A Syrian refugee woman carrying her baby in her arms walks to the ferry Eleftherios Venizelos, which functions as a registration center and accommodation for migrants and refugees, after crossing by a boat from Turkey, in the southeastern Greek island of Kos early Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. With the lights of Kos twinkling through the darkness ó beacons of hope for a new and better life ó another group of migrants has set off to make a risky but less risky than most sea crossing and apply for asylum in Europe. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemilianichenko)
.
The Greek Isles are arguably among the Earth’s most charming pockets, and the lucky natives are absurdly accustomed to tourists. Or armies. Let’s call it hosting.
And o m g there’s actually a whole world outside the verdant lures of Iowa and New Hampshire.
This August, same traditional European month of holiday ease? Not exactly. #RefugeeTouristsFromSyria. Less ouzo fueled nights of stupor-drunk German and American tourists, more scanning the horizon for Human Rights Aid and relief they pray will swoop in to assist by air.
And The Trumpet thinks we have a visitor pop-in problem. Pffffft. That King of the Asshats couldn’t begin to competently handle a boat of real Syrian refugees, even for a hypothetical photo-op. His Germophobia alone would have him engaging by giant Jumbotron after his first and solo wingnut effort to be humane. Live.
.
Photo, NBC News.
.
They have never, including being on the rigorous paths to the Crusades, luxe, modern M.I.C. wars and a peculiar pseudo-historical holiday habit of Germans descending en masse to re-conquer Greek beaches/mellow and Mediterranean cuisine, seen this coming. (Heineken Large and sausage buns everywhere, even remote little spots like Sitia on the remarkable isle of Crete which may or may not have long lured backpackers to nude beaches nearby) Even Aristotle wasn’t prescient enough to have foreseen an incoming flood of needy humanity on a scale like like this.
Heartbreaking doesn’t even begin …
You may remember seeing the gobsmacking sea rescue of a listing boatload of Syrian refugees in Europe recently? The hoping-desperately-to-be immigrants had swamped their original ride. Women, children, elders … in a level of Homeless we likely will never fully grasp. Heading to Europe or ‘bust’.
.
New York Magazine photo, August 2015
.
According to Canada’s National Post, it’s past time to pay attention. This absolute tsunami of asylum-seeking refugees has up-ticked to near chaos, as also reported by MSF (Doctors Without Borders) as summer lengthens and the economy of Greece herself teeters regularly and wildly now from pillar to
In order to assist in accommodating as many refugees in an orderly and health-conscious fashion, the Greek government booked a charter to act as a naval bunk and processing station for thousands of Syrians with no livable home.
Photo NBC News.
The ship, chartered by the Greek government, is to provide accommodation for around 2,500 Syrians in its cabins and an area for processing paperwork to claim asylum, before they are sent on to Athens.
The vessel — which belongs to a company that ships tourists, cars and trucks to the Greek islands and across the Adriatic to Italy — is intended to take some of the pressure off Kos. …
Most of the quarter of a million migrants who made it safely to Europe this year arrived on the shores of Italy and Greece.
Sidebar: Serious props to the Canadian, Brit and EU press for covering this switch as it ought to be covered; early and often. #ButOhRight, they’re not busy deciding if Hillary actually knows what a server actually IS and if Actual Donald Trump and his Reality-Dubious Hair System is their fvcking imminent Actual future.
A young Syrian arriving in Greece, Yahoo News.
.
So rather than leading with other countries to come up with better solutions than what do smell like throwback offshore prison ships (history geeks enjoy that horrifying trip to the stacks), Greek villagers with stressed aid orgs and pitiable resources are up to bat. Candidate Lindsey Graham’s pearls would be clutched way up in an Unmentionable place were he deployed to ‘help’.
Makes one want to cave and beller in frustration à la Seinfeld’s Costanza … “You know, we’re Living In A Society HERE!!“
.About 124,000 Syria-conflict refugees arrived by sea in 2015, a large portion via Turkey, reports Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR director for Europe. The Reuters photographer Yannis Behrakis has been covering the scenes on the Greek island of Kos. These Reuters shots below were worth a glance, more info and key stats at the link.
.
A Turkish sailboat is seen next to a dinghy crowded with Syrian refugees in the Aegean sea between Turkey and Greece Photograph- Yannis Behrakis:Reuters
Syrian men form a safe passage for women following clashes during a registration procedure at the stadium Photograph- Yannis Behrakis:Reuters
Greek riot police stand in front of thousands of Syrian refugees and other migrants at the national stadium Photograph- Yannis Behrakis:Reuters
A man leans against railings in the stadium Photograph- Yannis Behrakis:Reuters
