Children of the Mediterranean: The odyssey of the Unescorted Refugee Children

By Giota Tsarmpopoulou

A new-historical, realistic, social-political novel. A current, strong reference to the refugee crisis, which strikes the unescorted innocent refugee children.
At the beginning of the autumn of 2014, Leto, a teacher of Greek literature is assigned in a secondary school of Kos, as a contract teacher. There, she meets a lot of refugees from Syria, who arrive on the island, with old and rusty boats, from the Turkish shores. After a big wreck, she consciously decides to help them as a volunteer in “Hippokratio” hospital of Kos. There, she is responsible for three heavily injured men from Syria. One of them is Aslan, a friend from their common post graduate studies in Aberdeen University, Scotland. In the same room, there are two other friends of him, Jamal and Ossama. They all accompany nine refugee children, orphans of the war. Leto is involved in the life of the three injured men and the nine refugee children. The refugee issue becomes her own issue, a part of her, which she wholeheartedly expresses through playing her guitar to her students of Kos throughout her whole life. She challenges the attitudes of European Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as all the involved nations. She stands by the unescorted refugee children, sensitively, who become victims of dangerous criminals and they get lost in den of vices of prostitution, pederasty, trafficking in human organs, drugs and so on, on their way to the Central and North Europe. Leto’s strong love for Aslan and her love for children leads her to the Central Europe where she participates energetically to the refugee matter, and she takes position practically, to an item which overconcerns all Europe, the whole world, the United Nations, as it brutally beats all the nations of Mediterranean Sea, pandering hidden and illegal interests, but obvious too.
A book which challenges racism, xenophobia and religious prejudice, stands by the human and supports the universal values that are torn up by the war, the civil war, the total hatreds, and fanatics. It is asking for solidarity and faithful implementation of laws and rules of the U.N., which are closely linked to the human rights.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Dec 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781911352549

Book preview

author

The Decision

After getting my degree from the University of Athens, I used to work at a Secondary School in Mets, Athens, just behind the Panathenian Stadium, as an hourly-paid teacher. The school, simple and quiet was almost leaning against the wall of the First Cemetery of Athens. Pay was meagre but the job was a lot and a responsible one. My teaching tasks were ‘Composition’ and ‘Modern Greek Literature’, which meant conveying modern Greek to my students at school, attempting to improve their written as well as oral expression skills. I did not always achieve it. Language cannot be taught in a single winter term, in just a few months in a year… Language is a sea! How on earth can any little poor devil who has failed to swim in it since a tender age through fairy stories, short stories, school books, literature texts and who remains impassive and uninterested in school, possibly learn to express him or herself in writing within a three-month period based only on teaching at school?

How can the parent comprehend this, when he looks me in the eye and insists?

"He must want to do this himself but also …be able to at the same time", I used to stress all the time.

I therefore had to put up extra effort for these children who were struggling due to their disproportional gaps in their education but with questionable effect. And all that without any particular gain for me, since the Greek State under the hardly bearable economic crisis, left no margin for any profit, owing to the unbelievable harsh taxation it had enforced on the Greeks, allowing for only a meagre, simple and struggling survival.

It must have been around the end of August when Helen, a dear old friend and university fellow student phoned me.

"Hey Leto, you wonderwoman, guess what! The first, few and far between, contract teacher assignments were announced by the Ministry of Education…! You have been assigned to the Dodecanese while I, to the Cyclades! The assignments have been posted in the newspapers just a while ago!" my friend announced with uncontained enthusiasm.

"Helen, what are you talking about? Are you sure?"

"Of course I am, I have the newspaper right here in front of me!"

"That’s strange, I sort of expected it next year, not this year…!" I responded reticently.

"Oh, come on, I’ll drop by this evening to pick you up for a glass of wine, just around the corner, at Barnabas square", she said decisively.

"All right, pick me up at eight", I answered rather numbly.

At eight, Helen made her appearance, dressed to the nines, perfumed, her face full of light! The familiar quaint little taverna we sat at, titillated our noses with its appetizers and superb wine. Helen filled our glasses and we said "cheers" with wishes that warded off the financial crisis that was binding our hands, practically our lives and our hopes.

"To a better future than this ugly present…!" we said to each other in tandem and we meant it literally, sipping slowly that aromatic Nemea wine that filled the palate with several scents.

