Greek islanders nominated for 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for aiding refugees

Two residents of the Greek island of Lesvos, and Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, have been nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, the president of Greece's Academy of Athens, Thanassis Valtinos, announced on Monday.

Emilia Kamvysi, 85, a pensioner, Stratis Valiamos, a 40-year old fisherman, and Sarandon were chosen to represent the Greek islanders and foreign volunteers who are offering a helping hand to the thousands of refugees landing on Greek shores in recent months, Valtinos explained at a press briefing in Athens.

The deadline for the nominations expired Sunday midnight.

The Academy of Athens, the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, and the Greek Universities Rector's Synod sent the nomination letter to the Nobel Prize Committee.

An online petition was launched in November on Avaaz, an online campaigning platform, calling the Nobel Prize Committee to award the 2016 prize to the residents of Lesvos and other Aegean Sea islands, as well as the volunteers from across the world who have been helping the refugees.

Until Monday, it had been signed by more than 600,000 people.

"We request that the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to the people of Lesvos and the volunteers in the islands of the Aegean Sea who embraced the refugees and sent a message of humanity and solidarity that moved the entire planet," read the petition.

"The nominees represent the locals and foreign volunteers who stand by the side of the displaced promoting the values of peace, freedom and solidarity," said Valtinos.

Kamvysi, along with her two friends, Eystratia Mayrapidou, 89, and Maritsa Mayrapidou, 85, became famous last fall from a photograph depicting them as they were taking care of an infant refugee by the seaside.

Grandma Emilia, as everybody addresses her now, is a descendant of Greek refugees who fled Turkey in the early 20th century due to war. She lives in the small village of Skala Sykamnias on Lesvos island. Every day over the past year, she heads to the beach with her friends to offer help to the refugees coming from Turkey on old boats.

Valiamos avoids photographers and interviews. With other local fishermen he has saved thousands of people in recent months, risking his life in several instances.

Meanwhile, Sarandon was chosen to represent famous artists who have visited Lesvos lately to raise awareness about the refugees' plight and Greek people's compassion amidst difficult times for the country.

The residents of the Aegean Sea islands, like Lesvos, Chios, Kos, Samos and Rhodes, several of them in dire financial straits due to the six-year Greek debt crisis, have provided support to the refugees in many ways.

In particular, Lesvos, an island with 86,000 people, has received about half of the more than 800,000 refugees and migrants who reached Greece via Turkey during 2015, on their way to more prosperous European countries.

In the event the Nobel Prize is awarded to the Greek islanders and foreign activists, the funds will be distributed to local hospitals, while the medal will be on display at the Acropolis Museum, Professor Christodoulos Giallouridis, chairman of the Hellenic Foundation of Culture, and a refugee himself, told the press. Endit