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For decades people searching for a better life have arrived on the North shore of Lesvos. However, the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded since the summer of 2015 outscales anything the island has experienced in living memory. Hundreds of thousands of people have reached the shores of Lesvos looking for hope, and many continue to do so. This album documents the efforts of the volunteers and first responders who man the North Shore Response - working together tirelessly to ensure everyone arrives safely. Photos were taken in Lesvos during June 2018 and August 2019.
Sunrise in Lesvos, and two volunteers scan the sea with binoculars and a telescope for potential boats crossing over from Turkey.
A volunteer scans the horizon with a telescope, looking for possible migrant boats crossing to Greece from Turkey.
The volunteer team leader points at a suspected dinghy and follows its movements with a telescope. Once a suspected dinghy is identified, the relevant authorities and Search and Rescue vessels are notified.
Search and Rescue volunteers coordinate with the spotting teams on land to approach the suspected dinghies and provide assistance if necessary.
Search and Rescue volunteers coordinate with the spotting teams on land to approach the suspected dinghies and provide assistance if necessary.
The Search and Rescue boat crew ride out to meet migrant boats in Greek waters and safely escort them to land, in coordination with the authorities and land spotting crews.
Search and Rescue boat crew scans the horizon for the exact location of a suspected migrant vessel.
The Emergency Response Officer of humanitarian relief organisation Lighthouse Relief signals to an approaching migrant dingy that is being escorted safely to shore by the Search and Rescue boat.
A dinghy full of migrants approaches the shore, followed closely by the Search and Rescue boat MoChara of Refugee Rescue.
A specially trained team of volunteers receive a dinghy full of people and motion for the boat to slow down as it approaches the beach.
The specially trained volunteer landing team of Lighthouse Relief hold the dinghy steady and help people to disembark in an safe and orderly fashion.
A volunteer helps carry a small child safely to shore during a disembarkation in the port of Skala Sikamineas.
A woman comforts her child, wrapped in an emergency blanket, during a late-night disembarkation in the port of Skala Sikamineas.
A volunteer uses a sheet of useful phrases to communicate with some young migrants at the clothes distribution point of the Stage 2 transit camp in Skala Sikamineas. People are given dry clothes, food and snacks upon arrival while they wait to be transported to the main detention centre of Lesvos in Moria.
The Emergency Response Coordinator of humanitarian organisation Lighthouse Relief offers water to people as they board the bus that will take them to the Moria detention centre.
A young child and the Emergency Response Coordinator share a brief moment of goodbye before the bus leaves for the Moria detention centre.
A shooting star falls above the infamous spotting hut in Korakas. This hut was built by volunteers in 2015 out of need, and has been used as a shelter for volunteers during night-spotting shifts ever since.