3,000 life jackets used by refugees made into peace sign as message of hope for 2016

Humanitarians working on a Greek island decided to start 2016 with a message of hope by using life jackets discarded by refugees fleeing wars.

On the Greek island of Lesbos, the message of hope was created with the help of Médecins Sans Frontières – Doctors Without Borders – as well as volunteers and groups such as Sea-Watch and Dutch Refugee Boat Foundation. That group laid out 3,000 life jackets in the shape of a peace symbol.

Some of the refugees included those from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who were fleeing war, poverty and oppression, according to Greenpeace International.

The peace sign was also a “silent reminder of the risks…of a safe crossing…” as well as for “those who never made it, of those who lost their lives at sea and can never return[ed] home or continue[d] their journey north.”

According to Greenpeace, more than 3,700 people have died trying to cross over to Europe by sea, while more than a million were able to reach their destination.

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