"At last to escape the misery of uncertainty, exploitation, and the dependence on others! This is a public school, with a meagre pay, but…a secure and decent job, having to do with adolescence and knowledge; my dearest, how sweet it sounds…!" Helen kept on repeating enthusiastically.

"So, what do we do now? We have to be going shortly. Some sailed away to Chios, while others to Mytilene…as the song says…" I answered wearily.

"I fail to see any enthusiasm in you, Leto. Was it not you who used to fill my ears every now and then with your desire to work as a contract teacher in a public school, saying that it was there that you could perform better, be creative on a wholly new context, and devote yourself more to your work? Was it not you who used to say that hourly-paid teaching is mere slavery? Now…why the long face?" she asked, seeking in my glance the true answer.

"Helen, I am not the hindrance here; I’ve been waiting for this like no one else on this earth…but it took too long to come. I’ve been waiting for it for years…and rather than it, life itself rushed in, scattering everything around, powerful winds swept me away, the truth terrified me, reality riveted me in place, my own parameters changed considerably… after Philip’s death, I really do not see the point of changing my place of stay, get away from it all and start a new life…what good would it do me anyway?", I responded mirthlessly.

"Yes Leto, you are right, it was hard and unexpected, death…in your life, literally and metaphorically, but it is you who must do the bouncing back now. Now you have a chance…" Helen said, seeking again to look me in the eye.

"No, now it’s too late…I am not in the mood. If I had a child, perhaps I could think about it…Everything would have been different. I would have a serious reason to escape that monster of a city for a small town near the sea and unlimited view of the Aegean…! But now I am without child or partner".

"But what’s wrong with you? This looks like you’re in denial of life…a definite turn towards isolation. You are so mean to yourself…Would you like to talk about it?" my friend asked me tenderly.

"There are issues, Helen…"

"Oh, come on now, Leto, you are always blowing those little things out of proportion. Your fears, your stress, your insecurities; I am telling you all this, my darling", Helen responded in a calm and equitable mood, attempting a game of reversal of my defences.

"No, there are real and objective issues. I am over forty-two, I am still without the child I’ve been so much longing for. Is that a small issue? I have no way to continue my life through the face of a child, through that child’s laughter and cry. And the way things are going, I’ll probably remain childless forever…That’s why I am seriously thinking that moving away at this time and era will only get me lost in…uncharted horizons. I want to focus on me now. I must stay in Athens to…go on with my life; perhaps here I’ll find a partner, have a child or resort to in vitro fertilization. My first priority is to have a child…I want it so much! Raising a child is the greatest form of creation for me, Helen; can you see that?" I said determinately.

"You mean a child with an unemployed mother or absentee father?" she pointed out.

"Yes, even with an unemployed mother, goddamn it! Even with an unemployed mother! They have taken everything away from us, our life, our very breath, every day we wake up poorer, will they also take away our right to… motherhood?" I asked strongly.

"Has it crossed your mind that the partner you are seeking might just pop up right in front of you in the Dodecanese and not in Athens? Life is so unpredictable…!" she responded encouragingly.

"I need stability and calm; I am no longer twenty-five years old, I demand quality in my life", I answered her, looking straight at her eyes.

"Oh, I see…! Our unemployed Leto will become even more insecure and weaker with time…! But how on earth don’t you get it? Unemployment, Leto, will weigh down your neck like a stone, if you decide to remain here and turn down the position you are offered. No, I don’t agree at all! Now, get up and get ready! Take life in your own two hands. You are shipping out bound for the Dodecanese this very night…! Your first target will be to stand on your own two feet employment-wise, to start living without the misery of unemployment haunting you…and you’ll see, both the child and the partner will appear, without your having to think about them all the time. Just leave it…to luck…to life, to the forces of the universe, to nature itself; it’ll come into your life in its own good time…!" she said protectively.

The heat was heavy, stifling and suffocating, with air conditioners struggling to make the atmosphere cooler. Helen was truly worried about me, I could see it. She was quietly seeking an answer in my face, she did not want me to keep thinking about life as a lost cause, she wanted to pull me out of the mire of my thoughts, she wanted to persuade me to change, at long last, my surroundings! We kept nibbling at our food, silently, at a loss for words, sipping down our wine slowly. Suddenly, my ears woke up to the song that was tenderly coming out of the tavern speakers and without realizing it, I started murmuring along: "Lots of ways open up in life and you can walk down the one you fancy no matter where it might lead you…"

I stopped. I looked at Helen, slowly, inquisitively, as if I were checking her out for the first time.

