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On the shores of Lesbos: Boats, dinghies and life vests

A variety of watercraft and life vests sit piled on the Lesbos shoreline in silent testimony of lives passing through.

Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
A flimsy dinghy carrying more than 30 Afghani refugees was one of only dozens of boats to arrive on Lesbos after departing from Turkish shores on Wednesday. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
By Sorin Furcoi and Patrick Strickland
Published On 3 Dec 2015

Skala Skamnias, Greece – The northern coastline of Lesbos is peppered with abandoned boats, deflated dinghies, life vests and inflatable tubes.

With thousands of refugees and migrants landing on the island each day, the wintry waters are punctuated by old boats – wooden, battered and decrepit – left by human smugglers to rot after the passengers have reached land and continued on their journey to find safety in Europe.

Others are merely piles of rubber, the deflated dinghies and shells of motors that delivered refugees to European territory and are left unclaimed.

These are just the vessels that successfully delivered refugees to Europe. Not all seeking to cross the Mediterranean are so lucky. In 2015 alone, more than 3,500 refugees or migrants drowned at sea or still cannot be accounted for, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, as the overcrowded watercraft carrying them sank in the waves.

READ MORE: Refugee boats to Greece persist despite winter’s chill

Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Smugglers are selling life vests to refugees and migrants for hefty fees. Many, however, are simply given inflatable tubes or floaties. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
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Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Dinghies are deflated upon arrival on the Greek island and left behind to be picked up by volunteers or cleaners from the local municipalities. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Boats lodged on the rocky shores of Lesbos serve as a constant reminder of more than 400,000 refugees and migrants who have passed through the island this year alone. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Because smugglers rarely make the risky crossing with refugees and migrants, the boats continue to pile up. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
If boats sink or start to go under in the Aegean Sea, passengers' lives often depend on inflatable devices suited to a swimming pool. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Some locals come to pick up the rubber and other materials, while others are transported to makeshift dumps on the outskirts of town. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
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Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Prices smugglers charge refugees or migrants to make the journey vary depending on the size and quality of the boats. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Lesbos Boats/ [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Empty boats occasionally washing up on Greek shores show that many refugees don't live to see their final destination. Most recently, on October 28, a boat carrying mostly Syrian refugees capsized and resulted in the deaths of at least 70 men, women and children. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]