Last week I returned from two weeks on the Greek Island of Lesvos which is where 1000's of refuges fleeing their homes in Syria are arriving daily.
Syrian refugees are entering Turkey along their shared land border and then entering Greece by sea, often on the flimsiest vessels. As winter is here the situation is becoming more and more hazardous, the weather is worsening and the boats are capsizing.
Often rescuers on the beaches and on rescue boats are forced to choose who to save as their are so many people in the water.
Last week a vessel containing 300 people capsized, only 250 could be saved.
As a human being I’ve held out a hand to an other and helped him for a moment. That’s what life is all about, instead of political posturing. It’s about action, lateral thinking, helping, being human and looking after other people.
We need more people to help in Greece, and we need a boat to assist the rescue of capsized vessels, so I have returned to Belfast to organise a team of people to return with me on the 1st December, and to raise funds for chartering/hiring/buying a boat.
We will continue to organise groups to go out on a regular basis to help until the crisis ends.