0:00:21 > 0:00:26On the night that I ended up in Lesbos there was no-one around
0:00:26 > 0:00:30and it was like a barren seaside sort of a place.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It was dark, a sort of dark sea.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34It was quite windy.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36And someone said, "Look, don't go down there tonight
0:00:36 > 0:00:38"cos the weather's too bad."
0:00:41 > 0:00:46But I was only there about 20 minutes and the first boat
0:00:46 > 0:00:47that I ever seen came in.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52We were on the beach
0:00:52 > 0:00:55and I could see this light flashing. Flashing, flashing.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56And the sea was really bad.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59It rose up and you could hear the sound.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02When it rose up, you could hear the sound and then it dipped down.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04SCREAMING
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The cries of these people, it was horrible.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Babies screaming and all the rest, and the women were screaming.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I'll never forget that sound as long as I live.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29So we kind of formed a human chain
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and I was standing there and was pulling people.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Some people were trying to grab their own bags.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40And there was this one guy and he kept trailing this bag.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44I was going, "Leave the bag, leave the bag, just come on, come on!"
0:01:44 > 0:01:47So he managed to grab the bag about the third time.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50And he trailed it and he gripped it up into
0:01:50 > 0:01:52his chest, you know, and...
0:01:52 > 0:01:55HE COUGHS
0:02:00 > 0:02:01But it was a wee baby.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07It wasn't a bag. It was a wee baby and...
0:02:09 > 0:02:12The baby was alive, thank God.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15BABY CRIES
0:02:15 > 0:02:17At that moment I realised, like,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21you know, these guys are risking everything - everything -
0:02:21 > 0:02:25for a better life, you know.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29- So take it easy on these guys, like. - HE LAUGHS
0:02:29 > 0:02:33They've been through a lot, you know.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36And that was my first boat.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37It sort of woke me up.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Show these people compassion, you know, cos they have...
0:02:41 > 0:02:43they have been through so much, you know.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56# Bel
0:02:56 > 0:02:58# Belfast
0:02:58 > 0:03:01# How I know you so well
0:03:03 > 0:03:06# You're like heaven
0:03:07 > 0:03:12# You're like hell. #
0:03:12 > 0:03:14In the winter of 2015,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17the musician Joby Fox is deeply moved by the media images of
0:03:17 > 0:03:21the refugee and migrant crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Eat the leg of a scabby donkey, I would.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Unable to shake off the images of suffering,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Joby feels compelled to offer what help he can.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36He leaves his wife and young son at home and flies to the Greek island
0:03:36 > 0:03:41- of Lesbos.- The real shocking thing is that the EU is such a big entity
0:03:41 > 0:03:45in the world and yet they can't seem to
0:03:45 > 0:03:48apply themselves to this situation.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50I mean, there's me and there's others, as I say,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54who are quite happy to do that, cos we're saving lives
0:03:54 > 0:03:55and...
0:03:55 > 0:03:57But where is the EU?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Where is the UN?
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Where are all these agencies that are there with millions getting
0:04:04 > 0:04:06pumped into them to do this very thing?
0:04:09 > 0:04:12THEY CALL
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Once you're exposed to something like that,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21you feel a responsibility to these human beings,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and ultimately that's what it is, that's what the responsibility is.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I'm a human being, they're human beings, they need me.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35BABY CRIES
0:04:38 > 0:04:41I know what it feels like
0:04:41 > 0:04:44for a parent to lose a child.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49I lost my daughter to cancer.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55And when I watched what I watched and I seen
0:04:55 > 0:04:58children dying and drowning in the sea...
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Children never asked for this, you know,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10so that's my motivation.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14Simple.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Joby feels he has to do more than just be a short-term volunteer.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23But I talked to a lot of people,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25I said, "Why are we standing on the beaches here,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28"why are we not out there where the crisis actually is,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31"which is out in the sea, when there's people drowning in the sea?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36I've seen what I've seen, I know what I know,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40and I took this initiative to campaign for a boat.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46OK, we're here at Skala,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50which is a 10km stretch of beach here,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52which is facing out onto Turkey.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56This is a calm boat, believe it or not.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00I saw on Facebook that he went to Greece.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I texted him, actually, and he phoned me up and said, erm,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08hadn't spoken to him in about ten years and he said,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10"You're coming," basically.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15Jude Bennett, an art curator, is a former colleague of Joby.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18He may have the vision, but he knows he needs someone like Jude with
0:06:18 > 0:06:20project management experience.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Did you get in all right kid? You all right?
