REFUGEES

EU urged to help refugees stranded in Greece

Aid groups say thousands of refugees on Greece islands have been overlooked by Europe as it worries about Greek bailout moves. EU ministers meet in Brussels Monday to continue their row over distributing asylum-seekers.

The German organization Pro Asyl (Pro-Asylum) on Sunday accused Europe of "looking the other way" as volunteer Greeks tried to cope with arrivals of refugees on Aegean Sea islands such as Kos.

The German news agency DPA quoted Pro Asyl director Günter Burkhardt as saying that conditions on several Greek islands were "catastrophic," with refugees from crisis regions such as Syria and Eritrea left stranded.

He said civilian Greek volunteers and groups who were providing food and medicines were trying to make up for the inactivity of Greek authorities, themselves hard hit by austerity measures.

Burkhardt said a proper aid scheme was urgently required for the neediest. In addition, the EU must allow refugees to travel on legally to other European countries, he said.

Nighttime boat trips

The UN refugee agency UNHCR says tens of thousands of migrants have arrived in Greece this year by risking the maritime route from Turkey at night to reach the Greek islands of Kos, Samos, Lesbos and Chios.

That has happened since Athens tightened its controls on land along the Greek-Turkish border marked by the Ervos River.

Migrants typically use small boats holding 10 to 50 people. In June, Turkish coastguards rescued 70 migrants from a sinking ship but six migrants drowned.

Bernd Pastors, director of the German medical charity Action Medeor, told DPA that refugees remained hungry and thirsty after arrival, but were also in urgent need of antibiotics, painkillers and anti-diarrhea medicines.

"They are completely alone," Pastors said, adding that the Greek government had no money and did not look after the refugees.

Athens in trouble

A Syrian, Ahman Dafi, sheltering at an abandoned hotel on Kos, told DPA that he and other refugees were killing time until they found a chance to make it to the Greek mainland and other EU countries.

"I want to go to Germany to finish studying to become a dentist," Safi said.

Refugees who made it to Athens told Reuters that they were stranded in a recession-hit city not equipped to receive them.

Refugees in Athens can expect little help

"We have no food, water or accommodation. We are desperate," said a Syrian refugee named Haisam.

A spokeswoman for the Greek capital's mayoral office said assistance was "not limitless," with more than 120 migrants managing to find transport to Athens each day.

"All they can do is try to get access to the regular help that is provided daily for the homeless people of Athens," said the spokeswoman.

UN call for EU assistance

Last week, the UN refugee agency said so far this year more than 77,000 people had arrived in Greece by sea. More than 60 percent of them were Syrians.

The others had fled conflict regions such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and Somalia..

The UNHCR called on the EU to step in before the humanitarian situation deteriorated further, saying Greece urgently needed help to cope with 1,000 arrivals nationwide each day.

Interior ministers of the 28-nation EU bloc meet in Brussels on Monday in a second attempt to decide on the distribution of 60,000 refugees across Europe.

ipj/tj (dpa, AFP, AP)