Most have only read about the growing refugee crisis in the news, but for Aphrodite Vati Mariola, it is now her daily reality.
Living and working on the island of Lesvos – her family own the Aphrodite Hotel situated just outside the town of Molivos – she admits this was not something they were expecting.
“It was very shocking. When you see a boat for the first time, believe me, it’s one thing to talk about it and read about it, and it’s another thing to see it,” Ms Mariola told NPR.
Ms Mariola and her family witnessed the first boat of refugees arrive earlier this year in April.
“My father was down there, so one of the mothers literally handed him her child, which was very difficult for my dad.
“We tried to find clothes, we gave our own clothes and I gave them clothes from my own children.
“Suddenly I looked around and saw these little children wearing my own children’s clothes and it really hit home because it made me feel like these could have been my children. It wasn’t a nice thing to think about at that moment,” she said.
Since that first day, Ms Mariola estimates that more than 50 boats have arrived on the shores of Lesvos, initially one boat per week and more recently increasing to six per day.
Though there are many individuals and moments imprinted in her memory, one stand out is a young boy who arrived earlier this week holding a bible, which once belonged to a friend.
“He kept crying and bursting into tears. I kept saying ‘Are you okay?’ and he said ‘No, no, I’m okay. I’m just thanking God that I’m alive.’ These are the things that really affect us,” she said.
Despite the ongoing philanthropy of Ms Mariola and her family, the fact remains that their daily life on the island has been disrupted, with little hope of the situation improving any time soon.
“This is something that has been thrust upon us, we had no choice in the matter. In one sense we want to help, in the other sense it’s a feeling of invasion, because this is our home and suddenly we have hundreds and hundreds of people and we don’t know who they are.
“I feel it would be very naive to say that there aren’t some shady figures passing through into Europe. People from different countries are literally tearing up their passports and to me that means they’re trying to assume a new identity. Are there any hidden agendas here? Or is it just because they are looking for a better life?”