0:06:26 > 0:06:28I'm in solidarity. When I went out there,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31at first I just thought I was going out there to volunteer for
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- two weeks, but then when we saw... - SHOUTING
0:06:35 > 0:06:38It was seeing that I could help,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40just putting your arm out and literally helping somebody out
0:06:40 > 0:06:42of the water.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49People are drowning just metres off the shore and that just seems like,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51that just should not be happening.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53So literally us sort of going in,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56swimming out to the boat and guiding them in and helping them off,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59as simple as that, was saving lives.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04I just had to stay and do something, so I, like a lot of people,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06you know, extended my stay.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Sort of said to work, "Not coming back for a while."
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Desperate to save lives, Joby works hard to publicise the charity.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19What an incredible thing that you're doing, Joby.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21I want to spend more time with you,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23on air, so that people realise what you're doing,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25cos it's just incredible and it's selfless.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27That's superb.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Jude's contacts in the arts world pay off unexpectedly quickly
0:07:31 > 0:07:34with an offer of help from a famous artist,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36who wants to remain anonymous.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40He said, "Well, what is this you are working on now?"
0:07:40 > 0:07:41And I said, "Well..."
0:07:42 > 0:07:44"..we're working on getting a boat
0:07:44 > 0:07:47"and a skilled crew for a rescue team."
0:07:47 > 0:07:51And he said, "Well, maybe that's something I can help you with now."
0:07:51 > 0:07:55So I just got off the phone there and we got a boat!
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Oh, what am I going to do now?
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Does anybody know how to drive a boat?
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Yeah!
0:08:06 > 0:08:12- VOICEOVER:- The whole project just took a whole leap forward.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13We're all doomed!
0:08:13 > 0:08:16It's all right, it's got a stripy top and a hat.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21But never in our imagination did we think that we would have someone
0:08:21 > 0:08:23just give us £35,000 off the bat.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Jesus, that's great, that is just such great work, Jude.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29That's amazing. It really is absolutely incredible.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32It was really quick. We got the offer of the boat and got the boat
0:08:32 > 0:08:33out there within two weeks.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37But getting the boat is only the first step.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41It was like starting a business or something and
0:08:41 > 0:08:43trying to get volunteers.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46We need crew that were skilled search and rescue on the boat.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52And now onto the thorny issue of...
0:08:54 > 0:08:55..of insurance.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02- Can I ask who's calling?- Yes, it's Joby Fox from Refugee Rescue.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Right, one moment.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Good morning, how may I help you today?
0:09:10 > 0:09:16We have a rib which will be involved in rescue.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Not something that we've ever been involved with before.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21That's no problem, thanks a lot.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Two months ago I certainly didn't see myself doing this.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28I'm just getting deeper and deeper and deeper into it.
0:09:28 > 0:09:29The bureaucracy,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33this is where you have to grit your teeth and just get on with things
0:09:33 > 0:09:35and remember what it is you're trying to do.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Would you be able to advise me as to who would do such?
0:09:39 > 0:09:40I mean, it's European.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- HE LAUGHS - Insurance companies!
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Nobs. They're so hard to deal with.
0:09:50 > 0:09:51- Got it.- Great stuff.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55It takes days of phone bashing but Joby finally gets insurance.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- ..see what we can do for you. - All right, thanks a lot, man,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- I hope to speak to you soon.- Nice to talk to you.- Tickety-boo. Bye now.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02- Cheers.- Bye-bye-bye.- Bye.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14In just a matter of weeks, they're operational.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19They name their boat Mo Chara, "my friend".
0:10:21 > 0:10:23HE CHUCKLES
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Such an incredible feeling.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32It's...
0:10:32 > 0:10:34the moment of truth, as they say.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37Wa-hey!
0:10:42 > 0:10:43Two lifeguards from Devon,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Richie Heard and Ben Jarvis, are joined by Rathlin Island ferry
0:10:47 > 0:10:49skipper Michael Cecil.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Mo Chara has her first volunteer crew.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59Yahoo!
0:11:01 > 0:11:03We're on the emergency frequency
0:11:03 > 0:11:06and we're available for any eventuality.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Now, as an independent, new rescue initiative,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17we are out there beside all the other rescue teams from around
0:11:17 > 0:11:20the world, who obviously existed.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Swimmers back in.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Swimmers happy.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29We're, from an organisation point of view, having to work doubly hard to
0:11:29 > 0:11:32establish ourselves as a professional rescue team.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- Are you going to give me a rattle with this?- Of course, aye.- Pfft!
