Greek volunteers awarded top UN humanitarian honour for efforts with migrants and refugees

6 September 2016 - A Greek human rights activist and a Greek volunteer rescue team - Efi Latsoudi and the Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) - have been jointly awarded this year's Nansen Refugee Award for their efforts to aid refugees arriving in Greece during 2015.

"Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and persecution last year made the desperate bid to reach Europe in search of safety, many risking their lives in unseaworthy boats and dinghies, in a journey which all too often proved insurmountable," the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a news release on the win.

"Both the Hellenic Rescue Team and Efi Latsoudi refused to stand by as they witnessed the dramatic humanitarian situation unfolding on their shores, and are fully deserving of the Nansen Refugee Award," Mr. Grandi added. "Their efforts characterize the massive public response to the refugee and migrant emergency in Greece and across Europe, in which thousands of people stood in solidarity with those forced to flee, and the humanity and generosity of communities around the world who open their hearts and homes to refugees."

According to a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), since 2007, Greece has been challenged by the arrival of a large number of refugees and migrants, but in 2015 sea arrivals escalated to an emergency. On the island of Lesvos alone, numbers topped 500,000 last year. In October 2015, arrivals peaked at more than 10,000 per day, as conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq continued to uproot people from their homes.

Efi Latsoudi stands at the entrance to "PIKPA village" on the Greek island of Lesvos. Photo: UNHCR/Gordon Welters

Konstantinos Mitragas of the Hellenic Rescue Team. Photo: UNHCR/Gordon Welters

Yanis, captain of a rescue boat of the Hellenic Rescue Team on Samos. Photo: UNHCR/Gordon Welters

Hellenic Rescue Teams on the Greek island of Samos conduct a training exercise. Photo: UNHCR/Gordon Welters

Seventeen-year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed fled Syria alone. He spent his first day in Europe at Moria, a closed facility on the Greek island of Lesvos. "I was scared because I was tired from the journey and I was alone." Photo: UNHCR/Gordon Welters

Volunteers from the Spanish group 'Proem-Aid' teach refugee children from "PIKPA village" how to swim. For many of the youngsters, who endured terrifying sea crossings from Turkey, it is a skill that will change their lives forever. Photo: UNHCR/Gordon Welters

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