Latest news with #AegeanSea
The Sun
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
How Greek island Lesbos stopped migrant invasion using controversial yet effective ‘pushback' deterrent hailed by locals
AS the influx of illegal migrants to Britain's shores shows no sign of abating, something very different is happening 2,000 miles away on the Greek island of Lesbos. Here, just seven miles across the Mytilini Strait from Turkey, the number of crossings has shrunk, thanks to a controversial but extremely effective deterrent. 7 7 7 At its peak ten years ago, up to 3,500 migrants a day landed on Lesbos, having made the perilous journey across the Aegean Sea in makeshift boats and cheap dinghies. But now, thanks to Greece's robust policy of 'pushbacks' — intercepting the boats and returning them to Turkish waters — that number has plummeted to just 1,700 so far this year. Aegean Boat Report, a Norwegian non-governmental organisation that monitors migrant flows in the area, says Turkey also regularly intercepts boats before they reach the Greek Islands and returns them to the mainland. Campaigners have slammed the practice, claiming it is illegal, but locals say the crackdown has saved the scenic holiday retreat from economic disaster — and most importantly, it has saved lives. Fisherman Thanassis Marmarinos recalls the horror of seeing the bodies of migrants in the sea before Greece's hardline anti- immigration government was elected in 2019. Floating corpses He said: 'It was extremely bad before, I can't imagine it being any worse. 'Every day there were thousands of migrants crossing. 'For five months I couldn't make any money because I would spend all my time trying to stop them drowning. 'People were asking for help and they were dying in the water, so I had no other option. 'I saw the corpses floating in the sea with my own eyes. 'In 2015 there was only one coastguard ship and they were overwhelmed, so I and four other fishermen did what we could to help save lives. 'The smugglers were charging about 2,000 euros per person for the 90-minute sailing to Lesbos. 'But to save money they were giving the migrants cheap, Chinese-made boats that had two sections to their engines — one full of fuel, the other full of water, so they would stop working halfway.' In 2015, triggered by war and political unrest in the Middle East and Africa, the refugee crisis had one of its deadliest years for small-boat crossings. A total of 805 people drowned as they tried to cross what is dubbed the Eastern Mediterranean corridor by Frontex, the European Union's border and coastguard agency. An incredible 800,000 landed in Greece the same year, 60 per cent of them reaching Lesbos, according to the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency. Since then, Frontex has expanded hugely, from a small administrative office in Warsaw to the EU's biggest agency, with 10,000 armed guards backed by helicopters, drones and ships and with an annual budget of more than a billion euros. Another six billion euros has been paid to Turkey to boost border security, and unlike Britain's £500million three-year deal with France, it has led to a sharp fall in people-smuggling. 7 7 Last year 54,000 small-boat migrants reached the Greek Islands from Turkey, and as we reported last week, Frontex has recorded a further 29 per cent fall in irregular migration through its Eastern Mediterranean border in the first quarter of this year. Fewer crossings have led to a fall in fatalities of more than 75 per cent since 2015, with 191 asylum seekers reported missing or dead in the same area last year. This is despite the Greek government banning charities and individuals from helping small-boat migrants while they are at sea — another key difference from the UK, where 1,371 people crossing the Channel were rescued by the RNLI last year. On Lesbos, new arrivals are not given a hotel room, and currently around 1,100 people are being housed in containers at the Closed Control Access Centre on the north east coast, where the provisions are basic. Sometimes when refugees reach here, they catch them, put them on a boat and drop them in the middle of the ocean on a life raft. Joaquin O'Ryan This is in contrast to two years ago, when up to 5,000 people had their claims processed there, while 20,000 were held in the island's old Moria 'camp of shame' before it was destroyed by fire in 2020. Fisherman Thanassis, 72, is one of the many islanders who believe that the election of the hardline New Democracy party in 2019, when Kyriakos Mitsotakis became Greece 's Prime Minister, was a turning point. He said: 'Everything changed when New Democracy was elected and they started sending the migrants back to Turkey. 'After that it became a bad deal to pay to cross to Greece, because you would end up back where you started.' When The Sun visited this week, there was not a single sea arrival on Lesbos, despite the Aegean being perfectly calm. Key to the change has been the decision to redesignate Turkey as a 'safe third country' for asylum-seekers. But charities insist the pushbacks are illegal, and Frontex is currently investigating alleged human rights violations by the Greek coastguard. 