By COSTAS KANTOURIS AND KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES ASSOCIATED HAMILO, Greece — Mar 14, 2016, 9:32 AM ET
ABC News
Hundreds of migrants and refugees walked out of an overcrowded camp on the Greek-Macedonian border Monday, determined to use a dangerous crossing to head north.
More than 300 people, including dozens of children, were heading west toward a river that crosses the border, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) outside the village of Idomeni, where some 14,000 people are stranded at a sprawling camp.
They refused to turn back at a Greek police cordon outside the camp.
More than 40,000 people have been stranded in Greece after Macedonia and other ex-Yugoslav countries closed their borders to migrants and refugees — prompting them to seek more dangerous crossings.
Underscoring the risks, police in Macedonia said the bodies of two men and one woman, believed to be migrants, were found Monday in the Suva Reka river near the border with Greece. Twenty migrants crossed safely and another three were hospitalized, authorities said.
Showing posts with label Refugees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Refugees. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2016
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Refugee crisis: Macedonia tells Germany they've 'completely failed'
Macedonia is 'paying for the mistakes of the EU' says President Ivanov, as his country seals its border with Greece
Charlotte Beale
The Independent
Macedonia’s President has told Germany "your country has completely failed" in its security response to the refugee crisis.
While praising the "humanity" of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door immigration policy, President Gjorge Ivanov said "the security situation has been entirely ignored" in an interview with German newspaper Bild.
Authorities in Macedonia, which is not a European Union member state, have seized 9,000 forged or stolen passports from refugees.
But Macedonian offers to share intelligence and data on alleged jihadists have been rejected by Europe, Mr Ivanov said.
"We were told: we cannot cooperate with you; you are a third party country."
Charlotte Beale
The Independent
Macedonia’s President has told Germany "your country has completely failed" in its security response to the refugee crisis.
While praising the "humanity" of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door immigration policy, President Gjorge Ivanov said "the security situation has been entirely ignored" in an interview with German newspaper Bild.
Authorities in Macedonia, which is not a European Union member state, have seized 9,000 forged or stolen passports from refugees.
But Macedonian offers to share intelligence and data on alleged jihadists have been rejected by Europe, Mr Ivanov said.
"We were told: we cannot cooperate with you; you are a third party country."
Greece steps up efforts to move migrants to sheltered camps
Sat Mar 12, 2016 2:37pm EST Related: WORLD, GREECE
ATHENS/IDOMENI | BY LEFTERIS KARAGIANNOPOULOS AND PHOEBE FRONISTA
Reuters
Greece increased efforts on Saturday to move thousands of migrants near the border with Macedonia to sheltered camps, as the spread of infection became a concern with two people in a sprawling tent city diagnosed with Hepatitis A.
Stranded in filthy conditions at a muddy tent city near the northern border town of Idomeni, at least 12,000 people, among them thousands of children, were waiting to cross the frontier although Macedonia and other nations along the so-called Western Balkan route have closed their borders.
Scuffles broke out at the camp in recent days as destitute people scrambled for food and firewood, while many have been sleeping in the open, often in the rain amid low temperatures.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Exclusive: Greece Won’t Use Force to Move Thousands of Migrants Stuck in Squalid Camp
Simon Shuster / Athens @shustry March 10, 2016
ΤΙΜΕ
Their influx has spiked again this week despite Turkey's pledge to stop their boats, a senior official in Athens tells TIME
Although the sprawling refugee camp on the Greek border with Macedonia is quickly turning into a humanitarian nightmare—with around 12,000 migrants refusing to leave until the border, on Wednesday, reopens—the Greek authorities have ruled out the use of force in trying to deport them or move them to organized shelters, the government official coordinating Greece’s response to the refugee crisis says in an exclusive interview with TIME.
“The only plan is to persuade them,” says Dimitris Vitsas, the Alternate Minister of Defense, speaking in his office in Athens. “There is no plan of violence. We will not use force.”
ΤΙΜΕ
Their influx has spiked again this week despite Turkey's pledge to stop their boats, a senior official in Athens tells TIME
Although the sprawling refugee camp on the Greek border with Macedonia is quickly turning into a humanitarian nightmare—with around 12,000 migrants refusing to leave until the border, on Wednesday, reopens—the Greek authorities have ruled out the use of force in trying to deport them or move them to organized shelters, the government official coordinating Greece’s response to the refugee crisis says in an exclusive interview with TIME.
