Record number of migrants reach Greece as Merkel takes tough line
A RECORD number of migrants and refugees braved the Mediterranean crossing from Turkey to Greece this week, despite deteriorating weather, the International Organisation for Migration said yesterday.
Over the past six days, more than 56,000 people, mostly Syrians, were recorded arriving on Lesbos and other Greek islands. The figures are raising fears of more drownings in heavy seas and serious health risks for survivors who arrive cold and wet.
The prospect of a rise in the flow of refugees across southern and eastern Europe is intensifying EU arguments about how to manage the influx.
Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, has authorised a tougher new policy from today. Those from countries other than Syria judged to be economic migrants will be deported much more quickly, while those from countries considered safe, including Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro, will be rejected automatically.
“We want to get better quickly, within the year, at deporting those whose applications have been refused and who have no right to stay,” said Peter Altmaier, Germany’s national refugee coordinator.
Slovenia said it was considering fencing off its border with Croatia. “We cannot receive so many refugees in such a small period of time. It’s just unbearable,” said Miro Cerar, the prime minister. As well as Syria, many refu- gees are from Iraq and Afghanistan. Syrian refugees have told The Daily
Telegraph that the worsening situation this year, with the war spreading, has sent more families into exile, and triggered a sense of desperation among the more than four million people already living in refugee camps and camped out on hills in neighbouring countries.
“People can see no end to the conflict and this is driving the movement,” said Ariane Rummery, of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
There are reports of tens of thousands of people fleeing the Russian bombardment in Syria, and officials admit there may still be a knock-on effect. Amin Awad, the UNHCR’s Middle East director, said the strikes and increased fighting around Aleppo had contributed to the “dynamic of displacement”.
He said the number of internally displaced people had fallen from 7.6 million to 6.3 million, which could be attributed to them leaving the country.
Neighbouring countries are increasingly struggling to cope with the numbers, which dwarf even those crossing to Europe. Turkey has two million registered refugees. It is providing education for 220,000 Syrian children – but that is only a third of the extra children in the country.
Ms Rummery said the situation in Lebanon, where there are more than a million refugees, was similar.
Fear of the harsh winter conditions on Syria’s borders is also driving people to try to escape.
EU naval forces said they had seized and destroyed 20 boats used by smugglers to transport migrants, and 20 people were arrested. “We have migration on a biblical scale,” said Admiral Enrico Credendino, the forces commander.
Chaos in Libya means smugglers can operate with impunity. “They invest their money overseas just like the Somali pirates, laundering it in London, New York and Switzerland. Libya is the Somalia of the Mediterranean.”
The UNHCR also said there was a growing problem of children being forced into prostitution to pay for their journeys in south-east Europe. It said about a third of the 680,000 people who have arrived in Europe this year were women and children.