Greek Woman Is Candidate For Nobel Peace Prize

86-year-old Emilia Kamvysi is not a politician, activist or lawyer. Her days are simple and slow. Like other Greek retirees on the island of Lesbos off the Turkish coast, she cooks for her children and grandchildren, watches the evening news and sits on the bench with her neighbors gazing at the sea. Kamvysi is not your typical Nobel Peace Prize candidate.

Then her life changed. Along with two neighbors, aged 89 and 85, Kamvysi was sitting on a bench in February, helping out a Syrian refugee mother by feeding her child with a bottle. The photo went viral, and she and the two other grannies in the photo became symbols of Greek generosity toward the migrants who have fled to Europe in recent years.

“I wish that Greece wins this prize, not just me,” Kamvysi said, pledging if she wins to give her share of the $1.2 million prize to the decaying Greek healthcare system.

For the journalists and photographers who have stepped into her home recently, she brews a Greek coffee and brings out a jar of candy. Still, the media attention has often been tiring for the three grannies. They complained they had to dress up every day to greet journalists from as far as Bolivia and Bangladesh, as well as politicians.

In the small island of Lesbos, meanwhile, the three grandmas have become celebrities.

“It’s good for the island and good for the grandmas,” said Roula Kyparisi, a bed and breakfast owner on Lesbos. “We’re all hoping they will win it. It’s so strange that your neighbor is a candidate for a Nobel Prize.”

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