Migrant crisis on Greek island of Kos: 'I'm coming here for peace'

Kos is a stepping stone for many new arrivals who move on to Athens and then, they hope, other parts of Europe

When they leave the shores of Turkey to travel to Kos those seeking refuge do not think of this Greek island as their destination. They think only of Europe.

It is a continent they associate with opportunity. Many call it a "place of their dreams" or "a paradise".

It is hard to believe that what they have found in Kos matches the picture they imagined in their heads.

At sunrise people start their day on the streets. They wash in the sea and dress in front of tourists taking an early morning stroll.

There are young children and babies among those lying sleeping on the promenade, hidden by their bags of possessions.

It is easy to spot the new arrivals. They are still in life vests or asleep on them having made the journey overnight.

Migrants, many from Syria, land in Kos every day on small, overcrowded dinghies

This ship will be used as a registration centre and temporary shelter for 2,500 people

The authorities on Kos are sensitive about those images which have been printed in newspapers around the world.

This island economy depends on tourism and several people in businesses here have told me they are worried all the news coverage will put off visitors in the future.

That is why there have been such frantic efforts to get a cruise ship to the port to act as a floating refugee camp.

Yet the Greek police said the vessel will only be open to Syrians for the moment because they are automatically categorised as refugees.

Other nationalities are initially regarded by the authorities as migrants.

That means 16-year-old Nahmattullah Dishani (pictured) and his family will not have places on the ship.

They have travelled from the Jalalabad region of Afghanistan, close to the Pakistan border.

"My father is dead... in a suicide (bomb) attack," he tells me. "I want a life. I want to go to school. I want all of my family safe and living."

Nahmattullah was picked up by the coastguard after the boat he was in got into trouble in the ocean.

Plenty of others make it.

Waiting for the boat to Athens...

At sunrise on a beach from where you can see Turkey, a small boat drifts into view.

The men on board are Syrian and their relief at arriving on European shores away from their country's conflict is obvious.

"I'm coming here for peace," says one of them. "I want peace."

Knowing what all these refugees are leaving behind is the key to understanding why they have made the journey to Europe.

But the continent offers an uncertain future.

Yet there is an undeniable optimism among many of the homeless people you meet in Kos.

Chris Yemenijian was a champion table tennis player in Syria.

"If I become a European, I can become a European champion," he says with a broad grin.

And that positivity takes strength when you consider what happened to him in Aleppo.

"My family is dead," he says. "You have to start a new life, a new beginning. You can't go back."

Those stories of desperation are the reason why so many are moving on.