Lending a helping hand to evacuees

Britons Craig Gaby, his wife and their three children were on the beach when a message from the 112 civil protection hotline came on his cellphone on Saturday, July 22, telling them to evacuate the area. They saw the black smoke in the distance and walked 10 kilometers in nothing but bathing suits and flip-flops to the spot where boats were waiting to pick up evacuees and take them to Rhodes Town and the makeshift shelter set up at the Venetokleio Sports Arena. They would have spent the night there, sleeping on mattresses on the floor, if Vassilis Kostomiris had not shown up. "He was our savior; we were lucky to meet him," says Gaby.

The president of the community of Psinthos, Kostomiris took in another two families with children - from the UK and Sweden - a total of 17 people, and arranged for accommodation in the village. One family stayed in a house owned by his son,...