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UN grants this year's Nansen Refugee Award to Greek volunteers

Xinhua, September 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR on Tuesday announced that a 2,000-strong volunteer sea rescue team and a human rights activist are the joint 2016 winners of the Nansen Refugee Award.

They were given the award for saving thousands of lives during the 2015 refugee crisis, and providing shelters for thousands of the most vulnerable refugees arriving on Greek shores.

In a statement issued Tuesday, UNHCR said the Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) and Efi Latsoudi from "PIKPA village," a community-run accommodation area on the Greek island of Lesvos, were both chosen for their tireless volunteer work during the 2015 refugee crisis on Greece's shores.

"This award recognizes the work of volunteers and the support and assistance provided by people in Europe and around the world last year, and who continue to welcome refugees in their communities and assist with their integration," UNHCR said in the statement.

Over 850,000 people arrived in Greece by sea in 2015 with more than 500,000 arriving on the island of Lesvos.

In October 2015, arrivals peaked at more than 10,000 per day, as conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq continued to uproot people from their homes.

UN figures showed that over 270 people died in Greek waters over the year.

According to UNHCR, HRT has been rescuing people from the Aegean Sea and Greek mountains since 1978. In 2015, they undertook 1,035 rescue operations, saving 2,500 lives, and brought more than 7,000 people to safety.

Latsoudi is one of the volunteers of PIKPA who, in 2012, transformed the former children's summer camp into a refugee haven with the help of local authorities.

PIKPA has hosted up to 600 refugees a day, despite having a capacity of just 150, and distributed over 2,000 meals each day, UNHCR said.

UNHCR's Nansen Refugee Award recognizes extraordinary humanitarian work on behalf of refugees, internally-displaced or stateless people. The award includes a commemorative medal and a 100,000 U.S. dollar monetary prize. Endit