Greek islands and Syrian refugees

Another stunning day of clear blue skies  over a sparkling sea.  We took a boat trip to the nearby island of Symi. Much smaller than Rhodes, with a very picturesque village. The ferry is the kind I remember from Greece - like a small ship that also takes cars and cargo. There would have been 3-4 hundred tourists onboard the slow 2 hour cruise along the coast of Turkey. A dry forbidding coastline with quite high crumbling cliffs in places, and no vegetation or signs of habitation. We came really close to Turkey, and it makes you think of the closeness of the borders in this part of the world, and how hard it must be to control/patrol/maintain/contain them. Nothing like our vast maritime boundaries.

The tourists on board appeared to be mostly from all over Europe with lots of different languages being spoken, and English not the majority. There were no cruise ships in the harbour so they would have all been staying at the local hotels. Lots of yachts out and about as well, so you have a picture of reasonable affluence and an indolent holiday atmosphere.

It's hard to see the crumbling Greek economy here, where the locals work hard over the summer months, and the tourists throng. Although apparently visitor numbers are down this year. It will be interesting to see if/how things are different in Athens.

Symi lived up to it's reputation and delivered a charming village built around a natural harbour. Not the blue and white houses of the Greek tourist hoots, but softly coloured stone houses that from a distance blend in with the rocky brown landscape. The island has a history of fishing and ship building, and there is a man made sea wall and roadway following the natural curves of the land.

While the tour groups huddled with their guides to discover the history, shopping and steep alleyways, we wandered along the Seawall admiring the small fishing boats, the shops selling sea sponges and looters, and the steep steps up to the houses that would surely keep you fit.

We came to the Police station right on the waterfront, and built by the Italians in the 1940's. Something was clearly going on as there were lots of men up on the veranda, and clothes and towels hanging over to dry.  My first thought was some kind of excursion party, but then I saw the clusters of people huddled in the shade of the clock tower - meagrel belongings spread about. Mostly young men, but a few women wearing headscarves, and a handful of small children. I saw a couple of cheap life vests, but no obvious boat that they would have arrived on - there is now a growing business in the transportation of refugees. Some of the young men had cellphones (and really nothing else) and I wondered about this - we looked it up later and it's how the refugees keep up with family, and also with news of those ahead of them and the best routes to take to Northern Europe. They must also have some money to be able to pay boatmen to drop them off at these islands that are so close to the Turkish mainland. 

We had seen a few Syrian refugees begging in Istanbul and they had an air of desperation about them. These ones on Symi  had made it to an outpost of Europe and appeared calm. One of the woman and I smiled at each other, and I felt inadequate. Later we saw the Police take some of the group to the ferry booking agency, where I presume they would begin the next stage of their journey.

It was a surreal experience that brought home the difficult and complex situation in this region of the world, and how removed we are from it in NZ. It was some small consolation that this group was being looked after by the local Police.