The
site of overloaded dinghies carrying migrants from the Aegean Sea
became less common. Riots began dwindling. Only a few relics from the
crisis remained: rows of deflated boats and scattered life vests strewn
over the island's white sand.
It was the right moment for Brüggemann, who was on assignment for a German magazine.
"The
idea," he said, "was to look at German tourists doing their holidays
there, the ones who had booked in advance but instead of asking for
their money back as they were entitled to, they decided to go ahead with
the holiday."
When Brüggemann
arrived to Kos, "it was obvious there was something very unique going
on, like a clash of civilizations," he said.
His images were very different from the images of the migration crisis we have already seen.
"There are so many sad images," he said, "and sadly, people just don't feel anything anymore.
"You
see a strong Syrian father bringing (his) family to safety on the shore
and you can say, yes, that's a strong image. But you also know that a
German family will set up their picnic right by that image. And that is
what I found interesting."
Cash-strapped Greece
depends strongly on their northern visitors for tourism dollars.
Germans and other northern European travelers are some of the top
contributors to Greece's gross domestic product.
That essential contribution has been
threatened by the migration crisis, which triggered a wave of hotel and
flight cancellations.
With this context
in mind, Brüggemann adds a level of critical irony to the Kos refugee
story, shadowing the ubiquitous German tourist as he tiptoes through
refugee tents. Brüggemann's photos also show scantily clothed
vacationers sunbathing by modestly dressed refugees.
"It
was really strange," Brüggemann said. "Here are the Germans, working
all year to have these two weeks of holidays in Greece. They work hard
and they come here and they obviously feel they are in a very strange
situation psychologically.¨
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