I could not hope to touch the sky

I could not hope 

to touch the sky 

with my two arms

-Sappho

We sat in the port under the arm of Mytilene’s Statue of Liberty, two men from Iran, a woman from London, a wayward American and a clumsy little black puppy. The ukulele traded hands and the language of the music changed as often as tiny waves reached the shore near our feet. The puppy toddled between us, alternating her mini naps on each lap as Arash and Hani introduced me to Farsi music. The sun sank below the hills as a baritone voice blended and bent with the sound of the sea. 

Arash’s father was shot and killed in Iran almost twenty years ago. Since then, 32 year old Arash has stood up for the rights of others, such as bricklayers and trafficked sex workers. He has taken part in protests in Iran and he paid a heavy cost for his activism. Convicted of such brilliantly vague crimes as “Insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran,” and “Propaganda against the regime of Iran,” Arash has had his cameras and equipment confiscated, has survived countless beatings and has served multiple jail sentences, the final one lasting nearly three years. 

Photo by Arash Hampay

Arash fled Iran last year with his younger brother Amir, hiding in the forests of Turkey and crossing the sea to get to Greece. “Only forty minutes,” he said of the crossing. He assured me that that was the easy part. Since then he has struggled with the passing of time and the lack of purpose. “I cannot work,” he says as he tells me that his dream is to go to school for photography. Arash carries his camera (and puppy, Googol) everywhere he goes, capturing people’s smiles, triumphs and disappointments in his view finder. His photography tells the story of Lesvos today.

Upon arrival, a refugee applies for asylum and then waits... and waits... and waits some more.  The entire process is a study in inefficiency, inconstancy, and lack of accountability. As fate would have it, while Arash was approved for asylum, his brother Amir, was not. Once rejected, Amir appealed (which is still pending) and was imprisoned at Moria. Amir has now been imprisoned for months while Arash advocates for him from the outside. No one knows why Amir’s application was denied since he and Arash share blood and common danger and a deportation back to Iran could be absolutely disastrous. But there is no way to question the system. As anger mounted and in a bid for much needed attention, a hunger strike has begun at Moria, tasting it’s fifth day. In solidarity, Arash began his hunger strike one day later. (I won’t take it personally that I had just made a giant pot of soup for him..) Taking his devotion up to the next level, Arash is living out his hunger strike, very publicly, in centrally located Sappho Square with temperatures soaring to ten year highs.  He has also been arrested and released once for each day of his hunger strike. Arash is one determined man. But will he be heard?  Will he be safe? And will he ever have a chance to just be?