On the floor of Rhodes Airport, exhausted sleep.
People fled their hotels as the flames approached.
Some are running for their lives.
In one corner, we meet Corina, a tourist. DenmarkWith her husband Peter and daughter Mathilde.
They lie in a small heap, salt stains covering their clothes.
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Korina explains that they were staying in Kyotari, when they were told that a forest fire was heading their way and it was time to leave.
For 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) they walked in extreme temperatures, but every time they thought they were safe, they were told the flames were close again.
In the end, their only option was to board a boat that was waiting ashore and travel to the north side of the island.
Now that the adrenaline has worn off, the shock is starting to sink in.
Photo: Ted G. Bellows via Reuters
“I can’t see my oldest child at home and my grandson again,” Corinna began to cry.
“You thought you were going to die?” I asked.
“Yeah, the fire was right behind us. It was scary,” she replies.
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Inside an evacuation shelter in Rhodes
She adds: “We were kicked out of the hotel yesterday and sent to the beach. We walked 11km back to the beach where we didn’t know what to do.
“And then the army came and picked us up and took us further south.
“Later, the police boat came and another boat came, so we were evacuated.”
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Even when they were on the water, it was scary, Corinna said.
“The fire was moving alongside us. The hotel was burnt down.
“That’s why we’re sitting here the way we are,” he said.
After boarding the boat at 2.30am, they did not arrive in Rhodes Town until 6am.
Evacuation in Roads
Relief, exhaustion, fear and anger when tourists sleep on the floor.
His story is a common one as we make our way around the airport talking to vacationers.
It’s an emotionally charged environment; A mixture of relief, exhaustion, fear and anger.
And as the hours go by, anger is the feeling that starts to dominate.
Every tourist we spoke to was asking the same question: “Where is my vacation company?”
Most say that while Rhodes residents have opened their homes and communities to help them, they feel the tour companies they paid thousands of rupees to are missing out.
At most, they have sent local representatives armed with few answers to face the music.
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Why is Rhodes on fire?
They are “sacrificial lambs,” one Birmingham man told me.
So now hundreds are sleeping on the floors of schools, sports centers and airports waiting for news.
While they are very disappointed, they know that in the end, they are lucky – they can leave.
Rhodesians who have lost their homes and businesses to these fires are the ones who will be left counting the cost of climate change.
Source by [Sky News]
