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| Why nylou.com no longer presents Patmos |
| Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself |
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| The Kathimerini newspaper report on the Patmos incident. |
Patmos island's selling point has always been spirituality linked with the Monastery of Saint John and the writing of Book of Revelations on the island. This has attracted a number of marquee name visitors to Patmos, which has established itself as a cosmopolitan destination for sophisticated and discerning vacationers. We think that this reputation was irretrievably blackened in September 2008 and nylou.com will no longer include Patmos in its travel guide.
We could write an angry editorial to explain our decision. Fortunately, there is no need to do that. The following story, appearing on one of the most serious Athens daily newspapers tells all:
KATHIMERINI newspaper
Sunday, 21 September 2008
By Maria Delithanassi
The humanitarian problem created over the weekend (19-21/9/2008) in the Dodecanese raises serious questions concerning the authority vested on local municipalities. The authorities in Patmos forbade the landing on their island of 133 illegal migrants that arrived from the Turkish coast. This particular "human load" included 25 children aged between 40 days and 10 years, their mothers, about 50 unescorted minors and some adult males. Countries of origin: Afghanistan and Iraq.
The decision by the Municipal Council of Patmos to ban illegal migrants from the island was enforced last Friday, when about seventy, soaking wet and hungry men who tried to enter Greece illegally were not allowed to disembark the commercial boat Kalymnos that carried them from the tiny island of Agathonissi to Patmos. Finally, they were let in at the nearby island of Leros, where they were processed overnight and sent to Athens on a regular ferry. That same night, in a meeting at Patmos on the matter, Mayor Grigoris Kamposos and Prefect Giannis Macheridis, supported the decision. The dominant argument heard during the meeting was "in Malta they sink their boats and in Italy they drown them".
The situation turned into an emergency when, on Saturday morning, the tiny, arid Agathonissi island, home to 80 shepherds and fishermen, experienced the arrival of illegal immigrant mothers with children. From Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon, the few inhabitants of Agathonissi collected from around the island, in their fishing boats, 133 people, mostly mothers with babies and small children. These 133 managed to save themselves after the human traffickers slashed and sank the inflatable boats they use, as soon as they entered Greek territorial waters.
Kathimerini newspaper managed to reach Agathonissi community leader Evagelos Kotoros on Sunday afternoon, who said "We are still collecting survivors, mostly children. I was a teacher once. I cannot abandon children. Patmos is not accepting them. I called the prefect. I called the head of the regional authority. I don’t know what will happen. We have no more food left. The babies are crying because they are hungry and I have nothing to give them. They are all soaking wet and we have no clothes to provide them. I don't know what to do. Last night I put them up at the warehouse of the farmers' co-op. We will not stand another night like this."
The solution was given by the Interior Minister, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who issued orders to collect the illegal immigrants and transfer them to Leros. In contrast with the people of Patmos, the people of Leros, led by the municipal council, the mayor and the local clergy, rushed to the harbor to greet and help the refugees.
When, on Sunday afternoon, the boat Kalymnos picked up the last group of refugees from Agathonissi, the people of Patmos gathered at the harbor, led by the mayor, to block them from disembarking on their island. Their stand was described by the local newspaper: "The people of Patmos did see the immigrants, albeit not disembarking but enjoying the view of the island from the ship's deck". In the end, those final castaways were transported to Leros, an island hard-pressed to maintain its humanity, since illegal migrants have jumped from 945 in 2007 to 2,600 this year, including many children."
We, at nylou.com, cannot, in good conscience, keep presenting Patmos. If Patmos is where you want to go, please Google it. We are done with it. There are limits to commercial pursuits and we feel no need to cross them. |
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