Thousands of Greek citizens have rallied together in protest on the Islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios staging a general strike, shutting down private businesses and public services to demand that the government remove asylum seekers from their islands.
Irate protestors shouted “We want our islands back; we want our lives back” at rallies earlier this week which are still ongoing.
The demonstrators have said that their once quiet islands are no longer safe and locals have claimed “You can’t walk alone after dark, people get stabbed”, the UK Daily Mail reports.
In 2019 75,000 migrants illegally travelled to the EU via Greece, mostly coming by way of Turkey and There have been multiple reports that the Hellenic Republic is preparing for a significant increase in migrants arriving on its shores in 2020 with stats projecting as many as 100,000 to arrive.
German newspaper Die Welt reports that the Hellenic Republic’s government commissioner for the initial reception of refugees, Manos Logothetis, said that he expects as many as 100,000 migrants to arrive in Greece next year stating, “the crisis is current, and it is serious”.
Tens of thousands of asylum seekers are already living in temporary camps on the Greek Islands with largest camp of Moria on Lesbos island, hosting over 19,000 asylum seekers, after being built only for 2,800.
Greece has had serious economic problems in the last decade and the migrant crisis, which appears to be worsening again, has only added to the peoples woes.
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