Germany, Mytilini, Lesbos, August 11, 2016, Efi Latsoudi, the human rights activist behind PIKPA camp on the Greek island of Lesvos, and Konstantinos Mitragas on behalf of the Hellenic Rescue Team are joint winners of UNHCR's Nansen Award 2016. The award recognizes their tireless efforts to aid refugee arrivals in Greece during 2015. Here: Antigoni, the captain of an rescue boat of a Hellenic Rescue Team on Lesbos. ; Greece has been at the center of Europe's escalating refugee crisis since 2012. On the island of Lesvos alone, record numbers of refugees and migrants arrived last year, with numbers topping 500,000. In October, arrivals peaked at more than 10,000 per day, as conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq continued to uproot people from their homes. Other Greek islands, including Samos and Kos, also became safe havens, with thousands taking to dinghies and boats to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey. Freezing waters, fake lifejackets and surging storms all became risks worth taking – the last in a long line of hurdles.
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