Page 9 - Aruba Today
P. 9
WORLD NEWS 9
Wednesday 24 February
Migrants stranded in Greece, face eviction in France
COSTAS KANTOURIS relatives when he was sent Migrants watch French officials tour a makeshift camp set outside Calais, France, Tuesday Feb. 23,
ELENA BECATOROS back to Athens. 2016. People fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa, the Mideast and Asia are facing an evening
Associated Press “Macedonia isn’t letting deadline to move out of the camp in the French port of Calais that has become a flashpoint in
IDOMENI, Greece (AP) — migrants through. I can’t Europe’s migrant crisis.
At flashpoints near borders understand why,” he said.
on either side of Europe, “I can’t get to the (bor- (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
authorities tried Tuesday to der) camp, and members
force back migrants des- of my family are there. It’s
perate to begin new lives cold here and we have no
in more prosperous nations. food.”
In Greece, police bused In Calais, authorities main-
about 1,250 Afghans stuck tained the sprawling shan-
at the Macedonian border tytown, which cropped up
back to Athens after coun- years ago but mushroomed
tries further up the migrant last year in the midst of the
trail wouldn’t let them migrant crisis, is a sanitation
through. In France, au- risk. Charity groups went to
thorities prepared to evict court to seek a last-minute
people from a shantytown delay of the forced evacu-
known as the “jungle” in ation, and on Tuesday the
the port of Calais, where court announced a deci-
migrants wait for a chance sion would not come until
to try to cross into Britain. Wednesday or later.
The seemingly arbitrary Regional administration
decision by some Balkan head Fabienne Buccio
countries to close their bor- said on Europe-1 radio the
ders to Afghans attempting expulsion order doesn’t
to make their way across mean authorities will use
Europe to seek asylum has force. Interior Minister Ber-
left thousands stranded nard Cazeneuve insisted
in Greece, even as more the evacuation would be
continue to arrive on Greek “progressive.”
islands from the nearby Maya Konforti of the aid
Turkish shore. group L’Auberge des Mi-
By nightfall, more than grants said volunteers
4,000 people, mostly would stand by the mi-
from Syria and Iraq, were grants if authorities try to
camped out just yards from force them out.
the border fence waiting to “We are going to be at
cross into Macedonia. their side ... no matter
Although those nation- what,” she said. “We are
alities were not being very suspicious but we are
blocked, the flow across hopeful that they are going
the border had slowed to to be reasonable, because
a trickle, leaving thousands we are reasonable.”
waiting in the cold as night Belgium was reinforcing its
descended. borders with France near
The European Union and Calais in anticipation of a
United Nations criticized potential wave of people
the new restrictions on Af- attempting to cross if the
ghans, with the EU’s ex- camp is shut down.
ecutive arm saying it had The waves of refugees
“concerns about this ap- heading to Europe have
proach” and would raise grown in pace even com-
the issue with the countries pared to last year’s mas-
in question. sive influx, sorely testing
Among the Afghans turned European unity. Greece,
away from the Macedo- with its extensive coastline
nian border was 20-year- and its islands’ proximity to
old Mirwais Amin, who said Turkey, is by far the favored
he was separated from route.q