“The only plan is to persuade them,” says Dimitris Vitsas, the Alternate Minister of Defense, speaking in his office in Athens. “There is no plan of violence. We will not use force.”
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Refugee babies exposed to filth, infections at Greek border camp
Wed Mar 9, 2016 8:42am EST Related: WORLD, GREECE
IDOMENI, GREECE | BY LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS
Reuters
Six-day-old Asima lies on her back a few meters away from a line of public toilets used by crowds of refugees and migrants stranded at a muddy border outpost in northern Greece.
She is one of the youngest of thousands of children trapped in what aid workers say is a petri dish of filth and festering infections, as European leaders work out what to do with the growing masses fleeing conflict zones and heading to Europe.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says there are at least 40 pregnant women in Idomeni camp on the Macedonian border, and 40 percent of its population are children.
IDOMENI, GREECE | BY LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS
Reuters
Six-day-old Asima lies on her back a few meters away from a line of public toilets used by crowds of refugees and migrants stranded at a muddy border outpost in northern Greece.
She is one of the youngest of thousands of children trapped in what aid workers say is a petri dish of filth and festering infections, as European leaders work out what to do with the growing masses fleeing conflict zones and heading to Europe.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says there are at least 40 pregnant women in Idomeni camp on the Macedonian border, and 40 percent of its population are children.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
E.U. Woos Turkey for Refugee Help, Ignoring Rights Crackdown
By TIM ARANGO and CEYLAN YEGINSU
MARCH 8, 2016
The New York Times
ISTANBUL — The contrast was jarring: Just days after the police broke into the offices of an opposition newspaper using tear gas and water cannons, Turkey’s prime minister was greeted in Brussels with offers of billions in aid, visa-free travel for Turks in Europe and renewed prospects for joining the European Union.
The juxtaposition highlighted the conundrum Europe faces as it seeks solutions to its worst refugee crisis since World War II. To win Turkey’s desperately needed assistance in stemming the flow of migrants to the Continent, European officials seem prepared to ignore what critics say is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s steady march toward authoritarianism.
It is a moment of European weakness that the Turkish leadership seems keen to capitalize on. As Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived in Brussels this week, he upped the ante, asking for more financial aid than was previously negotiated and demanding visa-free travel by June, while offering to take back some migrants who had crossed into Europe.
MARCH 8, 2016
The New York Times
ISTANBUL — The contrast was jarring: Just days after the police broke into the offices of an opposition newspaper using tear gas and water cannons, Turkey’s prime minister was greeted in Brussels with offers of billions in aid, visa-free travel for Turks in Europe and renewed prospects for joining the European Union.
The juxtaposition highlighted the conundrum Europe faces as it seeks solutions to its worst refugee crisis since World War II. To win Turkey’s desperately needed assistance in stemming the flow of migrants to the Continent, European officials seem prepared to ignore what critics say is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s steady march toward authoritarianism.
It is a moment of European weakness that the Turkish leadership seems keen to capitalize on. As Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived in Brussels this week, he upped the ante, asking for more financial aid than was previously negotiated and demanding visa-free travel by June, while offering to take back some migrants who had crossed into Europe.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Turkey Places Conditions on E.U. for Migrant Help
By JAMES KANTER
MARCH 7, 2016
The New York Times
BRUSSELS — Turkey surprised European Union leaders on Monday by hitting them with a new set of demands if it is to help stem the flow of refugees from Syria and Iraq and other migrants seeking to enter Europe.
Leaders assessed the demands at an emergency summit meeting in Brussels, where Turkey’s prime minister asked for billions of euros in new assistance, easier access to visas for Turks to go to Europe and the dramatic acceleration of talks on Turkey’s membership in the bloc, a discussion that has languished for years.
The toughening of the Turkish position underscored Ankara’s apparent attempt to win more support from Europe if it is going to be expected to protect the bloc from hundreds of thousands of new asylum seekers.
But after a long day of negotiations that stretched into the early hours of Tuesday, the European leaders had made only partial progress, with many of them still assessing the terms. Even so, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said leaders would meet again in Brussels on March 18.
MARCH 7, 2016
The New York Times
BRUSSELS — Turkey surprised European Union leaders on Monday by hitting them with a new set of demands if it is to help stem the flow of refugees from Syria and Iraq and other migrants seeking to enter Europe.
Leaders assessed the demands at an emergency summit meeting in Brussels, where Turkey’s prime minister asked for billions of euros in new assistance, easier access to visas for Turks to go to Europe and the dramatic acceleration of talks on Turkey’s membership in the bloc, a discussion that has languished for years.
