Lesbos

The Greek island of Lesbos has become one the main entry points to Europe for refugees. More than 500,000 reached the island in 2015.

People fleeing war and poverty, mostly fom Syria but also from countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or Morocco, have made their way through Turkey to Greece by sea. The transfer on inflatable dinghies across the Aegean Sea is risky and expensive, the boats are crowded with 40 – 60 people, each one of them has paid between 1.000 and 2.000 USD. If the weather conditions are bad, the refugees may get a discount. Boats often capszize as they reach the shore, many arrive traumatized and sometimes with hypothermia, some did not survive the journey.

Refugees inside the registration center in Moria village, November 30, 2015
An overcrowded boat on the sea crossing from Turkey to the island of Lesbos, Greece.
Children wrapped themselves in thermal blankets to protect against the wind and cold after their arrival.
A man keeps himself warm by an open fire at a make-shift camp close to the registration center in Moria village.
Volunteers wave life jackets to show refugees on a dinghy where they can arrive safely, Skala beach.
Life vests, inner tubes and rubber rafts on the Greek island of Lesbos, the basic equipment that thousands of refugees have used to cross to Greece from Turkey, November 2015.
An overcrowded boat carrying Syrian refugees heads to shore on Greek island of Lesbos.
Refugees wait at the harbour of Mytilini on Lesbos island in Greece for the ferry to Athens.
Refugees wait in a car near Skala beach of the Greek Island of Lesbos to be transported to a transition camp, November 2015.
Life vests, inner tubes and rubber rafts on the north coast of the Greek island of Lesbos.
An overcrowded dinghy with refugees arrive at Skala beach on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Life vests, inner tubes and rubber rafts on the Greek island of Lesbos.
A boy wrapped in a thermal blanket walk along Skala Beach on the Greek island of Lesbos, November 2015.
Refugees and migrants wait at the harbour of Mytilini on Lesbos island for the ferry to Athens.
A sign on the fence of the registration camp in Moria village on the Greek island of Lesbos.
After arriving on Greek island of Lesbos refugees stand in a queue in a transition camp, where they get food, water and dry clothes.
Men sit under a olive tree near the registration camp in Moria village on the Greek island of Lesbos.
A camp close to the registration center in Moria village, November 2015.
A shepherd looking at a huge pile of life vests, inner tubes and rubber rafts.
Shoes of a woman in the mud after a boat arrived on the beaches of Skala.
© Sandra Hoyn