The Kythera Solidarity Group made the following announcement via social media:
The days that have passed will be etched in us forever. A huge life lesson through which we came out stronger, more united.
Our story begins on Sunday 2/10 when a boat with 47 migrants appears on our island. The fourth boat in 1.5 months.
Our team was there from the very first moment to take care of their needs. The leftover supplies from the August shipwrecks that were hosted at a Domestic Property Committee site were very helpful as we were able to obtain and provide them immediately.
Among these people were 15 children, from infants to 8 years old. Seeing children being called upon to live through such moments makes you rethink many things and certainly makes you appreciate your own childhood as well as your children's. These people stayed 4 nights on the moor of Kapsali and only on their last night they slept in the school of Matata. As for their food, one breakfast and one lunch was provided by the Municipality and another by the Property Committee. Everything else was covered by our team and some local restaurateurs, to whom we thank them incredibly much!
On Wednesday 5/10 in the evening we learn that there is a shipwreck in Diakofti with some dead. Until this information was confirmed we could not have imagined it. The reality in the end was beyond our imagination. People huddled on a small rock, trying to hold on for dear life and the wave hitting them hard. We saw people getting lost, heard people crying for help, cared for people looking for their mother; their father; their brother; their sister; their wife; their husband. The images that those of us who were there that day saw will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
The people of Kythera for those hours that they were there became all one. Saving these people in any way possible was our only concern. Firefighters, rescue team, coastguards and many Kythera residents did their best to come up with a rescue plan from land. A boat rope tied from the fire truck with 10-15 men pulling any of the castaways who could hold it to climb up and a crane with a construction bag to lift people up were the options these people had to get to land, who would have had no chance otherwise. Kythera Hospital along with volunteers were there to treat them and give them first aid.
Score: 80 people saved and more than 15 lost. The feelings are mixed and there are no words to describe them.
The sequel is written with our team taking the main role in the care of the rescued. Fortunately an order was given by the municipality to open the school in Kastrisianika, where the people in charge of the site were rushing at 00:30 in the evening to prepare it so that the migrants could find shelter and warmth. Everyone mobilized so that they could have the first basic things: blankets, food, water and most importantly... safety. People in shock, hungry, thirsty, injured. Physical wounds were the easiest to heal. Relatives of the migrants came from different countries for the unpleasant process of identifying those found dead (9 so far), where we stood by them and helped them as much as we could so that their stay and the process needed to be made easier. A very difficult situation for everyone, but through solidarity and humanity, these people felt a comfort and gained strength to be able to support their surviving relatives and to manage it better within themselves.
The people stayed on our island for a week, where our team in cooperation with hundreds of other Greeks and foreigners who sent things from far away, with the contribution of the Region this time, with the school officials and the good understanding we had with the authorities, we managed to relieve them from the pain they have and not to feel helpless.
We saw them crying but in the end we saw them smiling.
They thanked us from the bottom of their hearts and told us that they would never forget what we did for them and that they considered us angels. Of course they were not only referring to their care, but also to all those people who were there the night of the wreck and helped them.
That for us is the biggest prize!!!!
We choose to keep only the positive aspects of this experience and that is why we would like to point out that if there is cooperation, good will and above all real interest of all the island's institutions and volunteers, we can do many things as long as the goal is common: respect for human life and solidarity.
Whether mistakes were made, whether things could have been done differently, we don't know. We as a team always do a review of what we have done and what we haven't done in order to get better. We hope that others do the same, as we wouldn't want to go through an experience like this again.
As the people left our island, they said some words to us, in which they wished for a world without war and violence. We wish the same and we add: “To a world without war and violence, without divisions, with more empathy and respect around us!”
Thank you very much to everyone who offered help from far and near. We would like to mention them all by name but there are so many that we would not want to forget a single one. If any of those who have helped us are reading this, please know that they have given us a lot of strength and a lot of help. We are honored to have so many people trust us.
The epilogue of our post will be a poem by one of the migrants who sent it to us:
“A dark and silent night in the heart of the sea
Among the heavy waves
Wounded body from the anger of the wave and the cruelty of the rock
a cold and silent heart
Suddenly, there was a light in that darkness
And that light imelted ice of this tired body
A light as warm as the summer sun
I do not know who they were
Because I have never seen anything like them
And of course I won't see it in the future either
Maybe they were not human at all or from this planet
I do not know ...”
THE KYTHIRA SOLIDARITY GROUP
