Greek Police Round Up Migrants on Kos, Locking Them in Stadium Overnight
Riot police tried to maintain order on Wednesday as migrants lined up for registration at a stadium on the Greek island of Kos. CreditYorgos Karahalis/Associated Press
About a thousand refugees have been locked in a stadium on the Greek island of Kos overnight without food and with very little water, as Greek authorities struggle to contain the rising tide of migrants from war-torn countries, a spokeswoman for Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday.
The spokeswoman, Julia Kourafa, said riot police sent from Athens had swept through the island on Tuesday afternoon, clearing refugees — most of them from Syria and Iraq — from public squares and parks, where they had set up encampments while waiting to be issued travel documents that would allow them to move legally in Greece.
Doctors Without Borders had a team in the stadium, Ms. Kourafa said, and the members of the aid group’s staff said people had been locked inside for 24 hours.
“People are exhausted and hungry and frustrated,” Ms. Kourafa said, adding that there were elderly people and women and children being held inside the stadium. “We see people fainting. We see people with medical problems because of the situation. There are not enough water or toilets. There is no provision for food.”
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Thousands of migrants have come ashore this summer on the Greek island of Lesbos, a popular tourist destination. Some of them have to walk more than 40 miles to get to the main port of Mytilene. By Erik Olsen on Publish DateJuly 10, 2015. Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press.Watch in Times Video »
The police also fired tear gas and fire extinguishers in an apparent effort to maintain order outside the stadium, where another thousand migrants had gathered, Ms. Kourafa said.
“The migrants actually were protesting about the fact that they have been pushed from one place to the other and they were waiting for papers,” Ms. Kourafa said.
She estimated that there were more than 6,000 refugees on Kos, an island in the southeastern Aegean, waiting to be issued papers by the Greek government that would allow them to move legally inside Greece. Syrians generally receive papers allowing them to stay for six months and Iraqis for 30 days, she said, and without these papers they cannot leave the island.
Ms. Kourafa said there were only three officials in Kos giving out the documents, leading to a backlog of 10 to 15 days. The wait has exacerbated the already severe problem of waves of migrants arriving on the island.Photo
Migrants arriving on the island of Kos on Wednesday. Greece has seen record numbers of migrants crossing its borders in the first six months of this year. CreditYorgos Karahalis/Associated Press
“There was an influx of migrants and refugees on the island of Kos in the recent days which was, let’s say, unprecedented, meaning that there are more than 700 to 800 people per day,” Vassilis Papadopoulos, Greece’s general secretary for migration policy, said. “And that was not manageable by the police authorities.”
Mr. Papadopoulos said the Ministry of Culture would provide space to set up tents to house the migrants for a day or two and food and sanitation would be provided. After that, he said, the government planned to move the migrants off the island.
“There is a solution, there will be a solution,” Mr. Papadopoulos said.
A Greek newspaper, Kathimerini, reported on Wednesday that the Greek police sent 12 officers from the force’s immigration unit in Athens to the island, including an Arabic-speaking employee, to help process papers for the migrants.
The report said riot police had also been flown to the island and 250 other officers were on their way to Kos and the islands of Lesbos and Samos.
Greece has seen record numbers of migrants from conflict-ridden countries in the first six months of this year. Most of them do not see Greece as a viable place to stay, especially because of the current economic crisis, and they are trying to move on to other destinations in Europe.
Thousands of migrants have come ashore this summer on the Greek island of Lesbos, a popular tourist destination. Some of them have to walk more than 40 miles to get to the main port of Mytilene. By Erik Olsen on Publish DateJuly 10, 2015. Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press.Watch in Times Video »
The police also fired tear gas and fire extinguishers in an apparent effort to maintain order outside the stadium, where another thousand migrants had gathered, Ms. Kourafa said.
“The migrants actually were protesting about the fact that they have been pushed from one place to the other and they were waiting for papers,” Ms. Kourafa said.
She estimated that there were more than 6,000 refugees on Kos, an island in the southeastern Aegean, waiting to be issued papers by the Greek government that would allow them to move legally inside Greece. Syrians generally receive papers allowing them to stay for six months and Iraqis for 30 days, she said, and without these papers they cannot leave the island.
Ms. Kourafa said there were only three officials in Kos giving out the documents, leading to a backlog of 10 to 15 days. The wait has exacerbated the already severe problem of waves of migrants arriving on the island.Photo
Migrants arriving on the island of Kos on Wednesday. Greece has seen record numbers of migrants crossing its borders in the first six months of this year. CreditYorgos Karahalis/Associated Press
“There was an influx of migrants and refugees on the island of Kos in the recent days which was, let’s say, unprecedented, meaning that there are more than 700 to 800 people per day,” Vassilis Papadopoulos, Greece’s general secretary for migration policy, said. “And that was not manageable by the police authorities.”
Mr. Papadopoulos said the Ministry of Culture would provide space to set up tents to house the migrants for a day or two and food and sanitation would be provided. After that, he said, the government planned to move the migrants off the island.
“There is a solution, there will be a solution,” Mr. Papadopoulos said.
A Greek newspaper, Kathimerini, reported on Wednesday that the Greek police sent 12 officers from the force’s immigration unit in Athens to the island, including an Arabic-speaking employee, to help process papers for the migrants.
The report said riot police had also been flown to the island and 250 other officers were on their way to Kos and the islands of Lesbos and Samos.
Greece has seen record numbers of migrants from conflict-ridden countries in the first six months of this year. Most of them do not see Greece as a viable place to stay, especially because of the current economic crisis, and they are trying to move on to other destinations in Europe.
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