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Syrian Refugee Arrives In Greece With His Beloved Kitten Strapped To His Chest

Syrian Refugee Arrives In Greece With His Beloved Kitten Strapped To His Chest
Sara C Nelson
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An image purportedly showing a Syrian refugee arriving in Greece with his beloved kitten in his arms is going viral.

Wearing a backpack and a sling containing his precious furry cargo, the man has an expression of pure relief on his face.

The picture, which was reportedly taken on the island of Lesbos, was shared on Greek website Protothema and is being touted as a ray of light in an otherwise bleak humanitarian tragedy.

Little is known about the man - though according to sources on Twitter the kitten is named Zeytouna - Arabic for 'Olive'.

Around 11 million Syrians have fled their country amid violence meted out by dictator Bashar Assad and the Islamic State terror group.

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Numbers That Show There's Much More To Do To Help Syrian Refugees
45% of Syrians forced out of their homes(01 of08)
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More than 10 million Syrians have been forced out of their homes due to the conflict, becoming either “internally displaced” or fleeing altogether, according to Amnesty International. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
7.6 million Syrians are displaced within the country(02 of08)
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The UNHCR’s latest figures show the crisis is getting worse. More than 7.6m Syrians have been displaced within the country by the conflict, fleeing to safer areas. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
3.8 million have sought refuge in other countries(03 of08)
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By December 2014, 3.8 million Syrians had fled the country altogether. They sought refuge in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. A sizeable proportion then make the perilous journey to Europe.
These numbers may well have increased since the last count, given the advance of Isis and the continued battle between rebel groups and pro-government forces. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
33 applications supported by the UN accepted by Gulf nations(04 of08)
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The Gulf Cooperation Council's oil-rich states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates accept very few refugees and asylum seekers from Syria.
Since 2011, the UNHCR has supported 63 Syrians with asylum applications in the countries – but just 33 were accepted, despite the UN's support.
Amnesty International has called Gulf states’ contribution “shocking”, the states themselves say they are providing thousands of visitor visas for Syrians, but also protecting against the threat of Islamist extremist attacks. (credit:Buena Vista Images via Getty Images)
5,000 Syrians taken in by Britain since 2011(05 of08)
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Full Fact reports that Britain has granted asylum to just under 5,000 Syrians in the initial decision made on their applications since 2011.
In addition, 216 Syrian refugees have been resettled in the UK.
Resettlement includes transferring refugees from Syria to the UK – whilst a person has to be in a country to claim asylum there. (credit:shutterstock)
0.17% of Syrian refugees offered places to resettle in Europe (asides from Germany)(06 of08)
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Aside from Germany, the other 27 EU nations have pledged just 6,305 places to Syrians to resettle, last year. That’s 0.17% of the number of refugees that have fled Syria.
While EU nations are likely to significantly increase the number of resettlement places this year – Germany still takes a lion’s share of those seeking refuge. (credit:Jean Claude Meignan via Getty Images)
2.2% of Syrian refugees offered places to resettle this year(07 of08)
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Amnesty International says that – by June 2015 – only 2.2% of Syrian refugees have been offered places to resettle by the international community. That’s less than 90,000.
And money is short too. “The UN’s humanitarian appeal for Syrian refugees was only 23% funded as of the 3 June,” it wrote. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
145 countries signed the Refugee Convention(08 of08)
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In 1951, 145 nations ratified the Refugee Convention governing the treatment of those fleeing persecution.
Yet just a fraction of these have offered to help so far. (credit:SuperStock via Getty Images)
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