7 7 A statement by Aegean Boat Report said: 'Systematic human rights violations at the Greek sea border have been ongoing for over five years. 'Almost 100,000 people have been illegally and violently removed from Greek territory and pushed back towards Turkey, over 1,000 people have been killed in these illegal operations.' Joaquin O'Ryan, of humanitarian group Europe Cares, which provides meals and activities for people living in the CCAC camp, said: 'These pushbacks are illegal but it's a systemic process — they are not being carried out by just one person — so they can do whatever they want, basically. 'Sometimes when refugees reach here [Lesbos], they catch them, put them on a boat and drop them in the middle of the ocean on a life raft.' The Lesbos coastguard now has around half a dozen frigates, some supplied by Frontex, and most of the islanders we spoke to support the tough action being taken by the authorities. Waiter Kristos Condeli, 60, said: 'Tourism was completely destroyed for a few years after 2015. 'The cruise ships stopped coming here because they didn't want passengers to see corpses floating in the sea. 'There were thousands of migrants coming here and some of them resorted to stealing to survive. 'It got to the point that it was no longer safe to leave your bag in your car as someone would smash the window and steal it. 'UK could learn a lot' 'With no tourists, there was very little work for waiters. 'I had to relocate to Corfu to make a living and I've only recently been able to move back. 'The number of migrants crossing is down significantly in recent years and it's all thanks to the coastguard and Frontex, who are doing a fantastic job. 'The UK could learn a lot from the things done here.' Receptionist Maria Dimitriou works at the island's Molyvos Hotel. She fears the migrant problem has been pushed further south to Crete, where 6,500 migrants from Libya in North Africa have landed in the last six months. She said: 'Before the crisis started, we had one of our best years for tourism. 'The hotels were full of visitors from Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and the UK. 'When the migrants first started coming, the tourists said they wanted to help them. 'But the next year no one came back. 'I can only guess that they were put off by all the TV reports and they didn't want to risk seeing a dead body when they were on holiday. 'The drop in numbers almost destroyed the tourism industry in Lesbos. 'If it wasn't for weekend visitors from Turkey, this island would already be dead. 'In 2015 the refugees were everywhere. 'We felt sorry for the people from Syria, who were escaping a genuine war zone. 'After that, they were from everywhere and tell me, how can you be called a refugee when you are from Pakistan? 'The tourism industry is getting back to normal now and this hotel is close to full capacity for the next few months. 'But everyone is worried that, given what is happening in Iran and Palestine, the situation might get worse again.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Forest Fire Near Athens Under Control, But Area on High Alert
Greek firefighters said Friday that a forest blaze that had forced evacuations around Athens was under control, but warned that scorching temperatures were keeping fire risk at a highly elevated level around the capital and on northern Aegean islands. Greece has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to fires in the summer fueled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. The fire around Athens broke on Thursday afternoon near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages popular with local and foreign tourists, AFP reported. Though it was under control on Friday, a volatile combination of high temperatures and strong winds meant that a high risk of other fires breaking out remained, especially in the Attica region around the Greek capital and some islands in the north Aegean Sea, authorities said. A spokesman for the fire service told AFP that over 100 firefighters with 37 vehicles and a helicopter were on standby near Palaia Fokaia and Thymari. Fields, olive groves and some houses were ravaged by the blaze. The blaze came on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios -- Greece's fifth-largest island -- which had destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of land in four days. Weather agencies forecast a heatwave in the coming days with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), including in the capital Athens.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Greece's tiny Island of Outcasts charmed me – I'd be expelled there any day
