The Mirror — Neck deep in freezing waves, Philippa Kempson battled to pull a little boy from a sinking boat crammed with 80 people.
Terrified six-year-old Mohammed, who had arrived at the Greek island of Lesbos after a perilous 1,600-mile journey from Syria, was just one of thousands of refugees Philippa and her husband Eric have helped.
But now the British expat couple, who run a beachside refuge for migrants called Hope Centre, face being closed down after a ruling by local authorities.
They have been told their 20-room centre – a former holiday hotel – can no longer be used to provide shelter, food or clothing.
The couple, who are also being hit with a €10,000 penalty for running a hotel without a licence, claim they are the victims of an island backlash against the migrants.
They even say they have received threats on Facebook such as “There are three roads out of town, pick one” and that some locals want to “erase” them from existence.
“To do this when people continue to risk their lives travelling to Europe is inhumane.
“We are not running a hotel – We are a refuge offering a warm place for those arriving off the boats”.
“There is a loss of humanity here. It’s clear the tide is turning against the influx of refugees and some people don’t want them.
Philippa and Eric, 60, originally from Newport, Gwent, have lived on Lesbos since 1999 and first began helping refugees two years ago.
Earlier this year they took over the lease of the Hotel Elpis with daughter EJ, determined to open it as a shelter.
Elpis was the Greek goddess of hope so the name lent itself to the transformation.
Philippa said: “From the day the first overcrowded boats arrived we knew we couldn’t turn our backs on this desperate tide of humanity – yet now we are being shut down.
“All I can think is what’s going to happen to kids like Mohammed and his family, whose boat containing 80 people smashed into rocks.
“As soon as we were alerted to a boat sinking I went into the sea with a Greek farmer to link a rope round it and stop it drifting out.
“The weather was horrific, the waves were crashing in, it was freezing and then the engine caught fire.
“Despite the risks, a huge group of volunteers fought the tide and exhaustion to get the children, women and men safely off the boat.
“Afterwards I spoke to little Mohammed and his family.
“They had fled Syria and lost everything but they said even this was better than what they’d left behind.”
The couple’s refuge was doomed at heated meeting earlier this month with tourism officials.
Philippa said: “It became clear that never, under any circumstances, will they allow the centre to be used to assist refugees.
“They were openly hostile, they refused to look at us or address us directly and they resorted to banging on
tables and screaming.
“They were saying they wanted us gone because of the complaints against us.
“Although we are devastated, we will still do our upmost to help these people – and give them hope.”
