MOUSTAFA, THE IMAM OF LESVOS (2016)
Directors: Méri Charitonidi, Elma Neykova
The documentary deals with Moustafa Dawa and the task he has undertaken in the island of Lesvos: Moustafa was born in 1986 in the area of Gharbia, Egypt. He studied Languages and Translation in Cairo. In 2007 he came to Greece to study Greek Philology at the Democritus University of Thrace, in Komotini. In 2012 he got involved with the refugee crisis around the Evros-Maritsa River area, volunteering as an interpreter of Greek-Arabic- English. In March 2015, Moustafa interrupted his studies to arrive to Lesvos where the refugees' crisis was escalating. He worked with various NGOs as an interpreter. By the end of 2015, without any prior experience, he undertook a difficult duty on the island- the burial of the refugees. With his initiative, as well as, the help of the Deputy Mayor of Lesvos- Georgios Katzanos, Moustafa created the cemetery for the refugees where he continued conducting the burials of the lost souls. Today, he is looking after the cemetery with his own funds along with the financial support from some of the families whose members were buried in Kato Tritos, Lesvos. The purpose of this documentary is to depict through the eyes of Moustafa Dawa the untold story of the muslim burials on the island of Lesvos.
