Feature: Internet enables refugee wedding in Greek island
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E-mail Xinhua, August 9, 2016
Two Afghan refugees got married in a wedding ceremony on the Greek island of Lesvos over the weekend.
Zahra Mohammadi, 24, and Ehsan Gholami, 27 met on Lesvos in January at a party mainly for Afghans. Since early 2015, the bulk of the more than one million Europe-bound refugees and immigrants have landed in the Greek island.
"We decided to get married and start our common life here," a happy Gholami told Xinhua on Saturday at the wedding ceremony.
A religious ceremony was held via Skype, according to the best man. "The couple was connected to a mufti in Afghanistan via skype and read the sacred speech," he said.
After the ceremony, there was a big celebration at a local hotel, which was attended by fellow refugees and Greek volunteers."There will be a civil marriage too," said the best man.
It was the second marriage between refugees on Lesvos since April when two refugees respectively from Turkey and Syria got married at a refugee camp.
"Everybody -- from the DJ to the hotel, the catering and the two refugee organizations -- helped to throw a big party in Greek way as the couple asked for," said Elpida Koumarela, a volunteer who helped organizing the wedding party.
"We wish a beautiful life to the newlyweds and we are happy that they will stay on our island," said Koumarela.
Arrived at Lesvos for the first time 10 years ago as a minor, Gholami said he knows the island very well. He reached Lesvos shores by boat and was transferred to a hostel on Crete island.
"My parents were killed in the war when I was 12 years old. I took my brother and travelled to Iran. My uncle was there," Gholami said.
Five years later his brother left Iran and went to Australia, while Gholami stayed on Crete. He took Greek lessons, went to Athens, and came back to Lesvos in 2012.
Completing his school on Lesvos, Gholami now works as a translator at "Meta-action", a non-governmental organization for refugees. His dream is to study sociology at the University of the Aegean.
The bride Mohammadi came with her mother to Lesvos by boat in November 2015, the year that Lesvos accepted large number of refugees.
"I don't want to recall my journey. I only want to remember the good people I found here," she told Xinhua.
Mohammadi went to a group of volunteers on Lesvos and learned to knit woolen caps and pullovers for the refugees.
Olga Pliakatou, Mohammadi's friend in the knitting group, said the friends were very happy about Zahra.
"We couldn't imagine that this girl who came with her mother to Lesvos and was frequently crying, would finally find such luck and happiness," said Pliakatou.
The new couple is worried about the current refugee situation.
"Thousands of refugees and immigrants are trapped in Greece after EU(European Union) countries shut down their borders. The EU-Turkey refugee deal is really bad for people living in camps under inappropriate conditions," said Mohammadi.
Local police said 964 Afghans are among the 3,645 refugees and immigrants remaining at Lesvos.
As of August 3, 90,082 migrants arrived at Lesvos in 2016, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.
In January and February, there were 42,601 and 31,416 arrivals respectively to the island, while in March and April, the number dropped to 14,155 and 1,766, respectively.
The average number of daily arrivals in July was 36, in June was 15, while in May and April it was 17 and 59, respectively. Enditem
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