Syrian refugees in Greece go on hunger strike

ATHENS: A group of mainly Syrian women and children who have been stranded in Greece pitched tents opposite parliament in Athens on Wednesday in a protest against delays in reuniting with relative sin germany.

Some of the refugees, who say they have been in Greece for over a year, said they had begun a hunger strike.

“Our family ties our stronger than your illegal agreements,” read a banner held up by one woman, referring to deals on refugees between European Union nations.

Greek media have reported that Greece and Germany informally agreed in May to slow down refugee reuniication, stranding families in Greece for months after they led Syria’s civil war. Greece denies this.

“What we’ve managed to do on family reuniication is to have an increase of about 27 per cent this year compared with last year, even though we’re accused of cutting back family reuniication and doing deals to cut back family reuniication,” Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told reporters.

Mouzalas said Greece had assurances from Germany that refugees whose applications have been accepted will eventually go to Germany even if there are delays. He denied that refugees had to pay for their lights.

Applications for asylum, reuniication and relocation to other European countries can take months to be processed.

“I have not seen my husband, my child, for more than one year and nine months,” said 32-year-old Syrian Dalal Rashou, who has ive children, one of whom is in Germany with her husband.

“I miss him and every day I am here in Greece I cry. I don’t want to stay here, I want to go to my husband” she said.

About 60,000 refugees and migrants, mostly Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis, have become stranded in Greece after border closures in the Balkans halted the onward journey many planned to take to central and western Europe.

Some 25,000 refugees and migrants have crossed to Greece from Turkey this year - a fraction of the nearly 1 million arrivals in 2015 - but arrivals have picked up in recent months.

Meanwhile, Slovak police say they have detained 78 migrants from Iraq, Iran and Syria travelling through Slovakia to Germany in two trucks.

Spokeswoman Denisa Baloghova say the oficers stopped the trucks, which had Turkish drivers, shortly after midnight on Tuesday in the western city of Zilina.