Mother's aid mission to Kos draws mixed reaction

A mother who cancelled her family summer holiday to hand out aid to migrants in Kos said her mission has met with a mixed reaction on the holiday island.

Rachel Miller sparked emotional scenes on the beach front when she unzipped suitcases full of much-needed supplies for migrants and refugees today.

Families surrounded her as she gave out water, food, clothing and shoes to those sleeping rough on the sand just moments from the town centre’s lively restaurant scene.

Among them was a seven-month pregnant Iraqi woman sleeping in a make-shift cardboard tent and a mother breast-feeding her month-old baby on the stone floor next to her young son.

A British family with young children joined in to help hand out sandwiches and water, while others stopped to donate money to Mrs Miller’s fund.

But her good will also met with anger from locals who discouraged her from helping the migrants who are arriving in their thousands every week.

"When we told our hotel why we here they told us we had wasted our time, ’there’s no migrant problem, you won’t find any migrants here’ and they have been quite hostile to us.

"As we talked it became apparent that they were losing bookings as a result of the crisis and had basically lost their compassion.

Sue McGougan-Micklethwaite (left) from Barnsley and Rachel Miller (right) from Nottingham.

"We’ve spoken to other locals who deny there is any refugee problem.

"I’ve also been approached by a British tourist who questioned why I was helping out here instead of back home.

"But we have also met some wonderful tourists and locals helping us and giving us money for donations.

"It’s clear opinion is differing a lot and there is tension here.

"Whether they are a refugee or an economic migrant, here they have nothing and people are in need. It’s actually worse than I thought."

She added that she was "overwhelmed" by the gratitude of the migrants, who openly shared their difficult stories of leaving their home country and risking their lives to make it Greece.

Some hotel and restaurant owners have reported a fall in numbers visiting Kos town in the north of the island where the migrants are gathered and fear media coverage of the growing refugee crisis in the Aegean Sea islands in Greece will damage tourism.

But Sue McGougan-Micklethwaite who has travelled out with Mrs Miller to join her campaign said holidaymakers back home should still visit Kos.

"It’s a beautiful island and there are large parts completely unaffected by the crisis, you wouldn’t notice it. But if you are here, come and see them and donate what they can."