Lesbos

Restoration efforts have begun to preserve the fading Ottoman-era monuments on the Greek island of Lesbos, a Greek official has announced.

The efforts of mayors of Lesbos, Greece and Lampedusa, Italy during the ongoing refugee crisis was recognized with the most official way as they were awarded the 2016 Olof Palme Prize.

For months Greek fisherman Stratis Valamios would steer his boat out to sea, only instead of fish, he pulled out people.
Day after day, rubber boats packed with refugees and migrants would attempt the short but dangerous crossing to Greece from Turkey, even as winter set in and the seas turned rough and winds grew violent.

New clashes between groups of refugees and migrants of different nationalities broke out on Monday evening inside the Moria hot spot in Lesvos, police said. Around 4,000 asylum seekers have escaped the camp in the Aegean island of Lesbos.

The blaze at the Moria camp has left a trail of destruction including damaged tents and housing units.

A two-day festival titled “Saint Valentine of Mytilene 2016″ is to take place on Lesbos during Valentine’s Day. Apart from being one of the most romantic waterfront settings of Greece, Lesbos feels a particular bond with Saint Valentine as the holy relics of the saint have been at the island since 1907.

Rescue guards from the island of Lesbos (Mytilene) gathered discarded life jackets thrown aside after migrants perilous journey to Greece from Turkey. They created a special Christmas tree to welcome the refugees at the coast of Neapoli, a southern town of Lesbos, where the gathering of migrants has not abated at all during the Christmas season.

A bevy of EU officials are in Athens on Wednesday for the departure of the first relocated refugees from Greece.

Lesvos island is one of the places which has suffered the most from the hundreds of refugees who continue landing on the island. But, despite all, the local people distinguish themselves from the politicians and political actions and show their affection and humanitarianism to the people who were forced to leave their country and risk their lives everyday.

By Melissa Fleming

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrived at the airport of Mytilene, Lesvos island shortly before 14:00 in order to have a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, the mayor of Lesbos, Spyros Galinos, and other bodies focusing on refugees crisis.

According to LesvosPost.gr Mr. Tsipras arrived at the island accompanied by strong police presence.