Uprooted lives, losses, struggle for a “passage” to the West, exploitation, violence, death, despair. OUR refugee crisis has many aspects that have been strongly experienced in the previous decade by islands such as Lesvos. Volunteer divers diving a few days ago in the port of Panayuda, a little north of Mytilini, faced a less important than human drama, but no less important effect: the “fingerprint” of the refugee crisis on the marine environment.

“The feeling is very bad, as if you are at the site of a shipwreck. You think you’re going to pick something up and find someone’s body,” says O. George SarelakosHead of the organization Aegean breath. “The bottom was littered with clothes for adults and children, life jackets, children’s toys, backpacks, shoes, and various personal items. How to collect what is left of the tragedy. We do dozens of underwater cleanings every year, but I’ve never experienced anything like it before. When we dragged them into the harbor and laid them out to count and photograph (as we always do), the sight was indeed quite unpleasant. Instead of just thinking about the pollution of the bottom, you wonder if these people drowned or were alive, if the clothes were thrown and brought here by the stream, or people lost them trying to escape.

The volunteer organization was in the area with the support of a group of coastal boats, carrying out a complex action that included cleaning the coastal zone and the seabed, informing the local population and research activities. “Unfortunately, the seabed in Panayud, which is located near Kara-Tepe, near the mouth of the river and opposite Türkiye, extremely burdensome. Not only with things of refugees, but also with a lot of garbage. We stayed for two days and did our best, but the actual cleaning would have taken many more days. I wonder what the situation could be at the bottom and in other parts of the island, on its eastern side, where the boats from Turkey tried to get.”

In addition to the volunteers of the organization, refugee children also took part in the actions. “There were some refugees from Sudan, young people. We were asked what we are doing, they immediately offered help and even with special zeal. On the contrary, the Greeks showed little interest,” says Mr. Sarelakos. Since the beginning of 2023, Aegean Rebreath has already carried out five cleanups, with 15 more planned this year in various regions of Greece.