Thousands of refugees in Greece brave freezing cold
January 13, 2017, 11:08 am

An Arctic blast of snow and freezing rain has put thousands of refugees in Greece and Turkey at risk, charity groups say [Xinhua]

In Greece, for example, there are more than 62,000 refugees and migrants currently stranded in the country, and many are living in overcrowded ‘camps’ on the northern Aegean Sea islands.

The pressure is on for Greek authorities to help thousands of these homeless refugees struggling to face sub-zero temperatures.

Greek meteorological authorities expect that the heavy snowfall will cut off many villages in mountainous regions.

“We call on Greek authorities and the EU to enact emergency measures immediately to ensure that all refugees and migrants on the islands are housed in dignified living conditions,” said Clement Perrin, head of the French organization Médecins Sans Frontières, in a press release.

Athens’ Acropolis Hill, a popular tourist destination, was closed to visitors on Tuesday due to the cold weather.

The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that they were able to transfer a few pregnant women, disabled, and elderly individuals from snow-covered tents on the island of Lesvos to hotels in other parts of the island.

Earlier, some 500 refugees from the Moria refugee camp were given shelter aboard a Greek naval ship off the island of Lesbos. Many said that the tents and shelters – which were set up during much warmer weather – have collapsed to the heavy accumulating snowfall.

European Union officials say the plight of the refugees in Greece is Athens’s responsibility, but the Greek government says it is unable to process refugees quickly enough and have them leave the camps because it has received far less funding than was pledged in Brussels.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies