From what I understood, refugees from Turkey are blackmailed and forced to cross the Aegean Sea to the Greek island of Lesbos despite any conditions that might prove to be harmful to their well-being and life. A coast guard captain is charged to rescue these refugees, to save them from drowning.

I don’t really understand why the smugglers would force refugees to cross. Is it to reduce the chances of being caught? The less time they spend helping out refugees, the less opportunities to be caught smuggling them out? Or is it because if they get rid of refugees faster, they would have more time to smuggle out more refugees?

There was a point in the video, near the end, when someone said “It is up to us to help everyone, then” when he was informed of how the children’s hospital was full of refugee kids with no parents. It might be “altruism” or “virtue ethics” because he says this because he is concerned for the children and the refugees, not for himself. Of course, he may not be one of the people who are going out there to rescue drowning refugees but regardless, he has no definite proof that he will not die in the process or will be compensated for his troubles. He is saying this, probably, without thinking about what he could gain.

I think that the people who went to save the refugees are altruists or act on virtue ethics because they just decided to help and from what I saw in the video, the weather wasn’t suitable for sailing or going on a boat because it was too windy.

There are some points in the video in which people mention God and there is a man praying or making a cross when the refugees come ashore to Lesbos. So, there are some people who believe in God and believe that He will save them. From that, maybe the refugees and the man believe that God sent the coast guards to save them.