
numbers every day, we didn’t know what to do. Before the volunteers came
it was a disaster. No medics, not enough clothes, no rescue teams, no
coordination. Nothing. We are humans, we need to sleep.
The locals did all they could, but with thousands of people arriving
each day in late summer it was impossible to help them all. Before
Tsipras was elected, Stratos explains, the mission of the coast guard
was to stop the boats, taking the motors or the oil to force the boats
to go back to Turkey. But since the election, the coast guard’s job has
been to safely bring people to land.
– There are too many people coming for us to handle by ourselves. The
only solution is to stop the war. But people are still coming, and for
me, the only alternative is to help them from the sea to safety. These
people have started a journey to a better life. I will not let the sea
stop them. They are leaving in order to stay alive.
A date forever imprinted in Stratos memory is October 27, 2009.
It was early morning and dark at the lighthouse in Korakas. The wind,
going north, was strong and the waves reaching high. Coming fast against
the hard rocks was a boat carrying refugees, as people have always been
fleeing to Lesvos. Stratos, together with two other fishermen, Dimitris
and his father in law Yorgos, were the only ones there to help them.
– The rocks surrounding the lighthouse are the worst place to land on
the whole island. The boat used a Suzuki motor of 250 CC and crashed
hard and fast on the rocks. The refugees didn’t wear life jackets, and
half of them were already unconscious, Stratos tells us.
Stratos jumped into the water, bringing child after child to Yorgos and
Dimitris. Then he focused on getting the mothers to safety, and after
that the fathers.
Ten were saved from the water. Ten died. The ambulance came to pick up
the dead bodies and after around two hours the Aegan sea was calm again.
About ten months later, the organisation w2eu arranged for the family to
show up at the restaurant Stratos worked at in Skala Sikamineas. They
were all crying and kissing him when he realized: they had come back to
thank him for saving them from the water. The youngest one being saved
from that family was only 9 months at the time of the rescue. Her
journey, and life, had continued thanks to Stratos risking his own life
to save them.
The survivors also put up a sign in his honour and as memorial for the
drowned at the lighthouse in Korakas.
It is still probably the most dangerous landing spot on the island. For
this reason, Lighthouse volunteers operate a night watch in Korakas
every evening to morning no matter how bad the weather conditions might
be, searching for boats that need assistance and guidance to safe
landing spots. Stratos continue to this day to give people in need a
warm welcome, helping people to finish their journey over the sea by
bringing them safely to shore.
Neither Stratos nor Emilia sees themselves as heroes. For them, helping
people in need is the normal thing to do.
Thank you, Stratos and Emilia and all other helpers in Skala Sikamineas,
and congratulations!
______
Photo of Stratos on his boat during a beach clean by Lighthouse Relief
volunteer Samuel Nacar.
Photos of Stratos with Yorgos and his family meeting the Afghan family
again and the picture of the family at the lighthouse in Korakas by
Marily Stroux.
Lighthouse - Refugee Relief on Lesvos Foto.
Lighthouse - Refugee Relief on Lesvos Foto.
Lighthouse - Refugee Relief on Lesvos Foto.
Lighthouse - Refugee Relief on Lesvos Foto.
Gefällt mirKommentierenTeilen
Chronologisch
Thor Foss, Sam Held und 398 anderen gefällt das.
107 Mal geteilt
Home »
» Greece LESVOS the story of the fischerman rescuing marila and her family 2009 in Korakas and our memorial