From Tourists to Refugees: The Story of Lesvos Rachael Wright
Before the island of Lesvos, Greece became synonymous with the Syrian war and refugee crisis; it had its own colorful history not least, 81 BC when the capital city of Mitilini was besieged by Roman forces; including Julius Caesar. Mitilini stood accused of revolt against Rome and aiding and abetting pirates of the region. In 2015 and 2016, Lesvos was besieged again, but this time by tens of thousands of people, fleeing war, violence, and economic instability in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. After crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey, they arrived in Lesvos, often after harrowing evening crossings. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 489 people went missing on the Mediterranean in the first four months of 2018. During 2015 Lesvos, and its population of 85,000, played host to more than five hundred thousand migrants and asylum seekers; nearly half of all the migrants who transited through Greece on their way to destinations in northern Europe. Assuming that their boat didn’t run out of fuel, the motor didn’t fail (a rarity in winter), and they weren’t intercepted by the Turkish Coast Guard, asylum seekers and refugees would be met on the beaches by local volunteers. Aid organizations flocked to Lesvos, including the International Rescue
Committee, but it was the islanders themselves who led rescue and relief efforts. Eric and Philippa Kempson, longtime British expatriates, and Melinda McRostie, a Greek-Australian restaurant owner, initially led the volunteer response. Though Lesvos was quick to aid those reaching Lesvos’ shores, the influx of thousands of people a day placed immense strain on the island’s economy, which is primarily agricultural, as well as on Greece, which after the EU bailout was under strict austerity measures. The island’s tourism fell to naught and thousands of Greeks suddenly found themselves out of work.
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