"No matter where it might lead you…Should I walk down another road, Helen? No matter…where it might lead me? Open up into new prospects…perhaps?" I asked her.

"Yes, wherever it might lead you, Leto, wherever it might lead you…spread your wings and fly away, life is an unbelievable adventure, go on…!" she responded.

"You are right in that, it is time I put Philip’s death behind me, everyone is telling me that much. My mind has to be somewhere else, and together with it so does my soul and my body. Distancing myself from the problem and…positive thinking? You’re probably right!" I answered, with an unexpected ray of optimism in my glance.

"You are worth it…!" she responded seriously.

Helen’s wide smile and a hint of tear in her eye was her confirmation of my words. I knew she loved me a lot! She wanted to motivate me to escape the idleness of my life, here in Athens.

I repeatedly phoned my mother to inform her but there was no answer. I knew it only too well how occupied she had been with her own business. She had to fight monsters and dragons in the free market during this period of deep economic crisis in Greece, although she was getting on in years. But competition is no joke, demands become unbelievably numerous and she herself has made up her mind about it, but…she is all by herself! She was seeing other businesses biting the dust and lock downs increasing in the market. Greece was withering financially day by day, getting deeper and deeper into an unbelievable chaos! I never found it in me to follow her own professional path. Back at home I reluctantly packed my bag, taking only summer clothes with me. I thought about it for many an hour, standing there, still. I had to leave, change my life! I had to accept my appointment to a school at the Dodecanese, Helen was right, I knew it well…

I slowly typed a text message on my mobile, making a wish that this unexpected change in my life would turn out well: "Mum, I am leaving town. My appointment to a school in the Dodecanese came unexpectedly. I called many times but…there was no answer. I am running out of time, I am boarding a ship bound for Rhodos. I must report to the Director of Secondary Education there. I would very much have liked to talk about it, the two of us holding hands in bed as we used to do in the old days when there was time, but I can understand your struggle to keep your business alive. Always remember that I love you very much. We will talk. Call me. Kisses".

With uncertain steps and a bouquet of white roses I then visited Philip’s grave at the cemetery to tell him the news: "I am leaving my darling, I am changing cities, my life, perhaps even…my destiny, but…you will always remain in my soul, you will always be part of me, it will be you I will share my secrets with, my problems and thoughts, because you never left my mind! I’m leaving".

I boarded the ship, left my bag in my cabin and went up on the deck. I felt the need to have a drink and gaze at the sea. I remained leaning on the ship’s railing for hours, gazing at the vastness of the Aegean in a philosophical mood, raising the hood of my jacket…Unconsciously, I let the saltiness of the sea penetrate deeply into my skin and my senses sucked in, slowly and calmly, the beauty of that exquisite sea of the Mediterranean! Later in my cabin, a deep sleep came to assuage my fear for the unknown place I was heading towards, the unknown conditions I were to come in contact with in a short while, my new life. I woke up when through the ship’s speakers blared the announcement of our arrival at the port of Rhodos. We had arrived!

The Director of the Secondary Education in the Dodecanese was dead clear: "Mrs Leto Alexandrou, you have been assigned to the 2nd High School in the island of Kos. Please report to the Headmaster of your school tomorrow morning".

"When is the next ship for Kos, please?" I asked at the port authority.

"In three hours from now, madam" the port officer informed me.

I bought myself a ticket and then went on a big walk around the city of Rhodos, walking across the "Castle of the Knights". That was my beloved city…! The island of Rhodos had always spoken to my soul. I would very much have liked to work at a school here, but it seemed life had destined me for Kos instead. Later, I was on the ship bound for Kos.

Next morning, I woke up abruptly in a hotel room, looking into the port of Kos, from the powerful whistle-blow of a ship entering proudly into the harbor to unload and reload hundreds of people. It was the 1st of September. Tourism on the island was flowering, the hotels were filled to capacity, the interest of the world community for the ‘island of Hippocrates’ remained huge…! And so, Kos, at a single sweep, captured my sight, my senses, my true interest, being unique, sparking clean, evergreen, with its wonderful beaches backgrounded by that unsurpassed blue of the Aegean Sea. Very soon, I found myself wondering how lucky I was to end up here so unexpectedly in just a few days…! It really looked like an upturn and it truly was one. It seemed like a pleasant joke, but it was not! It was my new, my very own reality. My own life!

