Greek islands see rising numbers in migrant camps

PanARMENIAN.Net - Save the Children says the number of migrants arriving in the Greek islands has nearly doubled in recent weeks, putting pressure on overcrowded camps, BBC News reports.

So far in August 1,367 arrivals have been reported in Greece compared with 1,721 in the entire month of May.

The charity says the increase is partly down to insecurity since the failed coup in Turkey last month.

After more than a million migrants crossed to Europe in 2015, Turkey agreed in March to help stem the flow.

Most of the arrivals had come to the Greek islands from the west coast of Turkey.

Since the EU signed a deal with Turkey to halt the influx, the numbers have dropped dramatically but there are fears the reduction may not be sustainable.

And because of new rules that prevent irregular migrants crossing to the Greek mainland, record numbers have become stuck in increasing squalid conditions, and are becoming more angry and desperate, says the UK-based charity.

More than 10,000 migrants are currently being held on islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos - the bulk of whom are fleeing violence and poverty in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Mothers with small babies are being forced to sleep on the ground in makeshift tents," said Katie Dimmer, Save the Children's director of operations in Greece.

"Children and breastfeeding women are suffering from dehydration due to water shortages in some camps, and tensions are increasing as basic services, such as toilets and showers, are stretched."

Average daily arrivals on the Greek islands have risen from 56 in May to 90 in August, Save the Children says. However, the figures are dramatically down from a year ago, when 107,843 refugees and migrants arrived in Greece in August alone.