The sea slaps at the sides of the multicoloured fishing boats as fishermen mend their nets on the dock and a young boy pulls platinum-scaled fish out of the water on a handline. Watching the scene from a suntrap table at a waterside café in Agia Marina, the capital of Leros, I can't understand how this Greek island could ever have been known as the 'Isle of Outcasts' or the 'Island of the Damned'. A quick skim of the history books reveals that Leros was the second most bombed Yet, aside from an immaculately kept war cemetery, a small military museum, and the remains of a couple of crumbling gun batteries and an acoustic military mirror on the west coast, there are no signs of the island's tumultuous past here today. Just a 90-minute ferry ride from busier, better-known Kos, Leros is one of the most laid-back Greek islands I've experienced. Hunkered around a ferry port barely larger than the average back garden, Agia Marina is a huddle of independent linen, ceramic and jewellery boutiques, private studio apartments and traditional tavernas and gyros eateries. There's a twin set of bakeries, too, where the specialities are Lerian cheese pies, made with feta, pastry and a dusting of cinnamon. Service in Agia Marina is uniformly and happily unhurried. One afternoon at Ta Kroupia grill, I lose two hours to a languorous lunch of baked feta – which comes to the table sizzling – fresh tzatziki, pillowy pitta bread and a couple of glasses of chilled white wine, as locals pick at plates of Leros's signature salted mackerel dish around me. There are some distinctive bars in the Lerian capital, too. In Diamanti Cafe, Singer sewing machine stands replace tables and a pet parrot called Coffii bombards bar staff with Greek obscenities. Meltimi, meanwhile, looks more antiques emporium than bar, thanks to its nautical décor. Agia Marina's statement sight is the Castle of Pandeli. Capping a clifftop, 150 metres above the town, its history burrows back to Byzantine times, when it was built on the site of an Athens-esque acropolis. It's possible to drive up to the summit, but I walk, climbing the 500-step switchback path that ascends from the village of Platanos, a short stroll from Agia Marina's waterfront. Wide-screen views over both the east and west coasts of the island open up at every turn. As well as the castle, Leros' other emblems are its windmills. Positioned in a pageant line on the hillside above the fishing village of Panteli, on Leros' east coast, these jam jar-shaped structures were used for grinding wheat and barley into flour in the 18th century, like those on better-known Mykonos. Today, they've been restored and repurposed. One now harbours a cocktail bar called Harris where an al fresco terrace peers out over Panteli harbour and the multi blue hue of the Aegean Sea beyond. The coast of Leros is brush-stroked with beaches. A 35-minute walk from Agia Marina, Alinda is the longest. The waters here make cut crystal look cloudy, and the smooth pebble sand is overlooked by traditional tavernas. At Argo taverna, I find a table in the shade of a tamarisk tree and eat a lunch of keftedes (Greek meatballs) to the soundtrack of softly breaking waves and joyful conversation. Despite being less than 30 square miles in size, Leros has both a brewery and a winery. Raven Brewing's pale ales are served in bars across the island. Isichi Ampelones winery, meanwhile, is open for tours and tastings in summer. Sequestered away in the brush-stubbled hills in the northeast of the island, it's an oasis of a place. Tastings take place on a vine-curtained terrace and are accompanied by Greek nibbles of olives and cheeses. A red wine made from mandilaria grapes, with a nose of fireside smoke and cocoa, is a highlight for me. I clunk away from my visit, lumbered with multiple bottles to take home. I round off my time on Leros with a visit to Lakki. As one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, Lakki Bay caught the eye of Mussolini in the 1920s when Leros was under Italian rule. With his sights set on turning the area into the 'Corregidor of the Mediterranean' (or a key defensive point for controlling the eastern Med) the dictator commissioned his architects to build a new model town in the Italian rationalism/rationalist style. The afterimage of Mussolini's grand plans can still be seen today in Lakki's architecture, which is more faded South Beach Miami than Greek island.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
CRAIG BROWN: Acropolis now - off the beaten track in Greece
Your unmissable, essential Guide To The Greek Islands of ancient myth. KIOSK Measuring 3ft 6in by 7ft, Kiosk is the smallest of the Greek Isles, but comes surprisingly well-stocked with street maps, cigarettes, magazines and cheaper items of confectionery. The perfect holiday destination for those who prefer to stay in one place, and ideal, too, for those looking to buy British Sunday newspapers on the following Thursday. IKEA A range of hotels recently opened on the popular Isle of Ikea. 