Life In The Tent Cities of The Greek Islands’ Refugee Camps
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PhotographerEleftherios Partsalis
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Agency / StudioLefteris Partsalis
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PrizesGold in Editorial/General News
Despite the dire conditions and their agony over their future, the refugees living in the overcrowded camps of the Eastern Aegean, don’t lose hope; everyday life goes on. In the tent cities of borderline Greek islands, people do their daily “household” chores, build traditional ground ovens, give and take free language and art lessons, harvest olives, pray, work out, start small businesses, play soccer. But is their will to live strong enough to overpower state neglect? As they say, holding on to a sense of normality is the only thing that can keep them sane through these times of chaos.
Lefteris Partsalis was born in Athens in 1987, where he spent the first 18 years of his life. In 2004, he bought his first camera and pursued photography as a hobby; more than 10 years later he is an established photographer who has covered major stories including the Greek financial crisis, the refugee crisis, civil unrests, Mosul offensive and more. Since 2015, Partsalis works as a freelancer for various media. In 2015 he took the picture of three grandmothers in Lesvos feeding a baby migrant and one of them nominated for Nobel prize.