The toughening of the Turkish position underscored Ankara’s apparent attempt to win more support from Europe if it is going to be expected to protect the bloc from hundreds of thousands of new asylum seekers.
But after a long day of negotiations that stretched into the early hours of Tuesday, the European leaders had made only partial progress, with many of them still assessing the terms. Even so, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said leaders would meet again in Brussels on March 18.
Syria refugee crisis: Turkey and EU agree outline of 'one in, one out' deal Angela Merkel describes Turkish proposal as a ‘breakthrough’ but says time needed to agree final details
The Guardian
European leaders said early on Tuesday morning that they had reached the outlines for a possible deal with Ankara to return thousands of refugees to Turkey and were hopeful a full agreement could be reached at a summit next week.
Analysis One in, one out – the EU's simplistic answer to the refugee crisis
The proposal that Europe will resettle every Syrian that Turkey allows in from Greece is morally and legally complex
Read more
Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, outlined proposals to resettle one Syrian refugee in Europe for every Syrian returned to Turkey from the Greek islands.
Monday, March 7, 2016
The Next Level of the Refugee Crisis
MARCH 6, 2016
The New York Times
Calling what is happening in Europe a refugee crisis no longer captures the enormity of the problem. This is a catastrophe that will soon become far worse as warm weather swells the torrent of people fleeing war in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. With the European Union incapable of united action, country after country has imposed panicky controls on once-open borders to block the refugees.
On Monday, Macedonian police fired volleys of tear gas at asylum seekers who burst through a fence on the Greece-Macedonia border. The same day, France began clearing out “the Jungle,” an enclave near Calais with thousands of refugees waiting desperately to cross the English Channel into Britain. And as gates across Europe close to them, thousands upon thousands of people crowd into Greece, which is opening a new camp nearly every day.
The New York Times
Calling what is happening in Europe a refugee crisis no longer captures the enormity of the problem. This is a catastrophe that will soon become far worse as warm weather swells the torrent of people fleeing war in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. With the European Union incapable of united action, country after country has imposed panicky controls on once-open borders to block the refugees.
On Monday, Macedonian police fired volleys of tear gas at asylum seekers who burst through a fence on the Greece-Macedonia border. The same day, France began clearing out “the Jungle,” an enclave near Calais with thousands of refugees waiting desperately to cross the English Channel into Britain. And as gates across Europe close to them, thousands upon thousands of people crowd into Greece, which is opening a new camp nearly every day.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Migrant Crisis Alters E.U. Calculations for Greece as Its Debt Struggle Continues
By LIZ ALDERMANMARCH 4, 2016
The New York Times
ATHENS — When Greece’s debt crisis threatened to sink the European Union’s single currency last summer, the rest of Europe, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, ganged up to deliver the Greek government a stern message: Overcome your domestic political problems and do what is necessary to hold the Continent together.
Eight months after Greece agreed to do its part, it is the rest of Europe that is failing to muster the will to address a threat to the bloc’s unity, this time the continued influx of migrants from the Middle East and beyond. And Greece, the main entry route for asylum seekers, has been largely left to fend for itself.
“We are now in the situation where Greece is essentially becoming a holding pen for refugees and is being asked to solve a problem created by other countries,” said Jens Bastian, an economics consultant based in Athens and a former member of the European Commission’s task force on Greece. “You are basically putting the management of Europe’s migrant crisis at the doorstep of Greece.”
The New York Times
ATHENS — When Greece’s debt crisis threatened to sink the European Union’s single currency last summer, the rest of Europe, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, ganged up to deliver the Greek government a stern message: Overcome your domestic political problems and do what is necessary to hold the Continent together.
Eight months after Greece agreed to do its part, it is the rest of Europe that is failing to muster the will to address a threat to the bloc’s unity, this time the continued influx of migrants from the Middle East and beyond. And Greece, the main entry route for asylum seekers, has been largely left to fend for itself.
“We are now in the situation where Greece is essentially becoming a holding pen for refugees and is being asked to solve a problem created by other countries,” said Jens Bastian, an economics consultant based in Athens and a former member of the European Commission’s task force on Greece. “You are basically putting the management of Europe’s migrant crisis at the doorstep of Greece.”
