The Aegean: A sea of refugees

In 2015, the Greek public was shocked to learn about the young Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, who lost his life in the waters of the Aegean while trying to reach Europe with his family. They were seeking a better future. That story is only one aspect of the drama of the Syrian refugees, who even today continue to attempt the Aegean crossing after escaping the war that is tearing their country apart. Thousands have arrived on the Greek islands of the eastern Aegean, the first station of their odyssey, where Greek islanders have welcomed them. Hundreds of others, unfortunately, lost their lives trying.

Almost seven decades before little Alan Kurdi's death, another refugee incident appeared in the headlines in September 1945. The British ship Empire Patrol caught fire while carrying 464 Greek refugees home from Port Said in Egypt. As a result, 33 refugees, among them 11 children,...