On behalf of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Greece, we would like to express our sincere condolences to the relatives and close friends of Father Efstratios Dimou, our Papa Stratis. 

The loss of a man who dedicated his whole life to offering and providing help to the persecuted and uprooted people, without paying any attention to their color or religion, is of outmost importance. When talking to us about the refugees that he has helped tirelessly and with consistent energy, he said “These people are children of the war, fleeing bullets. They are life seekers, they search for life, hope and the chance to live one more day.” Apart from the irreplaceable void that Papa Stratis is leaving behind, he is also leaving a precious legacy. The legacy of setting the example and of the work done through his organization in Kalloni, Lesvos, “Agkalia” (“Hug”). 

The legacy of Papa Stratis is the wave of solidarity that was created towards the people who arrive on Greek shores and neighborhoods, in search of safety. A wave that reached huge proportions all around the country, with dozens of groups and local volunteer initiatives providing indispensable humanitarian assistance to refugees and migrants.

From Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros, and Kos to Athens, Idomeni, Kilkis, and Polykastro, the image of Papa Stratis will stay alive.

All of us will remember him as a noble and tireless man, as the fighter from the picture in a recent post that we had the honor to write about him at UNHCR’s website. It’s a picture that reminds us how long is the way that we still have to cover at an individual, collective, national, and European level.

Giorgos Tsarbopoulos

Head of Office, UNHR Greece