On the island of Lesvos among the forgotten refugees

Little by little, the human tsunami coming from the sea carrying desperate people on the run, has turned into a rivulet of voluntary returns from the island, long considered a symbol of the 2015 migration crisis in the eastern Mediterranean. For some time, Lesvos has been at the heart of Syrian migration flows heading from Turkey to Europe on boats, even in dramatic conditions. In 2021, the number of arrivals to Greece and in particular to Lesvos dropped considerably. According to unhcr data, 925 people entered the Aegean islands irregularly between 1 January and 11 April 2021, most of them landing on the island. In the same time period last year, the arrivals had been 7,591 which means there has been an 89% drop. The numbers are decreasing but the problems of a humanity so tragically wounded have multiplied. Fr Leone Kiskinis, the only ...