Friday, March 4, 2016
European Commission Proposes EU Aid for Migrants Stuck in Greece
Tensions have flared at border with Macedonia as a result of border restrictions in the Balkans and Austria
The Wall Street Journal
By VALENTINA POP
Updated March 2, 2016 11:58 a.m. ET
5 COMMENTS
BRUSSELS—The European Commission proposed the creation of a €700-million ($760 million) humanitarian assistance program, mostly to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants stuck in Greece as the main route into Europe becomes increasingly cut off.
The program, announced Wednesday, would follow a model so far used only in conflict zones, with the commission providing the funding to the United Nations’ refugee agency and other groups, which would then carry out aid efforts including setting up emergency tents and handing out aid.
Tensions have flared over the past few days at Greece’s border with Macedonia as a result of border restrictions put in place by Austria and Balkan countries last month.
The Wall Street Journal
By VALENTINA POP
Updated March 2, 2016 11:58 a.m. ET
5 COMMENTS
BRUSSELS—The European Commission proposed the creation of a €700-million ($760 million) humanitarian assistance program, mostly to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants stuck in Greece as the main route into Europe becomes increasingly cut off.
The program, announced Wednesday, would follow a model so far used only in conflict zones, with the commission providing the funding to the United Nations’ refugee agency and other groups, which would then carry out aid efforts including setting up emergency tents and handing out aid.
Tensions have flared over the past few days at Greece’s border with Macedonia as a result of border restrictions put in place by Austria and Balkan countries last month.
UNHCR issues six-point plan to resolve Europe refugee crisis
Fri Mar 4, 2016 7:11am EST Related: WORLD, UNITED NATIONS
GENEVA
REUTERS
The United Nations refugee agency proposed a six-point plan to European Union heads of state on Friday to resolve the migrant crisis, warning that the situation was quickly deteriorating in Greece where some 30,000 refugees are stuck.
GENEVA
REUTERS
The United Nations refugee agency proposed a six-point plan to European Union heads of state on Friday to resolve the migrant crisis, warning that the situation was quickly deteriorating in Greece where some 30,000 refugees are stuck.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
New Migrant Crisis Flares in Greece
Thirty thousand stranded in Greece as EU tries to halt inflow from Middle East, South Asia and Africa
The Wall Street Journal
By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Updated March 2, 2016 10:16 p.m. ET
IDOMENI, Greece—A clampdown along Balkan borders has left 30,000 migrants trapped in Greece, marking a new stage in the humanitarian crisis swamping Europe.
Countries farther up the migration trail, from Macedonia to Austria, are now letting in only a few hundred a day, and sometimes no one.
Allowing migrants to be stranded in Greece is considered the EU’s last option to halt the relentless inflow of people from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. More and more EU governments have lost faith in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of stopping irregular migrants at Turkey, spreading bona fide refugees around the EU, and keeping Europe’s internal borders open.
Ms. Merkel warned this week of “chaos” in Greece, but other European Union leaders say there is no alternative to shutting down the Balkan migration route.
The Wall Street Journal
By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Updated March 2, 2016 10:16 p.m. ET
IDOMENI, Greece—A clampdown along Balkan borders has left 30,000 migrants trapped in Greece, marking a new stage in the humanitarian crisis swamping Europe.
Countries farther up the migration trail, from Macedonia to Austria, are now letting in only a few hundred a day, and sometimes no one.
Allowing migrants to be stranded in Greece is considered the EU’s last option to halt the relentless inflow of people from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. More and more EU governments have lost faith in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of stopping irregular migrants at Turkey, spreading bona fide refugees around the EU, and keeping Europe’s internal borders open.
Ms. Merkel warned this week of “chaos” in Greece, but other European Union leaders say there is no alternative to shutting down the Balkan migration route.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
EU launches emergency refugee aid scheme for Greece
Wed Mar 2, 2016 7:12am EST Related: WORLD, UNITED NATIONS, GREECE, EURO ZONE
BRUSSELS | BY GABRIELA BACZYNSKA AND ALASTAIR MACDONALD
Reuters
The European Union, faced with a burgeoning refugee crisis in Greece, launched a new aid program on Wednesday worth an initial 700 million euros that mirrors the kind of disaster relief it offers developing nations.
As European states have closed borders following the arrival of nearly a million migrants by sea from Turkey last year, the Athens government has appealed for help to house and care for tens of thousands still arriving and now stranded in Greece.
The European Commission's proposal will, if approved, switch 300 million euros ($325 million) this year from its 155-billion euro annual budget to the new Emergency Assistance scheme and 200 million next year and in 2018.
