Hour of freedom arrives for NGO volunteers

Sarah Mardini had notched up exactly three-and-a-half months in jail when she was released from the Greek capital's Korydallos Prison last week. She was hit by a sudden realization that same morning: Three-and-a-half was also the number of hours she and her sister had to swim to bring their fellow passengers to safety after their boat ran into trouble during the crossing from Turkey to the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos in summer 2015. The 23-year-old Syrian doesn't hold much stock in such symbolism, but the coincidence still made an impression. There were certainly days that were tough during those three-and-a-half months in prison, but keeping a positive mind-set helped her, as it has done during even rougher ordeals. "Prison was little bit like an extended vacation, only behind locked doors," she told Kathimerini shortly after being granted release from pretrial custody.