Sitting on a bench of their village, Skala Sykamias, the three “Lesvos grannies”, Efstratia Mavrapidou, cousin Maritsa and Emilia Kamvyli, were photographed feeding and comforting a refugee baby from Syria.
The improptu shot went viral and was hailed as a symbol of humanity and solidarity to refugees.
Photographer Lefteris Partsalis who captured the moment described in a past interview:
“The father had gone next to the stairs, the grandmothers were there every afternoon and as soon as they saw the baby crying, they wanted to take the issue into their own hands. They gave us this wonderful moment. It was a gap in the darkness that our eyes were seeing these days.”
“The grannies were singing to the baby, they were certainly speaking to him to stop crying, and then this bottle of milk … The grannies left this legacy.”
President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou paid a special tribute to Efstratia Mavrapidou, who she had met during a 2020 Lesvos visit, with a farewell message on Facebook.
Efstratia’s funeral was expected to take place on Wednesday at the Skala Sykamias cemetery.