BRUSSELS | BY GABRIELA BACZYNSKA AND ALASTAIR MACDONALD
Reuters
The European Union, faced with a burgeoning refugee crisis in Greece, launched a new aid program on Wednesday worth an initial 700 million euros that mirrors the kind of disaster relief it offers developing nations.
As European states have closed borders following the arrival of nearly a million migrants by sea from Turkey last year, the Athens government has appealed for help to house and care for tens of thousands still arriving and now stranded in Greece.
The European Commission's proposal will, if approved, switch 300 million euros ($325 million) this year from its 155-billion euro annual budget to the new Emergency Assistance scheme and 200 million next year and in 2018.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Greece's refugee crisis: PM says country is overwhelmed
Alexis Tsipras speaks out as Greece struggles to care for 30,000 trapped migrants and Brussels prepares urgent aid
The Guardian
The arrival of tens of thousands of refugees has plunged Greece into an unprecedented crisis the likes of which no nation could manage alone, the country’s embattled prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has said.
Speaking as the European commission signalled it was putting together an urgent humanitarian aid package for the country after predictions that more than 200,000 men, women and children will be marooned there by summer, the leftwing leader said Brussels had promised “support and solidarity”.
“We are experiencing the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war,” he told Greek Star TV. “The problem surpasses the powers of the country, the strength of a government and the innate weaknesses of the European Union.”
The Guardian
The arrival of tens of thousands of refugees has plunged Greece into an unprecedented crisis the likes of which no nation could manage alone, the country’s embattled prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has said.
Speaking as the European commission signalled it was putting together an urgent humanitarian aid package for the country after predictions that more than 200,000 men, women and children will be marooned there by summer, the leftwing leader said Brussels had promised “support and solidarity”.
“We are experiencing the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war,” he told Greek Star TV. “The problem surpasses the powers of the country, the strength of a government and the innate weaknesses of the European Union.”
Violence Erupts in Greece as Migrants Try to Cross Into Macedonia
By LIZ ALDERMAN and DIMITRIS BOUNIASFEB. 29, 2016
ATHENS — It was a scene of a type that could become all too common in coming months: Thousands of increasingly desperate people backed up at the frontier between Greece and Macedonia on Monday, stymied in their efforts to reach Germany. A group of angry asylum seekers busted through a razor-wire fence. Armed police officers fired tear gas as frenzied crowds chanted, “Open the border!”
Less than a week after Austria and nine other European countries took steps to stem the flow of refugees from Greece toward Germany and other prosperous countries, the spasm of violence on Greece’s northern border brought to life the perils of the European Union’s inability so far to settle on a common policy to address the migration crisis.
War in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and repression and economic hardship across the Middle East and Africa continue to compel large numbers of people to strike out for Europe. Germany continues to signal that it will accept legitimate refugees, especially from Syria. As the weather grows warmer and the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece safer, the number of people arriving is expected to spike, putting a huge strain on Greece, which in effect is becoming a giant holding center for migrants who cannot go forward because of the new border restrictions, but will not or cannot go back.
ATHENS — It was a scene of a type that could become all too common in coming months: Thousands of increasingly desperate people backed up at the frontier between Greece and Macedonia on Monday, stymied in their efforts to reach Germany. A group of angry asylum seekers busted through a razor-wire fence. Armed police officers fired tear gas as frenzied crowds chanted, “Open the border!”
Less than a week after Austria and nine other European countries took steps to stem the flow of refugees from Greece toward Germany and other prosperous countries, the spasm of violence on Greece’s northern border brought to life the perils of the European Union’s inability so far to settle on a common policy to address the migration crisis.
War in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and repression and economic hardship across the Middle East and Africa continue to compel large numbers of people to strike out for Europe. Germany continues to signal that it will accept legitimate refugees, especially from Syria. As the weather grows warmer and the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece safer, the number of people arriving is expected to spike, putting a huge strain on Greece, which in effect is becoming a giant holding center for migrants who cannot go forward because of the new border restrictions, but will not or cannot go back.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Migrant crisis: Greece needs EU help to avoid chaos, says Merkel
6 hours ago
From the section Europe
BBC
Europe cannot allow Greece to fall into "chaos", German Chancellor Angela Merkel says, amid sharp divisions among members over the migrant crisis.
Austria and several Balkan countries have introduced restrictions stranding migrants in Greece.
Mrs Merkel said EU nations had not battled to keep Greece in the euro just to leave it "in the lurch".
She also defended her decision to open German borders to migrants, despite a resulting slump in her popularity.
