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A travel agent who devoted her summer holiday to helping refugees has spoken of the moment a family she aided was reunited.
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Laura Ferris “shed a tear” upon hearing that three-year-old Mohammed Yousef and father Ahmad had been joined by his mother Maya and 10-month-old sister Zukta in Germany.
The travel consultant, from The Co-operative Travel in Selby, had met the Syrian pair on a beach in Lesbos and along with her husband had played with Mohammed while Ahmad waited in vain for his wife’s boat to arrive, as reported in TTG last year.
After flying home, Ferris kept in contact with the family and several months later learned they had been reunited in the German town of Schlangenbad, near Frankfurt.
Speaking to TTG, Ferris said: “When I heard that they had found each other, I shed a tear. It broke my heart to leave them on the beach like that, but once I knew they were all safe it was such a relief. It took Maya two months to get from Turkey to Germany while looking after a baby. It must have been so difficult.”
Ferris has been in daily contact with the family, and with two other groups of refugees she met while on Lesbos, and she is aiming to arrange a visit soon.
Since their work in the summer, Ferris and her husband have dedicated themselves to donating boxes of supplies to the region out of their own pocket and turned to professional football clubs for support.
“After a while of sending out five boxes every month my coffers were empty, so I approached football clubs to see if they could send me anything,” Ferris said.
“Some did say no, but others like Aston Villa, Stoke and Everton were great and sent last season’s kits and team merchandise, Arsenal even sent me a box of 2,000 items – it was incredible. I’ve been sending boxes full of hats and scarves and have got more ready to go. I think Arsenal might have a few extra fans now.”
To increase the amount in donations being sent, Ferris is urging all airlines to allow passengers to bring extra baggage on flights free of charge to donate to refugees in camps across Europe.
“It would be great if every airline would introduce a complimentary baggage allowance for travellers who want to go to Greece and help refugees,” Ferris said.
“When I flew back to Lesbos in September, I ended up paying £90 to take the extra baggage across and the charges make it really difficult for ordinary people to help. Making extra baggage free would do so much good and get more supplies to the people who need them most.”