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Good man. Right.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- Erm...- Are you serious? - ..just very easy on the steering.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- Right.- Because it'll throw people in.- Ah.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45You just put it forward, yeah?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Yeah. All you have now is a steering wheel and an accelerator.
0:11:48 > 0:11:49- OK.- Main priority...
0:11:51 > 0:11:55- Don't hit land!- Watch where you're going!- Lads, God, that's brilliant.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Thanks, Michael.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Congratulations, skipper.
0:12:03 > 0:12:04Thanks, mate.
0:12:06 > 0:12:07Wow.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14The refugees' journey into the European Union may be just
0:12:14 > 0:12:19a few miles, but this has become one of the deadliest stretches of water
0:12:19 > 0:12:20in the world
0:12:20 > 0:12:24and the pressure is on Jude and Joby to keep the funds coming.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- JUDE:- We can't sustain past the end of this month, which is two weeks
0:12:28 > 0:12:30away, with the funds that we have.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Main cost is the fuel,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- it being 60 euro an hour. - Moving to the bow.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38The idea of the boat being there and not being able to be out is
0:12:38 > 0:12:41absolutely heartbreaking, just for me, it's just not an option.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43So we have to raise the money.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Do you want to do a quick man overboard?
0:12:46 > 0:12:47Surprise me.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Man overboard!
0:12:53 > 0:12:57At night-time, unfortunately, the refugee boats will head for the
0:12:57 > 0:13:01lighthouse cos it's the only light they can see on the coast.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02It's the worst place they can go to.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18If you look around, the landscape, it's very,
0:13:18 > 0:13:24very similar to what we find out in Greece and the Greek islands.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28The distance here is very similar to Lesbos to Turkey.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32It's about six and a half miles from harbour to harbour
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and it's probably
0:13:35 > 0:13:37what inspired me to go in the first place.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45This morning we had 71 people onboard this boat,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and I think it was quite a large two-storey ferry.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54But out in Greece we will have the same numbers on a very small
0:13:54 > 0:13:5830-foot rubber boat with a rubber floor,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01so you can imagine packing all these people into such a small space.
0:14:05 > 0:14:0960 people in the water would be a major, major emergency in the UK.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12You know, every helicopter that was available would be sent out,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15all the lifeboats would be sent out
0:14:15 > 0:14:17and it would be headline news
0:14:17 > 0:14:19all around the world for days and days.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22But it's just a daily occurrence in Greece.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35It's quite intense, quite dramatic.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38You're trying to keep everybody safe,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42your adrenaline's quite high yourself
0:14:42 > 0:14:47and everything happens very, very quickly so it's always trying to
0:14:47 > 0:14:50tell yourself to keep calm and keep everything else calm,
0:14:50 > 0:14:51keep everybody around you calm.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59It's inherently dangerous to go to sea on a rubber boat if nobody knows
0:14:59 > 0:15:01you're going and you don't have any equipment, you know, it's very,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05very easy for something to go wrong and it can happen within 100 yards
0:15:05 > 0:15:07of a shoreline, which is why we're here.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12We're going to go alongside.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16There can be elderly people or children or injured people that end
0:15:16 > 0:15:21up in the water, there's young kids that are hungry and cold.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24It becomes, you know, a living hell on those boats,
0:15:24 > 0:15:25on those rubber boats.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Mo Chara searches the coast for refugees dumped in the sea
0:15:30 > 0:15:34by traffickers overnight and left to swim to shore.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38They come across an entire family on isolated rocks.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43We got in close, Richie swam ashore to see what condition they were in.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Richie communicated with them as best he could.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Do you speak English?
0:15:48 > 0:15:51- INAUDIBLE SPEECH - OK.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53They were quite shaken up from their experience,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56they'd been dropped in the sea and had made their own way ashore and
0:15:56 > 0:15:59were trying to get dry and warm.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01- It's OK. - BABY CRIES
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- It's OK.- It's always tricky, things can always go wrong,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06people can slip and get hurt or get injured.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09- Ooh! Ah.- It's OK, it's OK.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11- Yeah.- Go, go, go.
