“They just keep coming,” I thought as I
stood on the northern shore of Lesbos in Greece. Raft after raft landed
up and down the coast of this enchanted island. It was surreal. This
set the tone for the next two weeks, following the route of refugees and migrants looking for a better life.
I was moved to tears watching a young boy gather as much bread as he
could carry at an aid station, and I was truly inspired by the men who
dived into the sea when their engine quit, pushing and pulling their
raft to the rocky shoreline near Skala Sykamnias. At times they walked
for miles
in unbearable heat, not necessarily knowing where they were but knowing it was better than the world they fled.--By Boston Globe photographer
Craig F. Walker
1
Samer Shkeer, a Syrian refugee, prays after crossing the
Aegean to the shore of Skala Sykamnias on the island of Lesbos, Greece,
on Sept. 11. From there the refugees follow the road to Mytilene,
passing through Sykamnias where they camp for the night. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
2
Syrian refugees push and pull their boat through the Aegean
Sea as they approach the shore near Skala Sykamnias on Sept. 12. The
boat’s engine died halfway across the 6-mile channel, forcing the
refugees
into the water. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
3
Danish Muslim World Aid volunteer Sadia Durrani comforts a
Syrian refugee on the shore near Skala Sykamnias after the boat’s engine
died, forcing refugees to swim with the boat to shore. From there they
follow
the road to Mytilene, passing through Sykamnias where they camp for the night. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
4
Volunteer Linda Blaack of Holland receives a child as Syrian refugees land on Lesbos. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
5
Syrian refugee Mohammad Omar Marish, 4, cries after arriving on the shore near Skala Sykaminias. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
6
An exhausted Afghani refugee, Rahman Azimi, collapses on
the shore of Lesbos on Sept. 13. The refugees still have to walk 30
miles to their next destination, Mytilene, where they hope take a ferry
to Athens.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
7
A child is pulled from a life boat carrying 70 migrants,
most of them refugees, who were rescued by local fisherman after the
engine failed halfway through the trip. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
8
Derar Sweida of Syria studies a cellphone while resting in
the street in Sykamnias on Sept. 11. He arrived on a boat earlier in the
day. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
9
Syrian refugees warm their hands while resting in Skala Sykamnias on Sept. 11. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
10
Syrian refugee Yettea shows his scars after arriving on the
shore near Skala Sykamnias. He was fleeing Syria where he had been shot
twice. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
11
Salal Hassan, 35, from Iraq tosses his life jacket onto a
pile after crossing the Aegean. Immediately after landing, the personal
trainer changed into his Boston Celtics jersey, a gift from a friend.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
12
After boats arrive, local scavengers strip them of anything
reusable as quickly as possible. Two men fight over the motor of a boat
that carried migrants across the Aegean. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
13
Afghani sisters Feroza, left, and Nelopa Omer pose for a
portrait after crossing with their family. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
14
A group of Iraqi refugees begin walking the 30 miles to
their next destination, Mytilene, where they hope take a ferry to
Athens. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
15
Ali Karem, left, and Ali Asem from Iraq rest while waiting
to board a ferry at the port in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos on
Sept. 14. Karem said they will follow the migration through eastern
Europe.
Asem’s father was killed during the war. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
16
Syrian refugee Hamud Hamud gets a haircut from his son
Assam Hamud while staying at Kara Tepe refugee camp outside Mytilene on
Lesbos, Greece. In time they hope to board a ferry to Athens.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
17
Children share a laugh while waiting to board a ferry at
the port in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. (Craig F. Walker/Globe
Staff)
18
Refugees and migrants arrive at the Macedonia border
crossing outside of Idomeni, Greece, on Sept. 16. From there the
migrants will travel by train or bus to the Serbian border. (Craig F.
Walker/Globe Staff)
19
Refugees and migrants on foot bypass razor wire as they
enter Macedonia at the border crossing outside of Idomeni, Greece, on
Sept. 16. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
20
Refugees and migrants arrive at the Macedonia border
crossing outside of Idomeni, Greece, on Sept. 16. (Craig F. Walker/Globe
Staff)
21
Refugees and migrants arrive at a temporary transit center
after crossing from Greece to Gevgelija, Macedonia, on Sept. 16. (Craig
F. Walker/Globe Staff)
22
A volunteer with the United Nations refugee agency bathes a
6-month-old Syrian baby, Miraz, at a temporary transit center after
crossing from Greece to Gevgelija, Macedonia, on Sept. 16.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
23
Syrian refugee Samiha rests her niece Jumard, 8 months, at
the temporary transit center in Gevgelija, Macedonia, on Sept. 16. They
were waiting for the train that will take them to the to the Serbian
border.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
24
A man entertains his children at the temporary transit
center in Gevgelija, Macedonia, while waiting for the train. (Craig F.
