LESVOS – More than 80,000 desperate migrants have fled to Greece to escape persecution, conflict and war, leaving a government struggling to contain a rapidly growing crisis. Their plight has been highlighted by “The Walking Dead” actor David Morrissey, who joined the coast guard and helped rescue children from life boats arriving at the island of Lesvos this week, Albawaba.com reported. Tens of thousands reach Greek islands by sea, many of them traveling from Syria, with the coast guard rescuing 15 boats a day. Morrissey, an ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), described the deplorable scenes he witnessed as “the challenge of our age” and urged European leaders to deal with the growing humanitarian crisis by offering “meaningful and credible alternatives” such as resettling migrants. “This situation is not going away and will get closer and closer to the UK and the rest of Europe,” he said. “It has to be dealt with collectively and Greece has to be supported. It is indeed a refugee crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean and we must as human beings rally round to help. The father-of-three found the experience particularly harrowing after meeting children like Mohamed, who had crossed the treacherous waters from Aleppo without his parents. He said he had not seen his mother and father for two years. – Agencies
