Greek Islanders Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Ten of thousands of migrants have landed on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos this winter, though many perished in the frigid waters. The locals of Lesbos have been flung into the roles of rescuers and their courage, compassion and self-sacrifice have inspired a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. 

"One boat was filling with water — there were 18 children in it, including a three-month-old baby. If we hadn't been there, they'd have drowned," said Thanos Marmarinos, 62, who has traded fishing for towing in boats full of desperate migrants. 

A refugee camp director Efi Latsoudi says she is angry, frustrated and often overwhelmed and said "it would be an empty, meaningless thing to win a prize as long as people are suffering and dying like this."

For Spyros Galinos, mayor of the city Mytilene, the Nobel nomination was a big honor but not a priority. 

"The first priority is that the international community should intervene and stop the crime that's being committed by the Turkish smugglers," he said. "Right now, lives are being lost in the Aegean and there's no reason that should be allowed to happen."

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