According to UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report, the highest level of forced displacement was 65.3 million people at the end of 2015, thousands of whom died at sea trying to reach Europe. This emergency is mostly triggered by conflicts occurring in countries in the Middle East and Africa. These cause men, women and children to risk their lives to reach safety. The main countries of influx are the Mediterranean countries, such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta, as they are close and safe lands to the Middle East and Africa. Today, however, the border between Greece and Turkey, separated by the Aegean Sea, has become one of the main sites of migration to Europe.

Refugees arrive in Skala Sykamineas in dinghies, very unsafe boats. Moreover, sometimes they do not even wear life jackets or false life jackets which, instead of floating, sink instead, promoting the risk of shipwreck. As a result, those who do make it are often completely wet and at risk of hypothermia. The role of both Lighthouse Relief and Refugee Rescue is precisely to establish a 24-hour response every day of every year in order to prevent any accidents in the Aegean Sea. And thus ensure the safe passage of those people to Europe. When these NGOs receive groups of refugees, they are also responsible for providing them with clothes and shoes before they leave for the island’s main camp, Moria. This provision of clothing is essential for the well-being and health of all those who have had to flee their countries.