This is the sound of a ferry for the island of Chios loading at the port of Piraeus in the spring of 2016. I recorded it standing on the deck looking out at the densely packed tents of refugees and asylum seekers in empty warehouses on the harbour side. Many of them had arrived from the islands on similar ferries, often hidden in the backs of trucks, to escape being returned to Turkey or held in closed camps. 

Recorded by Maria Margaronis.

Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world’s first collection of the sounds of human migration. 

For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration