Feature: Greek volunteers turn refugee lifejackets to giant chess
Xinhua, June 4, 2016 Adjust font size:
Lifejackets used by refugees to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece are being turned into a giant outdoor chess by volunteers on the Greek island of Lesvos as a symbol of the ongoing tragedy, the Green Committee of the Aegean University told Xinhua on Friday.
The committee launched a recycling program in spring on Lesvos which has received the bulk of refugee and migrant arrivals to Greece since early 2015.
The initiative under the title "Games at the World Chess Board" was announced in social media and a lot of volunteers showed up.
Fereniki Tsamparli, an artist of the committee told Xinhua that the aim is to present their lifejackets-made giant chess on World Environment Day on June 5 to symbolize the perilous trip of refugees towards Europe.
Up to 700,000 life vests and 10,000 inflatable dinghies have been left on the beaches of Lesvos since January 2015.
They have been gradually collected before tourists arrive for summer holidays and before the plastic materials start degrading to harm the environment, deputy mayor of Lesvos, Yorgos Katzanos, told Xinhua.
About 300 life vests were given to the volunteers of Aegean University to create the giant chess as part of the recycling program. Endit