LESBOS, GREECE — We had watched the dinghy from about a mile out, making its way slowly across the Aegean Sea to the island of Lesbos. The scene along this coastline has become familiar: a small corps of volunteers waiting on the shore, using hand gestures to caution the person steering the boat to slow down; the overcrowded dinghy full of anxious faces turned toward land tantalizingly close.

As the dinghy scrapped up against the rocks, this group of refugees escaping from war and conflict clambered onto shore, beginning their next journey into Europe.

The first person to disembark was disabled and clearly in pain. He grimaced as he and the others were guided across the beach by volunteers lined up to offer support. The volunteers demonstrated how to put on the shiny “space blankets” to ward off the cold…

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