More than one million people arrived to claim asylum last year, sparking opposition within her governing coalition and a rise in far-right extremism.
From the section Europe
BBC
Europe cannot allow Greece to fall into "chaos", German Chancellor Angela Merkel says, amid sharp divisions among members over the migrant crisis.
Austria and several Balkan countries have introduced restrictions stranding migrants in Greece.
Mrs Merkel said EU nations had not battled to keep Greece in the euro just to leave it "in the lurch".
She also defended her decision to open German borders to migrants, despite a resulting slump in her popularity.
More than one million people arrived to claim asylum last year, sparking opposition within her governing coalition and a rise in far-right extremism.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Greece becoming 'migrant warehouse' as refugees slowly trickle into Macedonia
Published February 28, 2016
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece – Greece is fast becoming the "warehouse of human beings" that its government has vowed not to allow.
Hastily setup camps for refugees and other migrants are full. Thousands of people wait through the night, shivering in the cold at the Greek-Macedonian border, in the country's main port of Piraeus, in squares dotted around Athens, or on dozens of buses parked up and down Greece's main north-south highway.
On Thursday, hundreds of frustrated men, women and children abandoned their stranded buses or left refugee camps, setting off on a desperate trek dozens of kilometers (miles) long to reach a border they know is quickly shutting down to them.
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece – Greece is fast becoming the "warehouse of human beings" that its government has vowed not to allow.
Hastily setup camps for refugees and other migrants are full. Thousands of people wait through the night, shivering in the cold at the Greek-Macedonian border, in the country's main port of Piraeus, in squares dotted around Athens, or on dozens of buses parked up and down Greece's main north-south highway.
On Thursday, hundreds of frustrated men, women and children abandoned their stranded buses or left refugee camps, setting off on a desperate trek dozens of kilometers (miles) long to reach a border they know is quickly shutting down to them.
Up to 70,000 migrants may be trapped in Greece next month: migration minister
Sun Feb 28, 2016 8:59am EST Related: WORLD, GREECE
ATHENS
Reuters
The number of refugees and migrants trapped in Greece may reach 70,000 in coming weeks, Greece's migration minister said on Sunday, adding that a NATO plan to crack down on smugglers could limit migrant flows significantly.
Greece, a primary gateway to Europe for tens of thousands of people fleeing war in the Middle East and beyond, has been inundated with refugees and migrants after border shutdowns through the Balkans, stranding thousands in the country in the past ten days.
"We estimate that we will have a number of people trapped in our country which will be between 50,000 and 70,000... I believe in the coming month," Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told Greek Mega TV.
ATHENS
Reuters
The number of refugees and migrants trapped in Greece may reach 70,000 in coming weeks, Greece's migration minister said on Sunday, adding that a NATO plan to crack down on smugglers could limit migrant flows significantly.
Greece, a primary gateway to Europe for tens of thousands of people fleeing war in the Middle East and beyond, has been inundated with refugees and migrants after border shutdowns through the Balkans, stranding thousands in the country in the past ten days.
"We estimate that we will have a number of people trapped in our country which will be between 50,000 and 70,000... I believe in the coming month," Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told Greek Mega TV.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Refugees in Greece
No way out
Greece starts to fill up as its neighbours restrict the flow of migrants to Germany
Feb 27th 2016 | ATHENS | From the print edition
The Economist
HIS sleeping bag around his shoulders, Khaled, a 28-year-old truck driver, sits in a corner of Victoria Square, a gathering point for migrants in central Athens. He is waiting for a smuggler to help him cross Greece’s northern border with Macedonia, closed since February 21st to Afghan migrants like him. Across the square, Mahmud, a restaurant manager who has come from Aleppo with his wife and three children, fears that the route to Germany may soon close for Syrians too. “We mustn’t get stuck in Greece,” he says firmly.
Greece starts to fill up as its neighbours restrict the flow of migrants to Germany
Feb 27th 2016 | ATHENS | From the print edition
The Economist
HIS sleeping bag around his shoulders, Khaled, a 28-year-old truck driver, sits in a corner of Victoria Square, a gathering point for migrants in central Athens. He is waiting for a smuggler to help him cross Greece’s northern border with Macedonia, closed since February 21st to Afghan migrants like him. Across the square, Mahmud, a restaurant manager who has come from Aleppo with his wife and three children, fears that the route to Germany may soon close for Syrians too. “We mustn’t get stuck in Greece,” he says firmly.
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