Calls for a Nobel Prize to the Greeks for Compassion Soar

Photo © UNHCR/A.McConnell

An online petition calling for this year’s Nobel Prize to be awarded to the Greeks for their hands-on demonstration of compassion and sacrifice to the thousands of refugees seeking a brighter future through Greece, has garnered more than 303,000 signatures thus far.

Organized by activist group Avaaz, the petition, which runs through to February 1, has attracted the support of high-profile academics from institutions including Harvard, Oxford, Princeton and Cornell, who are set to draft a submission in favour of awarding Greece’s volunteers the coveted prize.

With more than 800,000 refugees — some 4,000 a day — reaching Greek shores in dubious ways, the Greek islanders, everyone from the fishermen and the teachers to the housewives and the locals, but also groups of volunteers from Athens and other cities, have shown up, trying in the best way possible to relieve their plight with a warm dish of food and some blankets to hotels opening their rooms for shelter and laymen offering clothes.

The Greek island of Lesvos has alone served as the main gateway to Europe, with almost half of the annual total going through its shores.

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