Refugee Crisis: Giant Peace Sign Made from Discarded Lifevests

It’s been bothering me that I know practically nothing about the crisis going on in Europe. Last night, I had a bout of insomnia and spent hours looking at my iPhone trying to learn a little about the situation. I watched many videos of real people crammed onto small boats, chilled and scared, arriving in Lesbos, Greece, as the first European port of call after fleeing Syria and other countries.

photo of boats filled with refugees c/o Wikipedia

I don’t know the answer, but, in my mind, it is no longer merely what can be done to alleviate the refugee situation, but rather what can people do to help these human beings who are in immediate need of food, medical attention and shelter.

I found it interesting that places such as Lesbos now have a mountain of lifevests, left behind by the refugees (see, this BBC article and video)

Life vests left by migrants and refugees after arriving on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey are seen on November 12, 2015 (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic) (http://news.yahoo.com/aid-groups-create-huge-peace-sign-life-jackets-173151674.html)

Now, for the New Year, a number of aid groups came together – they took over 3,000 discarded lifevests and made this giant peace sign.  To me, this symbolizes not only peace, but also that there is hope for these families, these children.

A photo released by Greenpeace and taken on January 1, 2016 on the Greek island of Lesbos shows a peace sign created from over 3,000 discarded refugee life jackets, calling for safe passage to those fleeing war, poverty and oppression. (AFP Photo/Florian Schulz) (http://news.yahoo.com/aid-groups-create-huge-peace-sign-life-jackets-173151674.html)