The magnitude of the refugee crisis in Greece was outlined a UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) report, according to which the number of refugees that landed on Greek islands in one week (August 8-15) was half the total in all of 2014!
Specifically, in the week between August 8 and 15 20,843 undocumented foreign nationals entered into Greece, compared to the whole of 2014 when 43,500 people had illegally crossed into the country.
The UN warns that the rate of refugee entry is rapidly increasing over the past weeks, as 50,242 refugees arrived in only one month, more than the 12 previous months! According to UN data, the majority derive from Syria (82%), followed by Afghanistan (14%) and Iraq (3%). The UN called for urgent upgrading of reception infrastructure on the islands and mainland Greece. The UN Refugee Agency also urged other EU countries to support Greece.
No word if the UN will call on rich Gulf states and other countries bordering on the war zones to receive the flow of migrants, or if it proposes measures to stem the tide.
