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Huge migrant influx scares off Greek island tourists
[DW] Tourists are avoiding the Greek island of Samos due to the shocking situation at the Vathy migrant camp, which has grown into a sprawling settlement. Locals and asylum-seekers feel authorities have abandoned them.

"That camp is our shame," says a teacher on Samos, pointing to a refugee center near the town of Vathy. The camp, set up in 2016 following the Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
an Union's controversial refugee deal with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
, is home to migrants colonists waiting for their asylum applications to be processed.

The Greek island of Samos is just a stone's throw from the Ottoman Turkish coast. And boats with migrants colonists arrive here constantly ‐ though again and again, refugees drown in the crossing in a desperate attempt to reach the EU.

It's no wonder Greek locals are appalled by the camp: originally intended for just 650 asylum-seekers, it's now home to about 4,000 migrants colonists from the Middle East and Africa. Officially, nobody is supposed to wait longer than three months to have his or her asylum application processed. But the reality is very different, leaving many migrants colonists stranded.

INHUMANE CONDITIONS
Some 1,500 migrants colonists have settled around the camp, in what has become known as "the jungle."

"We have to deal with rats and snakes, we don't have toilets, showers or access to drinking water," says a 30-year-old woman from Congo who lives near the camp. She says many Greek people accuse people like her of coming to Europe just for the money. But that's not the case, she says, stressing that her country is embroiled in conflict.

She will only be able to make her case to Greek authorities in March 2021. She's desperate, and can't fathom giving birth to her child in this makeshift camp, where migrants colonists receive just 1.5 liters of drinking water (less than half a gallon) and a small amount of food each day.

Moslem colonists Migrants in the official camp, meanwhile, report similarly dire conditions. Women have reported being raped, and endless queues are common. "You have to wait in line for three hours to get food, and at least an hour just to use the toilets," says a 24-year-old Iraqi man. His first asylum application was rejected ‐ he says all Iraqis have had their applications rejected, though he has no idea why. For him, returning home is out of the question: "If I go back to Iraq, I will get killed."
Yes, but your asylum request will continue to be rejected, so staying is also out of the question. Perhaps Turkey is looking for good citizens...
A 32-year-old man from Congo finds himself in a similar situation. He and his wife have been living in the island camp since last October, and they are desperate to get to Belgium.

"Belgian authorities have to grant us asylum; they colonized our country. Making it to Belgium will be like reaching home," he says. The couple left their children behind so that they can first sort out their asylum status ‐ though that's proving difficult. So far, they're still waiting for an appointment to see the Greek authorities about their application.

He says they currently receive €90 (about $100) in assistance every month, of which they have to spend €2.50 euro on bank fees. "How are we supposed to live off that?" he asks, incredulously.
Posted by: trailing wife 2019-06-24
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=544098