0:16:11 > 0:16:12Upty.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17- BABY CRIES - Three.- I've got it.- OK.- We have it.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21It's hard to imagine how traumatic and how bad things must've been
0:16:21 > 0:16:24for a father or mother to put their children in a boat
0:16:24 > 0:16:25and take them across.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- It's OK. You're going to be fine. - SHE SOBS
0:16:32 > 0:16:34It shows that there must be something driving
0:16:34 > 0:16:37them forward, making them do that, you know,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39things must be so bad where they are that they really have to,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41they've no choice, they have to get out of there.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:16:47 > 0:16:49My pleasure. My pleasure.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24This is what they call the life jacket cemetery,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28and it's just a big pile of life jackets,
0:17:28 > 0:17:29nothing else.
0:17:30 > 0:17:31Hundreds of thousands of them.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Each one of these represents a person, doesn't it, really?
0:17:45 > 0:17:47That's a new one.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56When I saw that, I thought maybe that was a real one,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58- but it's not, is it?- Nope.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00It's the same...
0:18:00 > 0:18:02parcel packaging as all the rest, eh?
0:18:04 > 0:18:06I honestly don't think you would find a real one here.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34On Lesbos, the number of refugees and migrants are growing.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Very few are being allowed to travel on,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41many fear they'll be deported out of the EU and back to Turkey.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47When I first came here, just as an ordinary volunteer, it was easy,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49it was simple.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51But, you know, since those days,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54it's moved on to almost like more sort of a corporate level.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01EU pressure is now forcing Turkey to shut down the smuggling routes.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Joby's team aren't having an easy ride with the Greek coastguard,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10a military force whose primary role is border security,
0:19:10 > 0:19:11rather than life-saving.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Ultimately that's risking lives,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19this kind of power struggle which we don't really care about so, yeah,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21we're at a stage where we're very frustrated.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27It's always a possibility that the Greek authorities or maybe European
0:19:27 > 0:19:29authorities are trying to make this crossing
0:19:29 > 0:19:33a little bit more difficult, little bit more dangerous
0:19:33 > 0:19:37in the hope that it puts people off attempting it in the first place.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41If there's no welcome here, if there's no rescue resources here,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44then people might be reluctant to cross.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48- THEY CHANT - Refugees are welcome here!
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Once you open the door, it's the Pandora's box, really.
0:19:52 > 0:19:59Now I can see the raw, naked side of
0:19:59 > 0:20:00Fortress Europe.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I'm on the phone to like Human Rights Watch, you know,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09different lawyers,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13asking about what is going on here, trying to understand, you know,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17what is breaking the law and to try and protect the crew but also trying
0:20:17 > 0:20:18to protect the refugees.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24Most are prisoners in a detention centre,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26others are in unofficial satellite campus.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30This one is threatened with closure.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33This is Ireland and Pakistan international, is it?
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- Oh! - INAUDIBLE
0:20:36 > 0:20:40These people, they're no different from us.
0:20:40 > 0:20:41How would you like it, you know,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44having to leave your home and your family and everything else?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47What can people not understand about that?
0:20:49 > 0:20:53It's so fucking easy just to flick off the TV and shut the door
0:20:53 > 0:20:55and forget about it all.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58I'm not here to do politics, if you know what I mean?
0:20:58 > 0:21:02So, I'm trying to help fellow human beings, get them into safe ground,
0:21:02 > 0:21:07get them dressed, get them dried, get them looked after and then
0:21:07 > 0:21:11they can fucking politic all they want after that, you know, as long as the people are safe.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19The sea, look, it can be so beautiful.
0:21:19 > 0:21:20At the same time it can be so...
0:21:21 > 0:21:23..violent at the same time.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26Much like human beings.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30Much like human beings.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Hellenic Coast Guard, Hellenic Coast Guard, this is Mo Chara.
0:21:40 > 0:21:41We have found a body.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Hellenic Coast Guard, Hellenic Coast Guard,
0:21:45 > 0:21:47this is Mo Chara, we have found a body.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53When we were alerted there was bodies in the water,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55they were probably in the water for about 12 hours.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Hellenic Coast Guard, Hellenic Coast Guard, this is Mo Chara,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59we have a body, over.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01The crew arrives too late.
0:22:01 > 0:22:0515 refugees drowned in this incident.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06Just two were saved.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13If we were allowed out on exercise and being in the area
0:22:13 > 0:22:17quite freely, then we most likely would've come across them earlier.
0:22:21 > 0:22:22Yeah. Contact.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24The coastguard actually said,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27"We promise we will get in contact with you if something big happens,"
0:22:27 > 0:22:30you know. No, they won't. They didn't.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37What does it take for the coastguard to actually contact us?
