I do not have words to express what I saw the other day in Lesvos, Greece. I keep thinking that if I explain it enough, or show you the gravity of the situation, you might understand, but the reality is that some things live on in your spirit like a scar, and only you can comprehend how that feels.
A couple days ago, my host walked us up a large hill through the Greek countryside to what they call the “Life Jacket Graveyard.” Basically, the Lesvos locals have constructed a makeshift dump to handle the trash from the incoming refugees. Every life jacket, every broken boat, every loose shoe, ends up in the graveyard.
The graveyard has been emptied 3 times already, but right now, over 400,000 life jackets sit lifeless as a gruelling testament to the gravity of the refugee crisis. Some of them aren’t even real life jackets. They are filled with a foam that will sink upon contact with water, dragging men, women, and children to a watery grave.
As I arrived at the grave yard, I was overwhelmed by the 15 foot tall orange mountains that surrounded me. Each life jacket represented a story, a life, a tragedy.
And then my heart stopped. In a sea of over 400,000 life jackets, I could only focus on one.
It was a tiny yellow life jacket. It was nothing more than a pool toy made for a baby. It was decorated with smiling sea creatures and hung innocently amongst the sea of orange.
I crumbled. That was a baby. A baby whose entire life was surrounded by war, fear, and tragedy. This baby travelled across freezing cold water on a tiny overloaded boat, and did he/she even make it? Or was this baby among the hundreds that met a watery grave at the bottom of the Aegean?
As an American, I was desensitized to the pain of the Refugee Crisis. They were far away people in a far away land running from a far away war I didn’t understand.
But now I am here. I have seen their faces. They are not poor, helpless creatures I have to save. They are strong, resilient, beautiful men, women, and children that have stood tall in the face of an incredible adversary.
They are saving me. They are challenging me. In a sea where you can see only darkness, are you going to chase after the light?
Are you going to put on a life jacket and jump into the waves?
