It is volunteers from organisations such as mine,Crossing Channels, that watch over the refugees in rubber boats. The official response is shamefulWhen I first hear the news approximately the boat sinking in the Aegean sea on the radio, or I contemplate of the SOS call I made to the Turkish coastguard that afternoon approximately what might have been this very boat. I often call in the coordinates of such refugee boats in distress from my base in Amsterdam,so I can’t be sure. I am a volunteer for and the founder of Crossing Channels, an organisation that mediates between refugees, and volunteers,aid workers and rescue teams. A record 242 lives were saved from the Lesbos wreckage. This should be cause for celebration. But between 40 and 60 lives are possibly lost. And I am lost for words.
Today the Aegean is rough with tall waves. The volunteers working through online solidarity networks knew it would be a day full of distress calls. By disseminating translations of weather warnings into many languages they tried to warn refugees approximately the hazardous conditions, urging people not to attempt a passage today – but too often this information does not reach the people who need it most.
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Source: theguardian.com