Granting of asylum

from god Asclepius

At school I was left with a deep feeling of heart-felt, genuine welcome and wishes:

"All the best and every success on your new appointment and work!"

And I, who happens to believe a lot in well-wishing and in what it contains because I can feel the positive energy it emanates, was particularly grateful in response. The School in Kos had won me over! My students accepted me from the very first lessons. A mutual right chemistry determined our relationship from the start, and I, as if I had been enchanted by their eyes, devoted myself to them, teaching them and communicating with them with all my heart. We were creating together, we were building knowledge and life, me and them! That was my take of it! There was a scent of happiness for this beautiful working together with those fifteen-year olds of this magical island of the Aegean that was filling my soul and was a serious motive for me to identify even more with my job but also with the island of Kos.

"Helen, you were right; I needed this change in my life. It would seem that everything is beautiful on this island. I can find no fault whatsoever…! It would seem that for once in my life, all the gods of ancient Greece joined forces and refrained from fighting one another, so that they could fashion out this unique diamond that they named Kos!" I told her joyfully, speaking to her on my mobile a month later.

"You see, my sweet? I told you so! It takes an upturn in your life, a significant change of environment and everything acquires a new dimension, the black-and-white life becomes colourful, captivates eyes and mind for your own good!"

"Yes, Helen, you did say that and you insisted, and I thank you for it. Now tell me about you, how are you keeping in Syros?" I asked.

"I came here positively disposed, as you know, and perhaps that is why everything is working out OK. Syros looks magical compared to the ugliness of Athens, but still…my students are more mature, more socialized, more realistic! That’s how I see them. I’m very well!" she responded in her usual optimistic tone.

"I am inviting you here, get on a ship some weekend, perhaps during a holiday, fit it in somehow and come over; I rented a beautiful, spacious house overlooking the harbor; we’ll have a fantastic time!" I responded back, hoping that we would meet each other.

"I am so glad that the colouring of your voice bears no relationship to that depressed complexion you used to wear back then! You have a note of optimism in your life, I really like it…! Welcome back to the world, Leto!" she answered to me mirthfully.

"Will you think about it? I want you to confirm that you’ll show up…!" I insisted.

"Of course I will…!" she answered with certainty.

Helen showed up at the end of October, during the national holiday of the 28th October 1940 and spent three days on the island of Kos. The weather was wonderful! We roamed across the whole island. At the sanctuary of Asclepiion, devoted to god Asclepius of Kos, we spent quite a few hours, both us studying it and speaking out loud:

"See how they built it on the slope of the hill surrounded by such lush vegetation and a view of the sea and the shores of Asia Minor. It is the most important historical monument of the island but also one of the most famous Asclepiions of antiquity. In ancient times, it was the sanctuary of god Asclepius, god protector of medicine but also a place of healing and teaching of medicine", Helen muttered in awe.

"It was here that Hippocrates the ‘father of medicine’ taught, Helen, during ancient times, in the school premises that he himself had founded in the Asclepiion…can you imagine? I’m really thrilled at the idea…! It was in Kos that scientific medicine developed, contrary to the sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidavros", I whispered ecstatically.

I looked into the small book I was holding and read out aloud:

"The Asclepiion of Kos, whose ruins date back to beyond the 4th century BC, is situated south-east of present-day city of Kos at a distance of about 3.4 km. It dates back to the Hellenistic period, a conviction that is supported by the use of the site which is evident in its three levels – an element of eastern architectural conception that had been accommodated into the Greek architecture after the conquests of Alexander the Great.

A decisive event that took place in Kos during the period of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in 260 BC was the panhellenic recognition of the right to asylum afforded into the sacred sanctuary of Asclepius and the institutionalization of the celebratory feast of the Great Asclepiians. The main aim of the inhabitants of Kos was to offer asylum to any persecuted person seeking protection in the Asclepium and is indicative of the pride felt by the inhabitants of Kos for having the sanctuary, which they considered as the central landmark temple of their city".

We spent more than three hours at the Asclepiion, admiring and talking about the monument of the god of medicine of the ancient Greeks on this unique island. We then drove down to the city in my red Peugeot, the little banger I had just bought to help me move around on the island. It seemed as if national pride and veneration for our ancestors had led us directly to the famous plane tree of Hippocrates!

Hippocrates’ plane tree is an eastern plane tree that exists in the city of Kos under which, according to tradition, Hippocrates, considered the father of medicine, used to