Sixteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

In 2015-2016 over one million people from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Palestine, and other countries fled war in their homelands to Turkey where they took rafts across the Aegean Sea to the Greek Islands. Because of its close proximity to Turkey, Lesvos was the center of this fleeing. Once in Lesvos, families walked across the island as they made their way toward northern European countries. What was identified as the biggest refugee crisis since WWII was also the biggest intergenerational, multilingual peace march in modern history. With nods to Sappho, Minoan pots, and silhouettes crossing the burning sun this collection circles around refugee resilience and resistance as it draws upon the poet’s work meeting rafts, providing humanitarian relief and teaching poetry in refugee centers. Lead witnesses in the collection: Sand: willing to hold a raft’s imprint until the next high tide. Keys: from houses in Syria kept on a ring under diapers in a satchel. Satchel: carried or thrown overboard if a raft is sinking. Poetry: climbs mountain passes, is tucked into the Quran, sung in verse.Lesvos: made from a volcano, Lepetymnos. Quiet now. Moria: the biggest refugee “camp” in Europe that burned to the ground last October. Emi: Greek chef who snuck families across the island in her van before dawn. Dots: get bigger or disappear on the Aegean horizon. Sona: eight-year-old from Guinea Bissau. Fire: leaps across tents, devours passports, pacifiers, date meat, olive trees, and shade.