Walker/Globe Staff)
25
A Syrian girl rests with her family at the temporary
transit center in Gevgelija, Macedonia, on Sept. 16. (Craig F.
Walker/Globe Staff)
26
A member of a Macedonia rapid deployment unit instructs
refugees and migrants boarding a train at a temporary transit center
after crossing in Gevgelija, Macedonia, on Sept. 16. (Craig F.
Walker/Globe Staff)
27
A Syrian refugee sits down after boarding a train at a temporary transit center on Sept. 16. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
28
A man rests following his arrival at the train station in
Tovarnik, after crossing the border from Serbia to Croatia, Sept. 18.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
29
Refugees and migrants reach for food distributed by members
of the Red Cross at the train station in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 18.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
30
A young man watches police at the train station in
Tovarnik, Croatia, on Sept. 18. Here refugees and migrants board trains
and buses to continue their journey. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
31
A Syrian family rests in the backyard of a local
resident’s home in Tovarnik, Croatia, on Sept. 18. The owners were
dismayed when they returned home to see so many refugees and migrants in
their yard.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
32
A group of Afghani migrants lock their arms while waiting
to board a bus in Tovarnik, after crossing the border from Serbia to
Croatia, Sept. 18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
33
Police watch over refugees and migrants waiting to board a
train at the station in Tovarnik, Croatia, that will take them toward
western Europe, Sept.18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
34
Refugees and migrants wait on the tracks for a train to
arrive at the station in Tovarnik, after crossing the border from Serbia
to Croatia, Sept. 18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
35
A police officer stops a man from boarding a train at the
station in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 18. The police were boarding those
most in need first. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
36
Women wait to board a train for refugees and migrants at
the station in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept.18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
37
A woman reaches for a child while boarding a train in
Tovarnik, Croatia, for refugees and migrants who had recently crossed
the border from Serbia, Sept.18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
38
A family boards a train for refugees and migrants in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
39
A woman and children sit on the track after not boarding a
train filled with refugees and migrants at the train station in
Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept.18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
40
A boy displays the victory sign after boarding a train in Tovarnik, Croatia, on Sept. 18. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
41
A procession of migrants uses a bike path to leave
Hegyeshalom, Hungary, on Sept. 21. They walked 3 miles to cross the
border into Austria. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
42
A Hungarian police officer leads a procession of refugees
and migrants through a neighborhood in Hegyeshalom, Hungary, on Sept.
22. After 1,000 people arrived at the train station they walked 3 miles
to cross
the border into Austria. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
43
A young boy gathers as much bread as he can hold at an aid
station just before crossing the Austrian border outside of Hegyeshalom,
Hungary, on Sept. 22. Volunteers have converted a defunct border place
into an aid station, offering food and water to the refugees and migrants. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
44
Syrian men race to an aid station just before crossing the
Austrian border outside of Hegyeshalom, Hungary, on Sept. 21. (Craig F.
Walker/Globe Staff)
45
Volunteers hand out hot tea to migrants at an aid station
just before crossing the Austrian border outside of Hegyeshalom,
Hungary, on Sept. 21. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
46
A Syrian youth tosses his brother into the air while they
wait to board buses near Nickelsdorf, Austria, on Sept. 21. An estimated
5,000 migrants arrived on this day. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
47
A German police officer photographs a Syrian family during a
preregistration process at the train station in Freilassing, Germany,
on Sept. 24. Here, police photograph and fingerprint the migrants and
check for
criminal history. The train, from Salzburg, Austria, carried 400
migrants and refugees into Freilassing, which was receiving about 1,000
migrants a day. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
48
Ammar, left, was reunited with his wife and daughter on a
bridge in Freilassing, Germany, where refugees and migrants were waiting
on Sept. 23. Ammar said he has been living in Germany after fleeing
Syria
20 months ago. His wife and daughter spent the past 23 days traveling with refugees to join him. (
