What is the refugee journey?

It should be obvious that not every refugee has the same story.  However, as was explained here and here, the refugees currently on Lesvos have all passed through Turkey and arrived in Greece via boat.

In 2015 thousands upon thousands of refugees began arriving every day on the island.  Lesvos is an island with a population of roughly 90,000 people.  They regularly received 7,000-8,000 people per day; one day they received 10,000 refugees!*

Prior to March 2016, the refugees arrived by boat in Lesvos and after 3-5 days, having received the necessary food, water, and clothing, continued on to mainland Europe.  After March 2016, however, Lesvos became a holding cell as countries all over Europe closed their boarders (even Greece refused refugees on Greek islands to freely travel to mainland Greece).  Now refugees who arrive in Lesvos are there for several months rather than days; some have even been there as long as a year.

You can hear more about the journey of a refugee once they've reached Lesvos through this short video.**


3. What is the journey that refugees are on? from Jordan Egli on Vimeo.


*We watch an incredibly moving documentary called 4.1 Miles that follows the Greek Coastguard during rescue missions off Lesvos.  I was really touched by the Greek people through this 22 minute documentary and would encourage you to watch it, though be sure to have the tissues close!

**Contact Kate for the password