Paolo Pellegrin Volunteers help refugees come ashore near the village of Skala Sikamineas, on the northern tip of the Greek island of Lesbos, after travelling on an inflatable raft from Turkey. After reaching the
(...) island, they have to walk for 55 kilometers in order to reach Mytilini. Once in the capital, they can start the registration process with the Greek authorities. By the moment their registration is completed, they can board a ferry that will take them to the mainland. Since the very high numbers of arrivals, the registration process takes at least one week or more. During this time, the living conditions of the refugees are extremely difficult.
Thousands of refugees are coming into Lesbos every day in these last days of summer. Syrians make up for roughly 70% of arrivals.
According to numbers released by the UNHCR so far in 2015 ( July 2015), over 225,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by sea in the Mediterranean and around 2,100 are estimated to have died or gone missing while trying to reach Europe.
Lesbos, Greece, August 2015 © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos