He did not give his final identify to guard household in Syria. “Now they also come during the day, in the afternoon when people are swimming”.
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From Greece most of the migrants and refugees trek through the Balkans, hoping to reach wealthier northern European countries such as Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.
The influx has overwhelmed authorities on tourism-reliant Kos. But there have been no reported cases of migrants threatening tourists.
Greek police registration officers working around the clock greatly reduced the numbers of Syrian refugees stuck in miserable conditions on the holiday island of Kos on Thursday, where hundreds arrive daily in packed boats from Turkey. The situation quickly got out of hand, with the police unable to ensure a proper crowd management and dispersing the people by spraying them with fire extinguishers. Outside the arena, hundreds more lay on the ground sleeping. Around 1,000 people were trapped inside the playground area within the stadium that was completely exposed to the sun, sitting in 90 degree Fahrenheit heat for over 18 hours. Three people were treated as a result of police violence and seven for severe trauma after crowds crushed them, she said.
“I was so happy to be alive that I took a selfie”, he said.
According to the United Nations refugee agency, at least 124,000 people have arrived in Greece in the first seven months of this year, almost all from the war zones of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan-up from around 30,000 in the whole of 2014. Once renowned for blue seas, white sand beaches, and luxury resorts, the Kos is now a war-zone, with the small local police force struggling to adequately manage the situation which at present rates of arrivals would see the population double in little over month.
Bishop Nunzio Galantino, head of the Roman Catholic Italian Bishops’ Conference, criticized the government for not doing enough to assimilate the migrants.
But a spokesman for TUI said that so far Greece’s migrant problem had not affected its bookings to the islands, although it had earlier been affected by the country’s prolonged economic bailout talks with its creditors. “The situation is out of control and if protests continue, they may lead to bloodshed”. “You can not have people camping out like this any more”.
The refugees held at the football stadium include women, children and babies.
Numerous refugees have been locked inside a sports stadium on the island of Kos for 18 to 24 hours. “We don’t have that money”. In 2014, many Syrians were still reaching Europe through north Africa and across the Mediterranean to Italy. At the same time, Turkish traffickers have proliferated.
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One English graduate who managed to make the crossing to Kos said “Aleppo is the worst city in the world” – and described how his house in the warring Syrian region had been destroyed by a rocket blast.