'It's a whole new concept in luxury accommodation, designed for guests in search of something that little bit different,' boasts the brochure. On arrival, guests are awarded a free set of Allen keys to help them assemble their bed, chair, table and shower curtains. Explanatory diagrams, complete with arrows pointing in all directions, are provided free of charge. The island of Ikea offers plenty of useful activities, from pick-your-own-fruit farms to restaurants in which customers are given coal and matches, a string of sausages and easy-to-assemble cooking utensils. Those wishing to embark on a sunset cruise around the bay may hire transport, but remember to allow two-to-three hours to inflate your lilo. TYPOS 'Welmoce To Typos Airpot' reads the banner that greets tourists. Well-placed signs direct visitors to Car Prak, Trans, Currants Exchang, Lungage Pig-Up and Dirty Free. There's plenty to do on the island, including water-spots, hopping and crazy glof. Hellcopter rides are heavily boked. Typos is an isle of cotnrasts, with indrustial cities to the nroth, and rolling pills to the south. Luxury accomodation is provided by the Majestic, a five-rats muxury hotel. PARANOIA With its palm trees regularly swaying a full 180 degrees in the wind and its waves offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience to the unwary bather, the sun-drenched Isle of Paranoia is a must for those craving adventure. Be sure to drive your hire car at breakneck speed along the famously zig-zagging northern cliff route. The highways agency has thoughtfully placed irregular gaps in the clifftop barriers for those who wish to edge that little bit closer to catch sight of the sea crashing on to the rocks below. The Isle of Paranoia is self-governed by the military, which enforces strict codes of behaviour. Shorts are to be worn only by those under six years of age; seniors apprehended in shorts and/or baseball caps will find themselves enjoying six hours in the picturesque stocks adjacent to the famous tomato market. Important note for all tourists: two exit gates are to be found in the Paranoia Airport arrivals, letting visitors decide for themselves whether to go through Something To Declare or Something To Hide. PATHOS How many of these have you spotted so far? Six must-see sights on Pathos: 1) A one-eyed, three-legged dog called Lucky. 2) Liz Truss, complaining that Donald Trump still hasn't returned her call. 3) A clown fighting back tears. 4) A visitor centre, closed for the holidays. 5) A town crier who has lost his voice. 6) Liz Truss, boasting loudly over a tumbler of retsina that Rudy Giuliani has asked her to make herself available for dinner in November, on the off-chance that Huw Edwards can't make it. ATMOS The historic market town of Atmos prides itself on its multi-storey car park, statue of a 19th-century deputy mayor in a suit and tie, and a shopping mall boasting H&M, Gap, JD Sports and Walmart. The town's three-star Hotel Reasonable offers a lunchtime buffet of food left over from the previous night's dinner, but with added parsley. On no account miss the annual Neil Sedaka festival, this year hosted by Rylan Clark.
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Greece arrests woman suspected of fuelling devastating wildfire with cigarette
Greece has arrested a Georgian woman suspected of discarding a cigarette that helped trigger one of several wildfires razing land and threatening homes on the island of Chios. Blazes broke out on Chios in the Aegean Sea on Sunday and tore through 10,000 acres of mainly bush and pasture land in three days, Greece's climate crisis and civil protection ministry said on Wednesday. The ongoing flames also caused significant disruption, including power outages, water shortages, and damage to property. The fire brigade said a woman was arrested on Tuesday night and that authorities were still investigating the cause of the fires. The Georgian was charged with unintentional arson, two fire brigade officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Witnesses saw her drop a cigarette, one of the officials said. Though the wildfires were largely contained by Wednesday, hundreds of firefighters remained on Chios to prevent rekindling and bring all fronts under control, the Greek fire brigade said. On Tuesday, residents of a seaside village in the south west of the island were ordered to leave as white smoke rose over a nearby beach. Greece's minister of climate crisis and civil protection, Yiannis Kefalogiannis, arrived on the island on Monday. He said: 'The situation on the island since yesterday has been quite difficult because we constantly have new fronts and resurgences and the climatic conditions are not favourable. 'We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island — a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental.' The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled. At Europe 's southernmost tip, Greece is often hit by wildfires during its hot and dry summers, but authorities say the fast-changing climate is fuelling more destructive blazes. The Greek government has paid hundreds of millions of euros in damages related to extreme weather to households and farmers, and to update firefighting equipment. It has upped firefighter numbers to a record 18,000 this year in anticipation of a challenging fire season. They will be assisted by 294 firefighters from five European countries from July 1 to September 15.
