Spiegel Online: Situation in Greek island refugee hotspots reaching a breaking point

Minister says facilities are overstretched by the numbers of refugees

The situation in the refugee reception centres in the Greek islands is steadily deteriorating, Spiegel Online warns in the article titled “Aegean Sea refugees camps are on the verge of collapse”.

The online version of the magazine notes: “According to Immigration Policy Minister Dimitris Vitsas, 20,000 refugees and immigrants currently live in the camps. But the refugee centres in Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos are able to accommodate only 6,400 people.
When the EU-Turkey refugee agreement was implemented in March 2016, about 5,800 refugees and migrants lived in the Greek islands. The situation is worse in Moria, where there are approximately 8,800 refugees when only 3,000 people can be accommodated. The competent minister speaks of a situation that is reaching a “boiling point” and states that from May 1st to August, 3,950 refugees were transferred to Mainland Greece while 5,450 people arrived from the Turkish coast in Lesvos.”