At the same time Greece is trying to face a huge economic crisis, it is also struggling to cope with waves of immigrants and refugees from war-torn and poverty-stricken areas. The island of Lesbos, an ouzo-making agricultural and resort island only about six miles from the Turkish coast, is often the first place smugglers dump their human cargo.
Stratis Balaskas dedicates a revealing publication on the exploitation of immigrants who arrive in Lesbos. Everyone knows but nobody talks. The police see but do nothing against the local mafia.
In the early morning hours of Dec. 15, the coast guard found 18 corpses of immigrants and one survivor in Thermi, Lesvos. So what?
One could say it is a story similar with that of Uncle Tom’s cabin, but yet not a product of a writer’s imagination. It is the reality for those who cross the river that separates Lesbos and the Turkish coast. Those are the actual stories of illegal immigrants arriving on the island, victims of the local mafia.
Accidents and deaths on the border unfortunately are daily experiences for refugees trying to reach a safe haven. Some manage to rescue themselves, but live under inhuman, unbearable conditions while others get trapped, leaving their dead corpses behind as the only indication of their existence.
(Source: lesvosnews)
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