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World Refugee Day, Mytilene

World Refugee Day 2016 in the pines around the Castle of Mytilene: messages tied to the Solidarity Tree, speeches, and the people who came.

Year
2016

On World Refugee Day, 20 June 2016, refugees living on Lesvos, volunteers, UNHCR staff and people from Mytilene met in the pines around the castle. They wrote messages in English, Persian and Arabic and tied them to the branches of the Solidarity Tree, an initiative of the Shoreline Response Teams and the independent volunteers of Camp Fire.

Photos by K. Moutzourellis and P. Avagianos.

Children's drawings strung across the pine canopy
Paper bunting with children's drawings strung between pine trees
Drawings and notes on a line between the pines, seen from below
A boy in a yellow T-shirt ties a note to a lamp post
A note with a peace sign hangs among the needles
Handwritten notes hang from a pine above families sitting in the shade
The Solidarity Tree sign tied to a pine trunk
Hand-lettered sign reading "The Solidarity Tree", made for World Refugee Day 2016
Notes and ribbons tied all over a pine
A note tied to a pine wishes peace and love on the journey
Notes hang among the pine needles against the sky
A note reading "I need go Germany", a man sitting behind it
Red paper hearts with messages hang from a branch
A note: "I hope open the borders to the refugees. Pilar"
A note written in Persian hangs from a pine branch
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Hands hold up a note: "I hope we have good life with my dear Farid for a long time"
Hands hold up a note written in Persian
A hand writes a note on grey card beside children's drawings
Hands write notes in Arabic script, red ribbons on the table
A man writes a note welcoming people to Lesvos
A hand draws a heart on a note
A man in a wheelchair writes a note under the pines
A man holds up his handwritten note
A girl reaches up to hang her note on a branch
Hands tie a red note to a pine branch
A UNHCR staff member reaches up to tie a note in a pine
A UNHCR staff member ties a note high in the tree
A woman in a red embroidered dress ties a note high on a branch
A woman in a blue dress holds up her note beside the tree
A note in the foreground, a girl in a white headscarf behind
A woman in a white headscarf ties a note among the branches
A woman in a pink headscarf, holding a child, ties a note to a branch
Families crowd under the trees, a mother holding a toddler
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A young man in a red jacket hangs a note, looking up and smiling
The same young man reaching up to tie his note
A crowd of families gathered under the pines for the speeches
A woman in a UNHCR cap speaks at a microphone by the stone wall
A woman in a volunteer vest reads from a clipboard by the castle wall
A volunteer in a blue vest speaks at a microphone, a child in front
A speaker at the UNHCR lectern, children gathered behind her
A UNHCR staff member speaks at the lectern
A UNHCR speaker addresses the crowd under the pines
A UNHCR volunteer, seen from behind, faces the crowd
Families listen in a crowd, a woman in a blue cap in front
Women, men and children stand together, listening
A speaker at the UNHCR lectern beneath the decorated trees
People gathered by the stone wall, notes hanging in the foreground
Children sit on a stone block by the castle wall, listening
Three women in embroidered dresses sit together under the pines, seen from behind
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Two women in embroidered dresses pose on the path, one giving a thumbs up
The two women smile and wave
Two women in headscarves smile and wave
A woman in a red embroidered headscarf smiles
A smiling older woman in a pale green headscarf
The two women in the evening sun
An older woman in a pale headscarf in the shade
A young woman in a red headscarf smiles, a hand at her face
Two women, one in a red and green scarf, beside the tree
A teenage girl in a pink headscarf smiles at the camera
A smiling girl with writing drawn on her cheek
A girl makes peace signs with both hands
A small girl looks up from beside her mother
An older man rests his chin on his cane
An older man with a cane sits beside a woman and a young girl
Women in embroidered dresses sit writing notes under the trees
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A volunteer leans in to help two children tie a ribbon
Volunteers and children bent over a note together
A small boy in a yellow cap among the crowd
Children write notes at a table, one wearing a UNHCR backpack
A girl in a pink dress stands in the crowd, hand on her hip
A girl in a pink dress writes at a green table
A smiling girl held up by a woman in a blue cap
A girl peeks out from behind a pine branch
A girl looks up at the notes in the pine branches
A volunteer in a blue cap holds a little girl
A girl laughs in the arms of a volunteer in a blue cap
A man paints a girl's face
A small boy with curly hair walks down the stone path
A woman in a headscarf ties a note while a volunteer holds a child
A woman lifts a smiling girl up into the tree
A volunteer in a UNHCR cap lifts a girl to tie a ribbon
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A woman draws henna on another woman's hand
A woman in a red embroidered dress draws henna on a girl's hand
Children wait their turn for henna
A boy looks up as henna is drawn on his hand
A girl in a yellow T-shirt and a boy in a red cap watch
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Families and young men sit in the chairs of the castle theatre
A boy sits in the theatre seats
A boy in a red T-shirt takes a photo
A boy in a cap looks across the stage
A mother holds a sleeping child in the theatre seats
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