The Coast Guard rescued 106 refugees, including many young children, off the coast of Tilos. The mayor of the island, Maria Kamma, was at the port at that moment and was verbally attacked by a tourist who was disturbed by the incident.
And it wasn’t just annoyance; she went a step further, urging Maria Kamma to do the “right” thing and “throw the refugees into the sea.”
Maria Kamma, in a post on her personal Facebook account, describes the incident and repeats the response she gave to the irked swimmer.
“Madam, this island is not for you,” Maria Kamma will reiterate, and she will do it as many times as needed.
The post by the mayor of Tilos, Maria Kamma
“Tonight, all of us who found ourselves at the port of Tilos faced both sides of the coin…
One hundred six (106) refugees, among them many children, were able to safely reach our island.
The scenes I personally witnessed shattered me…
Men, crying and holding some of their young children in their arms, thanking the coastguards and trying to kiss their hands…
The coastguard officers, with great care, lifted children and the injured and brought them down from the ship.
Police, medical and nursing staff were there, as well as local residents offering dry clothes, bread, shoes, and whatever else they could quickly bring…
Unfortunately, many little children and babies…
And suddenly a “lady” who is presumably ruining her vacation (this noise!) at the port starts yelling where are they taking them, why are you gathering them?
Thinking that she disagreed with the process of registering refugees by the coast guard, I responded that madam, this is how it is done, the coastguards are leading them to the port authority to be registered.
But no!
“Throw them into the sea!”
This was the “lady’s” wish! And she starts lecturing me! How we must keep our country and our lands Greek, how we are Christians, and “they” have no place here!
To expel them, to throw them into the sea since they bring them to our islands, referring to the coast guard men who transported 106 human souls, that was their crime!
That’s why the woman got angry, folks! She was watching the coastguard men helping the children descend from the vessel, and she got upset because they didn’t speak Greek and weren’t “Christian children.”
We were thanking them and she almost cursed them!
And she also had the audacity to want to film me because I dared to tell her how wrong she was. “Who are you?” I asked her who I am, so tell me your name, and she told me a name, I don’t know if it’s real, but I indeed told her and will say it again:
Madam, this island is not for you.”
Maria Kamma, mayor of Tilos
“The society of Tilos believes in humanity”
This is not the first time that the island of Tilos makes “headline news” for the right reasons. In mid-August, the rescue of a 50-day-old refugee baby, who was trapped in the mountains with its parents for three days, moved everyone.
We must not forget that the Municipal Council of Tilos was the first to unanimously decide to accept and host refugees in its community.
Mayor Maria Kamma, speaking to VIMA about the first same-sex marriages performed in Tilos in 2008, made a specific mention that encapsulates the timeless mindset of the entire local community.
“We are talking about human rights and here everything begins and ends. The society of Tilos believes in humanity, believes in the freedom and happiness of people.
The society of Tilos has such a perspective; let’s not forget how we have managed the refugee issue in recent years.”
Against the dehumanizing disregard for human life, voices like that of the mayor of Tilos will be heard loudly to remind everyone of the vital importance of solidarity and charity.