“Chaos” is the word to describe the situation on the island of Kos with images of violence between undocumented migrants and the outnumbered Greek police doing the rounds on the international media. A video showing a police officer slapping an immigrant while menacingly holding a knife he had confiscated fueled torrents of criticism, however the situation is far more complex than one scene can describe as hundreds of migrants inundate the island every day causing problems to the infrastructure.
New arrivals – mainly from Syria and Afghanistan – have been camping at squares and parks of the popular tourist island as local authorities try to control the situation without much help from the state.
The Kos authorities are trying to register the migrants, take them off the streets and offer them temporary lodgings at the Anagoras Stadium, however the immigrants are refusing to enter the stadium. As a form of protest they staged a sit in at the city’s central road, obstructed traffic and damaged passing cars.
By Tuesday afternoon, 40 men of the Riot Police Squad rounded up the migrants, using fire extinguishers to disperse crowds and force calm. Daily Mail featured the Kos riots in its cover story stating that the police tried to impose order using clubs and terror. The newspaper rights that the migrants shouted: “We want our papers! We want to leave! We want to eat!”
Kos Mayor George Kyritsis says that more than 7,000 immigrants have illegally entered the island. He notes that it is now impossible to deal with the problem. He fears bloodshed and criticizes Deputy Immigration Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou of inertia. Kyritsis states that the only message from the minister has been to criticize the mayor, but she avoids talking to Kos local authorities. “Christodoulopoulou has full responsibility and it is she who created this situation in Kos,” says Kyritsis. “I am sure that the government’s views are totally different to the stand of Christodoulopoulou. She created a miserable ghetto that we had explained from the start would be impossible to work.”
Meanwhile, on Leros
Despite the publicity Kos has received over the last 24 hours, it is not the only island that is facing problems. On the island of leros, over 1,000 immigrants have illegally arrived in the last few days. The people are camped out of the island’s port authority and the surrounding streets of Lakki. The Leros Solidarity Network states that over 427 refugees are currently in the port authorities courtyard.
Families with children waiting for their documents to be finalized are miserable. Dozens of children are sleeping in cardboard boxes and have nowhere to wash whereas the one public toilet in the building has plumbing problems.
