The rescue of little “Jonah”, the 50-day-old refugee boy who was rescued by coastguards in Tilos, quickly became known on the internet.

The infant was trapped for three days in a steep area, with his parents using seawater to make milk for him. The infant was named Jonas, in reference to the monk who came out to Tilos and founded the monastery of St. Panteleimon.

After the family was rescued, they were provided with first aid, food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Then, little Jonas and his family left for Piraeus.

The emotion of public opinion was great, especially for Cretan coastguard Yannis Koufakis, who participated in the rescue.

He, in a post on Facebook, referred to the incident and gave credit to his colleagues, writing:“I think we did the obvious and nothing more… it’s all about being a HUMAN with empathy! At least that’s what I learned.”

Referring to the photo of the baby rescue that was widely circulated, he noted: “Regarding the photo of the baby rescue that I see is being circulated with great speed, I would like to say two things on my part as well… First of all, thank you all for your wonderful words! You touch me and give me strength to keep going because it is not easy at all to be away from your children and loved ones for so long… But the credit must go to the rest of our crew colleagues George Kampourakis and Nikos Moutsakis who under adverse conditions we managed to become a lifeline for these people! I believe that we did the obvious and nothing more… it is all about being a HUMAN with empathy! At least that’s what I learned. Thank you again!”

His sister also made a touching Facebook post, writing: “His name is John and he’s a Coast Guard officer. He’s not in uniform because he obviously wasn’t on duty, you’re on duty 24/7 there. He also has a baby who hasn’t said daddy for two months now… He has a mother who reads every day that the coastguards are drowning people in the Aegean Sea… I don’t feel proud of my brother, he did the obvious, what anyone who wants to be called human would do! I feel angry that I live in a world where babies have to be rescued from boats and vindication that all sacrifices have value when you save a Life! Welcome baby to our wonderful world! Welcome to appoint Giannis Koufakis to your family.”

The mayor of Tilos, Maria Kamma, said goodbye to little Jonas with the following touching post: “Calm, safe, dry, clean, properly fed, watching everyone and everything around him… Be well our little boy and may life from now on not be so cruel and unfair to you… Have a good trip, our little Jonah and we hope that tomorrow will not be your last day on our island…”.

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