Greece Ponders Migrant Crises as Another Tragedy Claims 35 Refugees

Summary: Greece ponders migrant crises as another tragedy claims 35 refugees in two separate capsizings Monday, Feb. 8, in the Aegean Sea.

satellite image of Aegean Sea, the sea route from Turkey to Greece for many migrants and refugees fleeing from Africa and the Middle East: NASA, Pubic Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Overwhelmed by almost 75,000 migrants and refugees in the first five weeks of new year 2016, Greece ponders migrant crises while another tragedy claims, at last count, at least 35 refugees drowned in two separate capsizings Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in the Aegean Sea.

Greece’s location on the eastern Mediterranean assures the rugged, sea-hugged country’s status as a main gateway to Europe via Turkey for migrants and refugees from Africa and the Middle East. A continuous stream of desperate escapees from poor, war-torn countries make hazardous journeys daily in overloaded boats across the Aegean Sea to Greece. Their hoped-for, final destination is not Greece, but northern Europe, including Scandinavia.

“We are happy to have made it to Greece, but we want to move on,” 15-year-old Afghan refugee Najib Nasrati explains Saturday, Jan. 30, to Liz Alderman of The International New York Times.

Theoretically, other members of the European Union expect Greece to filter the multitudes of migrants and refugees arriving on the economically-challenged country’s Aegean shores. Refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria are to be allowed passage through Greece as the gateway to their preferred destinations in northern Europe. Migrants from other countries, such as Eritrea, Iran, Libya and Somalia, are expected to be sent to camps in Athens for applying for asylum or for deporting.

Valdis Dombroskis, the European Commission's commissioner for the euro and social dialogue since Nov. 1, 2014, stated at a press conference Wednesday, Jan. 27: "The draft report concludes that Greece seriously neglected its obligations and that there are serious deficiencies in the carrying out of external border controls that must be overcome and dealt with by Greek authorities."

Greece ponders migrant crises intensified by actions taken by distant European Union countries also overwhelmed by the continuous flow of migrants and refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Border controls imposed by Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and Sweden are turning Greece and its stressed northern neighbor, Macedonia, into huge holding zones for migrants and refugees.

“The climate has changed from the welcoming politics of Merkel to one of fear and panic. If they want to raise a new Iron Curtain, we will not be the ones to blame,” Nikos Xydakis, Greece’s alternate foreign minister for European affairs, said in a quote Jan. 30 in The New York Times.

On Monday, Feb. 8, while Greece ponders migrant crises, another tragedy claims the lives of at least 35 refugees, according to Doğan News Agency. Eleven refugees drowned when their boat, destined for the Greek island of Lesbos, sank off the Turkey's western Anatolian port city of İzmir. Soon afterward, a boat apparently also destined for Lesbos sank off Edremit district in the northwestern province of Balıkesir. Twenty-four lives were lost, but four were rescued at sea.

Two separate capsizings of refugee boats Feb. 8 in the Aegean Sea claimed lives, with losses increased now from 24 to 27 in Edremit Bay: Dogan News Agency @dogannewsagency, via Twitter Feb. 8, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

satellite image of Aegean Sea, the sea route from Turkey to Greece for many migrants and refugees fleeing from Africa and the Middle East: NASA, Pubic Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aegeansea.jpg

Two separate capsizings of refugee boats Feb. 8 in the Aegean Sea claimed lives, with losses increased now from 24 to 27 in Edremit Bay: Dogan News Agency @dogannewsagency, via Twitter Feb. 8, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/dogannewsagency/status/696672638660452352

For further information:

Alderman, Liz. "Greece Resists Its Role as European Union's Gatekeeper." The New York Times > World > Europe. Jan. 30, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/world/europe/greece-resists-its-role-as-european-unions-gatekeeper.html?_r=0

"At least 35 refugees drown in two mishaps off Turkey." DNA India > World. Feb. 9, 2016.
Available @ http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-at-least-35-refugees-drown-in-two-mishaps-off-turkey-2175748

Dogan News Agency @dogannewsagency. "Dozens killed as boat capsizes off Aegean coast." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/dogannewsagency/status/696672638660452352

International Daily News. "EU threatens Greece over flow of refugees." YouTube. Feb. 4, 2016.
Available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5d3_jw7J4w

Kanter, James. "Europe Raises Pressure on Greece to Tighten Its Borders." The New York Times > World > Europe. Jan. 27, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/europe/europe-raises-pressure-on-greece-to-tighten-its-borders.html?_r=0&mtrref=query.nytimes.com

"Mediterranean Migrant Deaths Reach 374; Arrivals in Greece Top 68,000 in 2016." International Organization for Migration > Press Room > Press Releases. Feb. 5, 2016.
Available @ http://www.iom.int/news/mediterranean-migrant-deaths-reach-374-arrivals-greece-top-68000-2016

"New migrant tragedy claims 27 lives as Greece grapples with refugee crisis." Euronews > News > World news. Feb. 8, 2016.
Available @ http://www.euronews.com/2016/02/08/new-migrant-tragedy-claims-27-lives-as-greece-grapples-with-refugee-crisis/