LESBOS, Greece — Most drowned making the hazardous sea crossing from close by Turkey, whereas others died of pure causes in migrant camps on the Greek island of Lesbos.
After years of neglect, a makeshift burial floor for migrants on the island has been cleaned up and landscaped to supply a dignified resting place for the lifeless, and for his or her kinfolk to go to.
Earth Medication, the Lesbos-based charity that dealt with the undertaking close to the village of Kato Tritos, formally handed over the redesigned cemetery to municipal officers on Wednesday.
“We needed it to be clear that this was a burial floor, (largely) for individuals who died at sea — a few of whom have been recognized whereas others haven’t,” Earth Medication spokesman Dimitris Patounis mentioned. “It was once only a area.”
For years, Lesbos has been a significant vacation spot for folks searching for a greater life within the European Union. They depart Turkish shores crammed into small, unseaworthy vessels supplied by smuggling gangs. About 3,800 folks have made the journey thus far this yr.
Earlier than the intervention, the weed-choked graves have been marked by a easy stone with a quantity written on it by marker, or, within the uncommon circumstances when it was out there, a reputation. At the moment, about 200 neat, uniform grey slabs crammed with white gravel cowl every grave, clearly itemizing no matter is thought of the occupant.
“Now folks will be capable of go to when their (lifeless) kinfolk are recognized,” Patounis mentioned.
Officers stress that the burial floor is nondenominational, with current inhumation companies carried out by an Imam, a Greek Orthodox or a Catholic priest, based on the deceased’s identified beliefs.
“This was executed with human dignity in thoughts, with none spiritual affiliation,” Patounis mentioned.
The cemetery lies a couple of kilometer (½ mile) outdoors Kato Tritos in central Lesbos, round 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the island capital of Mytilini. Different migrants have been buried up to now in municipal cemeteries in different components of the island, however that is the one burial floor particularly for migrants.
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