Sarah Mardini was born and raised in Damascus, Syria. During the Syrian War the family lost their home, and had to keep moving to avoid ensuing violence. By 2015, fearing for their safety, the family decided to flee Syria and build a new life in Europe. The family travelled to Turkey and boarded an inflatable boat to Greece. Disaster struck when the heavily overcrowded boat’s engine stopped working and started to sink. Many of those onboard were not able to swim. As lifeguards and professional swimmers, Sarah and her sister, Yrsa, along with two other men, jumped into the ocean and pushed the boat through the Aegean sea for the next 3.5 hours to safely in Lesbos. They saved 18 people onboard and were hailed as heroes by the international press.
Once in Greece, Sarah and her sister travelled the long and dangerous journey and they lived in a refugee camp for 8 months and successfully claimed asylum. However, Sarah was determined that no one else would experience what she had in her crossing. This led her to return to Lesbos a year later, as a search and rescue swimmer and Arabic translator for the Emergency Response Center International and volunteered for them for 2 years while putting her studies on hold.
In 2018, Sarah was flying back to Berlin from Lesbos and was arrested by Greek police officers on charges of human smuggling, being part of a criminal organisation, espionage and money laundering. She spent 3 and a half months in jail before being released on bail in December 2018. Sarah’s arrest and incarceration was heavily criticised by the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, other watchdog groups and the press. Despite the case against Sarah still being open, Sarah has returned to Berlin and resumed her studies at Bard College. She is coming to tell her inspiring story and her desire to create change despite the difficult experiences she has faced. Sarah Mardini was born and raised in Damascus, Syria. During the Syrian War the family lost their home, and had to keep moving to avoid ensuing violence. By 2015, fearing for their safety, the family decided to flee Syria and build a new life in Europe. The family travelled to Turkey and boarded an inflatable boat to Greece. Disaster struck when the heavily overcrowded boat’s engine stopped working and started to sink. Many of those onboard were not able to swim. As lifeguards and professional swimmers, Sarah and her sister, Yrsa, along with two other men, jumped into the ocean and pushed the boat through the Aegean sea for the next 3.5 hours to safely in Lesbos. They saved 18 people onboard and were hailed as heroes by the international press. Once in Greece, Sarah and her sister travelled the long and dangerous journey and they lived in a refugee camp for 8 months and successfully claimed asylum. However, Sarah was determined that no one else would experience what she had in her crossing. This led her to return to Lesbos a year later, as a search and rescue swimmer and Arabic translator for the Emergency Response Center International and volunteerered for them for 2 years while putting her studies on hold. In 2018, Sarah was flying back to Berlin from Lesbos and was arrested by Greek police officers on charges of human smuggling, being part of a criminal organisation, espionage and money laundering. She spent 3 and a half months in jail before being released on bail in December 2018. Sarah’s arrest and incarceration was heavily criticised by the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, other watchdog groups and the press. Despite the case against Sarah still being open, Sarah has returned to Berlin and resumed her studies at Bard College. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx