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| Greece Scrambles to Shelter Migrants as Neighbors Shut Their Gates | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ATHENS — Terminal E2 in Piraeus, the port city near Athens, is typically a cheerful holding spot for tourists waiting to board ferries for sunny Greek island vacations. But on a recent day, nearly 1,000 exhausted migrants who had just crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey sprawled across the sweat-soaked floor and on the asphalt outside, waiting to hear if they could continue toward Germany. | ATHENS — Terminal E2 in Piraeus, the port city near Athens, is typically a cheerful holding spot for tourists waiting to board ferries for sunny Greek island vacations. But on a recent day, nearly 1,000 exhausted migrants who had just crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey sprawled across the sweat-soaked floor and on the asphalt outside, waiting to hear if they could continue toward Germany. |
| The answer came soon enough: Syrians and Iraqis could board buses for Greece’s northern frontier with Macedonia, which was already choked with nearly 10,000 migrants after Macedonia sealed its border over the weekend. Everyone else — including Afghans, who made up the bulk of the crowd — would be shuttled to one of a rapidly growing number of refugee camps being set up around Athens. | The answer came soon enough: Syrians and Iraqis could board buses for Greece’s northern frontier with Macedonia, which was already choked with nearly 10,000 migrants after Macedonia sealed its border over the weekend. Everyone else — including Afghans, who made up the bulk of the crowd — would be shuttled to one of a rapidly growing number of refugee camps being set up around Athens. |
| With thousands of migrants still arriving each day, and thousands more being turned away from Greece’s northern border, the rough outskirts of Athens, Piraeus and the northern city of Thessaloniki near the frontier are becoming the new hot spots to hold them. Camps have been opening at the rate of nearly one a day, including at Greece’s dilapidated former Olympic Stadium and in mothballed military bases, to house more than 25,000 people who cannot move forward because of the new border restrictions and because they cannot or will not turn back. | With thousands of migrants still arriving each day, and thousands more being turned away from Greece’s northern border, the rough outskirts of Athens, Piraeus and the northern city of Thessaloniki near the frontier are becoming the new hot spots to hold them. Camps have been opening at the rate of nearly one a day, including at Greece’s dilapidated former Olympic Stadium and in mothballed military bases, to house more than 25,000 people who cannot move forward because of the new border restrictions and because they cannot or will not turn back. |
| The government is planning to open additional camps between Athens and northern Greece to accommodate an expected surge. Following scenes of chaos at the Macedonian border, where migrants on Monday broke down part of a razor-wire fence, the migration minister, Ioannis Mouzalas, warned Wednesday that more than 100,000 migrants would soon be stuck in Greece. The crisis could endure for up to three years, he added, as Greece becomes a reception country — rather than a transit country — for asylum seekers. | The government is planning to open additional camps between Athens and northern Greece to accommodate an expected surge. Following scenes of chaos at the Macedonian border, where migrants on Monday broke down part of a razor-wire fence, the migration minister, Ioannis Mouzalas, warned Wednesday that more than 100,000 migrants would soon be stuck in Greece. The crisis could endure for up to three years, he added, as Greece becomes a reception country — rather than a transit country — for asylum seekers. |
| “We’ve never seen it like this here,” said Katerina Kitidi, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency, surveying the scene at the ferry terminal as women in head scarves huddled with children on a trash-strewn sidewalk near the sea while men stood in a snaking line for water and food. “With the borders shut, there is a big buildup of people and a definite danger of a bad humanitarian situation taking hold in Greece.” | “We’ve never seen it like this here,” said Katerina Kitidi, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency, surveying the scene at the ferry terminal as women in head scarves huddled with children on a trash-strewn sidewalk near the sea while men stood in a snaking line for water and food. “With the borders shut, there is a big buildup of people and a definite danger of a bad humanitarian situation taking hold in Greece.” |
| Afghans, who make up about a third of migrants entering Greece as a back door to Europe, are becoming the largest group to be stuck in limbo here after Macedonia and countries to its north last week abruptly reclassified them as economic migrants rather than refugees. Thousands are waiting around in camps or venturing into central Athens, clutching registration papers, fielding pitches from smugglers for alternate routes to Germany and Austria and trying to figure any way to avoid returning to Afghanistan. | Afghans, who make up about a third of migrants entering Greece as a back door to Europe, are becoming the largest group to be stuck in limbo here after Macedonia and countries to its north last week abruptly reclassified them as economic migrants rather than refugees. Thousands are waiting around in camps or venturing into central Athens, clutching registration papers, fielding pitches from smugglers for alternate routes to Germany and Austria and trying to figure any way to avoid returning to Afghanistan. |
| “Even with the border closed, Afghan people will still come: They would rather brave problems here than face danger and conflict,” said Jamshid Azizi, 24, an Afghan who was stuck at Schisto, a camp the government scrambled to open last week near Piraeus, after the Macedonian police returned him to Greece following two attempts to make his way north. “We are going to wait here to see if the border opens, and if not, we will do what we can to avoid going back.” | “Even with the border closed, Afghan people will still come: They would rather brave problems here than face danger and conflict,” said Jamshid Azizi, 24, an Afghan who was stuck at Schisto, a camp the government scrambled to open last week near Piraeus, after the Macedonian police returned him to Greece following two attempts to make his way north. “We are going to wait here to see if the border opens, and if not, we will do what we can to avoid going back.” |
| Even while Europe remains politically paralyzed over how to handle the migrants, it seems to be confronting the reality that refugee camps could be present on the Continent for years to come. On Wednesday, the European Union acknowledged for the first time that a humanitarian crisis was brewing inside its borders, agreeing on an emergency aid package of 700 million euros, or $760 million, over three years to help Greece and other countries on the migrant trail deal with the backlog. | Even while Europe remains politically paralyzed over how to handle the migrants, it seems to be confronting the reality that refugee camps could be present on the Continent for years to come. On Wednesday, the European Union acknowledged for the first time that a humanitarian crisis was brewing inside its borders, agreeing on an emergency aid package of 700 million euros, or $760 million, over three years to help Greece and other countries on the migrant trail deal with the backlog. |
| At least initially, a majority of the funding is expected to go to help the situation in Greece, and the move highlights the uncertain future for that country, where a debt crisis that began six years ago threatened to sink the euro, the European Union’s flagship economic project. | At least initially, a majority of the funding is expected to go to help the situation in Greece, and the move highlights the uncertain future for that country, where a debt crisis that began six years ago threatened to sink the euro, the European Union’s flagship economic project. |
| But the money did not address the most pressing issue: getting migrants to stop thinking about Europe as their haven from war and economic uncertainty. | But the money did not address the most pressing issue: getting migrants to stop thinking about Europe as their haven from war and economic uncertainty. |
| Even if Europe reaches an agreement at a special summit meeting on March 7 in Brussels to stem the tide of people crossing from Turkey, humanitarian aid groups warn that desperate people fleeing Syria and Iraq will still try to come in anyway, while Afghans and others who do not currently qualify for political asylum could remain in Greece for a considerable period. | Even if Europe reaches an agreement at a special summit meeting on March 7 in Brussels to stem the tide of people crossing from Turkey, humanitarian aid groups warn that desperate people fleeing Syria and Iraq will still try to come in anyway, while Afghans and others who do not currently qualify for political asylum could remain in Greece for a considerable period. |
| On Tuesday, the top NATO commander in Europe, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove of the United States Air Force, warned lawmakers in Washington that Russia and the Assad government in Syria were “deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve.” | On Tuesday, the top NATO commander in Europe, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove of the United States Air Force, warned lawmakers in Washington that Russia and the Assad government in Syria were “deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve.” |
| At the Schisto camp, a former military barracks that the army converted into a refugee center in just 11 days, preparations were already underway to transform it into a semi-permanent holding facility. On a recent day, more than 1,400 migrants, all but three of them Afghans, milled outside under military surveillance, surrounded by a high fence topped with barbed wire. Around 150 white tents held eight people apiece, while larger tents held scores of additional beds. | At the Schisto camp, a former military barracks that the army converted into a refugee center in just 11 days, preparations were already underway to transform it into a semi-permanent holding facility. On a recent day, more than 1,400 migrants, all but three of them Afghans, milled outside under military surveillance, surrounded by a high fence topped with barbed wire. Around 150 white tents held eight people apiece, while larger tents held scores of additional beds. |
| By the end of March, however, the camp is to be expanded with container shelters to accommodate at least 4,000 people “for as long as they need to stay,” said Vassilis Thanos, an army spokesman. | By the end of March, however, the camp is to be expanded with container shelters to accommodate at least 4,000 people “for as long as they need to stay,” said Vassilis Thanos, an army spokesman. |
| Already, a construction crew was clearing space for a playground near a makeshift clinic, a food hall and a worship area. The accommodations would keep women and children — who now make up around 60 percent of incoming migrants — separate from the men “in order to respect their culture,” Mr. Thanos said. | Already, a construction crew was clearing space for a playground near a makeshift clinic, a food hall and a worship area. The accommodations would keep women and children — who now make up around 60 percent of incoming migrants — separate from the men “in order to respect their culture,” Mr. Thanos said. |
| If the military base was run in an orderly way, other camps were not. | If the military base was run in an orderly way, other camps were not. |
| Half an hour away, among the hulking, graffiti-riddled skeletons of unused buildings at the former Olympic Stadium, another camp had been set up inside an arena abutting a soccer field. Surrounded by barbed wire, more than 1,300 migrants fended for themselves inside the dilapidated facility. Migrants said no one seemed to know how long they would stay or when they could move on. | Half an hour away, among the hulking, graffiti-riddled skeletons of unused buildings at the former Olympic Stadium, another camp had been set up inside an arena abutting a soccer field. Surrounded by barbed wire, more than 1,300 migrants fended for themselves inside the dilapidated facility. Migrants said no one seemed to know how long they would stay or when they could move on. |
| Along dingy, airless corridors thick with the odor of sweat, women lay on thin mats sleeping deeply as children wandered the area and young men whiled away the time playing soccer. On the floor, sewage had overflowed the day earlier, soaking some of the sleeping mats. Men and women formed long lines to get food prepared by a handful of volunteers who crowded a small kitchen, chopping tomatoes and scrambling to ensure that there was enough food to go around. | Along dingy, airless corridors thick with the odor of sweat, women lay on thin mats sleeping deeply as children wandered the area and young men whiled away the time playing soccer. On the floor, sewage had overflowed the day earlier, soaking some of the sleeping mats. Men and women formed long lines to get food prepared by a handful of volunteers who crowded a small kitchen, chopping tomatoes and scrambling to ensure that there was enough food to go around. |
| Often there was not. In the parking lot outside the stadium, migrants mobbed cars driven up by good Samaritans who lived in the area and came to hand out bread, sweets and other food. “Even if the border is closed, they need to eat,” said Vangelis Vozikis, 55, who had come to distribute croissants. | Often there was not. In the parking lot outside the stadium, migrants mobbed cars driven up by good Samaritans who lived in the area and came to hand out bread, sweets and other food. “Even if the border is closed, they need to eat,” said Vangelis Vozikis, 55, who had come to distribute croissants. |
| Many migrants seeking relief from the camps make their way to the center of Athens to Victoria Square, a tree-lined park where young men, mostly Afghans and Iranians, sleep under the open air as smugglers troll their ranks. | Many migrants seeking relief from the camps make their way to the center of Athens to Victoria Square, a tree-lined park where young men, mostly Afghans and Iranians, sleep under the open air as smugglers troll their ranks. |
| Scores of Greeks wandered into the square, handing out supplies and homemade food. Later, migrants crowded around police officers as they brandished photos of the Olympic Center. Earlier in the day, the former baseball field had opened and the officers were trying to persuade the migrants to get on buses to go there for shelter and food. | Scores of Greeks wandered into the square, handing out supplies and homemade food. Later, migrants crowded around police officers as they brandished photos of the Olympic Center. Earlier in the day, the former baseball field had opened and the officers were trying to persuade the migrants to get on buses to go there for shelter and food. |
| The sales pitch fell on deaf ears. | The sales pitch fell on deaf ears. |
| “We won’t go,” said Ahmed, a teenager from Afghanistan. “We don’t want to go anywhere until we know whether the borders will open.” | “We won’t go,” said Ahmed, a teenager from Afghanistan. “We don’t want to go anywhere until we know whether the borders will open.” |