0:22:40 > 0:22:44The pressure is taking an emotional and a physical toll on everyone.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53You know, it takes a lot of energy,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55it takes a lot of energy to keep the whole thing going.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59It sort of wears you out sometimes.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07The pressure's been immense. It's affected my health,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11and the same with Jude, she's been challenged.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20I thought I was sort of dealing with it OK, but being on the ground,
0:23:20 > 0:23:24it totally drained me, to the point where I actually collapsed.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Because you sort of don't think,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31"Well, I'm not in trauma," because these people are the ones in trauma
0:23:31 > 0:23:35but you're seeing stuff that people are going through that they really
0:23:35 > 0:23:39shouldn't have to be going through and then it became the norm, like,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42the boats coming in and, you know, helping people, you know,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45I'm going out and having a coffee or something and then boats are coming
0:23:45 > 0:23:48in, I'm running in in my jeans and helping babies out and bringing them
0:23:48 > 0:23:52into the camp and that became the norm and, like...
0:23:52 > 0:23:53you know, it's not normal.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07The threatened camp closure goes ahead.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Deportations are starting,
0:24:12 > 0:24:18the main detention centre built for hundreds but holding thousands is at breaking point.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25- NEWS READER:- The divide over the migration crisis is deepening within the EU.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30Thousands of refugees are arriving every week. They are making...
0:24:30 > 0:24:34More than 60,000 asylum seekers remain stranded in Greek camps.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40The frustration comes from
0:24:40 > 0:24:43seeing what happens on the ground,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46what is actually happening in reality, and then what people are
0:24:46 > 0:24:47being told on the news.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53There's just so many horrible things being done.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58People forget real quick, you know, how bad it's been for these people.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00It's fucking awful for these people.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02THEY CHANT
0:25:05 > 0:25:07HE SHOUTS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:25:07 > 0:25:11Christianity, goodwill, whatever you want to call it,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13where the fuck is it? Where the fuck is that?
0:25:18 > 0:25:21At least 50 people have been arrested after violence erupted
0:25:21 > 0:25:22at a migrant camp.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26On top of all of this,
0:25:26 > 0:25:31the coastguard demands 24 hours notice before Mo Chara goes to sea.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33We're here to do a job and it's extremely frustrating.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37We've explained at lengths to them we're only here to help.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40We've reached a point now where we're pushing back now because
0:25:40 > 0:25:44compliance hasn't worked, trying to communicate, it hasn't worked.
0:25:46 > 0:25:52We've fought off an absolute bureaucratic assault on our organisation,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55here, there and everywhere,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59and they've tried to curtail us as much as they possibly could,
0:25:59 > 0:26:04and try and control us, and we've fought them tooth and nail.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10People like me have to come along and serve up to these people,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15these big, world, over-bloated humanitarian organisations,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18so-called humanitarian organisations.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22They do great work, so you can't criticise them when they get it wrong.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Well, they got it fucking wrong here and people need to fucking know about that.
0:26:26 > 0:26:31They got it spectacularly wrong and the price that was paid were fucking lives out on that sea.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Night-time crossings are increasing and it's more dangerous than ever.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45The death rate is now double what it was in 2015 and 2016.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53People migrating is as old as time.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58People are so desperate they're going to keep coming,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and they're going to keep coming by sea, so whether we're in Lesbos
0:27:02 > 0:27:05or if we're out in the Mediterranean, I feel like that's
0:27:05 > 0:27:09why I want to stabilise the organisation now because it's...
0:27:09 > 0:27:10it's bigger than us.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15We keep coming back, as do all the volunteers.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18It gets into your psyche,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22you go home and basically wait for the next opportunity that you have
0:27:22 > 0:27:23to get back out here again.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Something moved in me.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31I don't know, people may call it God, people, whatever they call it,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35I know that something moved in me and it brought me to this path.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40But if I'm on my deathbed, this'll be something that I'll...
0:27:42 > 0:27:44..give myself a wee pat on the back for.
0:27:44 > 0:27:45I'll have a wee wry smile.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51I think it's nice to be on the right side of history.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Something I'm probably privileged to have gone through.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01In the beginning it was haphazard, to say the least,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04but we did the job, you know, saved lives.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07I'm proud of that, too.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15You need people like me, frankly, to come along,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18and like Jude and Michael and the rest of us...
0:28:20 > 0:28:22..and say, "Fuck that, no."
0:28:23 > 0:28:25"We're not having it."