THE MIGRANT CRISIS 2020

Mostly Afghani migrants, trying to reach Europe, clashed with the Greek riot police as Turkey claims that more than 76.000 people were headed for the EU after Erdogan's decision to open the Turkish side of the border.  The police fired tear gas at migrants after they had thrown stones and metal objects and seriously injured a policeman, near the northeastern town of Kastanies.


Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece has increased "the level of deterrence at our borders to the maximum".  On the other hand, Turkey says it cannot deal with the number of people fleeing from the Syrian war. 


As the situation escalated, Turks fuelled the anxiety in Greece, stating that 76.385 refugees have left Turkey for Europe.  However, they had no evidence to support their claim, so it is obviously just vile propaganda, malevolent fake news.


The EU has pledged over 700 million Euros to help Greece cope with a surge in the number of migrants trying to cross into the country from Turkey, as the EU fears a repetition of the 2015 refugee crisis. 

The EU covers some 70% of the costs of 60.000 refugees and migrants living in Greece.  Athens applies for the EU funding after it has already granted agreements for services, and it could take a very long period of time to find out if the EU will pay.  When the cash demands are refused, it has to, obviously, be paid by the Greek taxpayers. An extremely difficult situation for our country.

  

Besides closing down the land borders, Greece has also increased the security measures around the islands in the Aegean Sea that are near Turkey so many extra port guards have been employed.  Both Athens and the EU say that Ankara is fully to blame for the crisis, as tens of thousands of migrants remain camped, in vain, around the northern border.


Numerous migrants descended on Turkey's western border with Greece after Tayyip Erdogan systematically encouraged them, even transported them there with buses, cars even taxis.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen

"This is not only a Greek border, it is also a European border" European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.  "I stand here today as a European at your side.  I also wish to express my compassion for the migrants that have been lured through false promises into this desperate situation.  We have come here today to send a very clear statement of European solidarity and support to Greece."


Greece, actually, bears a very heavy burden. We sympathise and feel very concerned about the migrants, but unfortunately, we cannot cope with the plethora who live in our country.  We can't even take care of them, properly, because we cannot afford it.   So, please let us all together try to help, nourish and provide medical assistance to these desperate people and educate their children.


Let us hope the war in Syria will, soon, end and that the terrible political situation in Afghanistan and elsewhere will be quickly solved so that they all can return to their cherished homelands and their loved ones.





(We thank ERT, SKAI.TV Greece, BBC, CNN, Kathimerini, Estia, Aljazeera and Mr Psaropoulos for the information for this post,)

Flowers in a Vase  by Marcel Dyf