RNLI Enniskillen crew member Olivia Cosgrove recently spent two weeks volunteering with Refugee Rescue, a voluntary search and rescue crew, set up by a lady from Ballyclare, that operates on the Greek island of Lesbos.
“I felt that I had a moral obligation to do something about the current refugee crisis,” said Olivia.
A well-known face in Enniskillen due to her roles as founder of Row the Erne and Donor2Deed.com, Olivia decided to set off for Greece in a bid to put the training she had gained on an Atlantic 75 lifeboat with the RNLI to good use.
No stranger to working with refugees and people displaced by war, famine and natural disasters, Olivia has worked in 14 countries since 1995, focusing on logistics and refugee camp management. 
In the past, she has witnessed refugees “falling at our feet” from starvation, disease or exhaustion. During her time in Greece, however, she was struck by how much she connected with the migrants from Kazakhstan, Iraq, Congo, Pakistan and Syria who were crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey to Greece.
“I connected with their vulnerability,” Olivia explained. “Maybe it was because they looked like us, or because they appeared strong and healthy, were wearing jeans and were taking selfies on their smartphones; I’m not sure. 
“After the recent attacks in Manchester one wonders where we all fit in this large planet of diverse people. It’s a crisis of our time,” she continued.
During her time in Lesbos, Olivia and the crew “wrapped up and donned our dry suits before patrolling the waters either late at night (11pm – 3am) or early morning (4am to 8am).”
One morning, as she was still asleep, someone pounded the door and the crew were geared up and in their boat within six minutes. Describing the scene, Olivia said: “I won’t forget the race to get kitted up and running down to the harbour. Speeding out towards the vessel, we learned that there were approximately 60 on board with a mixture of men, women and children. The Greek Coastguard and Proactiva, a Spanish rescue boat, had also been alerted. We assisted getting all to shore safely where a landing team welcomed them. 
“While we sat in the harbour and waited for the refugees to disembark I noticed a young lady stand in the queue. It is hard to describe her vulnerability. What was very noticeable was how she dressed and acted, very like how any of us would be. She appeared quiet and uncomfortable with the amount of people about. I hoped for her, hoped that life would be good for her and that as a species we drop this tag that we brand refugees with.”
She continued: “There were other rescues: smugglers dropping groups off in the middle of the night close to the Greek shore before speeding back to Turkey under the cover of darkness. Often, he would throw everyone, young and old into the water away about 100 metres out from the rocky shoreline and tell them to swim to shore. 
“Others came in impossibly small boats rigged to homemade fuel cans and small outboard engines. 
“Not everybody made it across though. A week after I left, a capsize left 16 drowned and two survivors. The crews very patiently lifted body after body from the water. One, a young man called Baris Yazgri, who had dreamed of going to music school in Belgium, was still clutching his violin when he was lifted into the boat.”
Olivia explained that anyone who wanted to volunteer with Refugee Rescue as a crew member or a spotter, can find out more on www.refugeerescue.co.uk or to consider joining their local RNLI station.
She concluded: “All we can do is be there to help another human in any way we can.”