Greek border guards warn jihadist have passed thru Greece

Only 6 police guard 4,000 refugees at one hotspot

The Association of Greek Border Control Guards has warned that the situation with the refugee hotspots in Greece has become unmanageable, in a press conference Tuesday. The union says it is unable to manage the problem, in spite of the special training to 4,700 new guards to specifically oversee the borders, which in reality are 2,300 after the transfer of many to other services. ‘There can’t be 4,700 border guards to control the borders who end up guarding inland football fields, while Greece calls FRONTEX to guard the borders’, said the border guards. They underlined that their please for a separation between refugees and migrants to deal with the problem have fallen on deaf ears, adding that not only are their suggestions rejected, but they views are not even sought on the issue. The claims that after the EU-Turkey agreement the hotspots in Greece have essentially turned into detention centres with the proper specifications. The situation is dangerous and out of control, with a characteristic example being the only six police officers are designated to watch over 4,000 refugees at a hotspot. The border guards also alleged that there is no readmission program, as Syrian refugees are willing to return to their countries but cannot find a way. The guards say that through their experience jihadists have infiltrated refugee flows and passed in Greece, even though they do not know how long they stayed in Greece for, since their were no registration procedures until last October. On the issue of the Idomeni camp they accused the government of letting the situation fester to a point that it is no longer manageable.

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