I live in Leros, one of the islands in Greece heavily affected by the Syrian Refugee crisis. I am also part of the Leros Solidarity Network (Facebook: lerossn) which, in coordination with a number of organizations (UNHCR, MSF, etc.) and a multitude of volunteers from all around the world, has been helping literally hundreds of people during their short stay on the island, before they continue on their long and difficult journey towards (most often) Northern Europe.

For us on the island, the whole “refugee situation” as it is often referred to, has been an everyday reality for many months now. During all this time, and even though -compared to the volunteers- I don’t have the time to visit the Port Police and the Refugee Camp as often as I’d like because I have to work for most of the day, I had taken almost no photos. This may appear strange, especially for those who know me (I like to take pictures, a lot), but as we’ve often discussed with people on site, it basically feels strange taking photos of people when you’re in a situation where you could be doing more practical things to help, like actually handing out rations, blankets, sleeping bags or taking care of one of a thousand situations which exist at any time. So, basically, I hadn’t taken any photos and never even had my camera with me.

Today, however, I was asked by some people to take photos for them to send back to their respective organizations and, since this opportunity presented itself, I got some nice shots from the “temporary” refugee camp set up on the island of Leros. After shooting today, it clearly seems to me that it’s a good idea if I manage to do this more often both for very personal reasons and, of course, for general “awareness” reasons. (Although, I believe that, by now, there’s enough awareness and that the problems are systemic and run much deeper). The personal aspect of why I want to keep shooting is that, during this whole time, I have met many amazing people (from Syria and otherwise). I can call them nothing short of amazing, because of the positive attitude I have seen them display so often, in the face of truly horrific conditions. Their homes have been destroyed, their lives totally disrupted, they have been lied to, taken advantage of and have seen friends and relatives die, either back home or even here in the Aegean. And even though they are all naturally scared and extremely tired and weary, you witness so many of them smile, and feel genuinely happy inside a crappy, dirty camp that seems like hell to you, but is really heaven compared to the actual horrors of war.

Personally, I don’t like this whole rhetoric about Syrians that has been circulating, claiming that “they are just like us, because they have smartphones, etc.”. Even though it is absolutely true (Syrians are very much like us indeed), I don’t like this reasoning because it sort of presupposes that there are other people out there that are not very much like us (perhaps the Afghans or someone else) and therefore deserve less? People are people and they ALL deserve the absolute best.

I’m happy to be part of the Leros Solidarity Network during these very unfortunate times. Personally, I have learnt never to expect anything anymore from the authorities, the State and, especially, from our European leaders (ha!).  But, this whole situation, has definitely made me more positive and less cynical about the world in general because of the solidarity between people that I have personally experienced. The sheer amount of messages and donated things (clothes, food, blankets, etc.) we have received from people all around Greece and all around the world, and the number of volunteers who have showed up from every corner of the earth to lend a hand, truly make up for a wonderful experience.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games. The situation remains critical and it will only get worse with time. And, as always, many “players” are entering this “game” for very unsavory reasons (political and otherwise). But still, there are enough negative stories about the refugee crisis out there, so I wanted to make this a positive one. I would like the photos I take to serve as a testimony of these brave, unfortunate people. Let us see and remember, not only their tears and sorrow, but also their smiles and their joy. Let us embrace them and continue to help and accept them. Perhaps this way, we can finally learn to help each other as well.

hopefully, more photos will come soon.