Greek isle of Lesbos shows community spirit to migrants

Mytilene (Greece) (AFP) - Beautiful beaches, olive groves and green mountains long summed up Greece's third-largest island Lesbos, but this corner of the Aegean Sea also faces an ever-rising tide of migrants reaching its shores.

Like Italy's tiny Lampedusa, site of two recent migrant shipwreck tragedies that cost almost 400 lives, Lesbos is a gateway to the European Union and refugee traffic has soared over the past year.

But locals are not clamouring for a force field around their home, also known as Emerald Island for its rich greenery of forests and mountain peaks.

Over the past few months, the residents of the capital Mytilene and other neighbouring communities have given first aid to migrants found wandering on beaches early in the morning or trying to make their way to some village.

"Lesbos is only a thoroughfare for migrants, they all want to leave as soon as possible to get to Athens and then to other countries," said Nelly Hatzidaki from the Lesbos-based citizens' movement Co-existence and Communication in the Aegean Sea.

"That undoubtedly explains why locals have never been hostile," she added.

The island's only migrant reception centre, housed in a former military warehouse, closed down in 2010 after criticism by Greek and international NGOs that called it Europe's most unhealthy place.

From then until 2012 "the influx of migrants levelled off. But when the arrivals picked up again, police and port authorities were totally overwhelmed," said Efi Latsoudi, of a local association called "The village for all".

"They would even not make arrests for lack of (detention) space."

"At first, the authorities ignored the problem," adds Hatzidaki.

"So in November 2012 we asked migrants to gather in front of the municipal theatre. It was a shock for many people to find out that there were entire families, often with very young children."

'A dignified welcome'

Immediately people brought clothes, blankets and food for the migrants and the town hall even gave local associations the keys to a former campsite, not far from the airport.

"We opened the first self-managed reception centre," says Latsoudi proudly, pointing out that thanks to volunteers the centre can feed and take care of up to 150 migrants.

Sometimes, even police bring new arrivals to the campsite, volunteers say.

But the authorities have also closed down the reception centre on numerous occasions, leaving only the overcrowded cells of the local police station or the makeshift tents set up in a fenced-off area near the port to house the migrants.

In October, a new state reception and detention centre situated in a former military camp opened its doors, promising migrants "a dignified welcome."

The volunteers' community spirit is not impermeable however, and after a few months people have been feeling the strain.

"Residents on the island have their own economic problems, and it is a heavy burden," said Hatzidaki.

Meanwhile, undocumented migrants continue to flood into Lesbos -- this week alone, dozens of Afghans and Eritreans reached the island.

Since autumn 2012, when EU border control agency Frontex and Greek authorities clamped down on the Greek-Turkish northern land border, marked by the Evros river, migrant traffic here has surged.

Greek police say 2,834 undocumented migrants were arrested in Lesbos during the first eight months of this year, compared to 253 over the same period in 2012.

"This week alone, around 70 people -- Eritreans, then Afghans," said Latsoudi.

Although arrest numbers are the only data available from the police, experts agree it provides an accurate picture of migrant traffic.

The numbers on the other Greek islands Samos, Chios and Rhodes in the eastern Aegean reveal a similar trend.

And some journeys end in tragedy. In March, at least six Syrians drowned before reaching Lesbos, while another 21 people perished in December last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greek-isle-lesbos-shows-community-spirit-migrants-154730433.html
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