Sitting high aboard a double-decker tour bus on my Greek vacation, I was ready to soak in another exhilarating Athens view as we rounded a bend. Instead, to my surprise, I saw the familiar Arabic script, and a slew of folks standing in protest across from the parliament building.
At least 300 Syrians had been demonstrating for three days -- one sign in English read “we escaped from death in Syria to the vagrancy in Greece."
The refugees I talked to filled in the details of how they had fled violence in Syria and transited through places like Turkey and Crete on their way to Europe. Forced to use fake passports, they were snared by border officials and not allowed passage on to Germany or another European destination.
"My family and son are still in Aleppo,” one woman said, "and I am stuck here."
The plight of these refugees illustrates just how serious a regional problem the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have become. As early as January of this year, the UN counted more than 73,000 “people of concern” in Greece, though many of them hail from the Russian Federation or Afghanistan. More recently, the Greek Coast Guard said it had stopped more than 17,000 migrants through August, according to Reuters.
One problem for these protesters is that they also can't return to Turkey. They have been told they must stay in Greece for six months without leaving. Some have the means to acquire food and shelter, but others are not so fortunate. A few people I spoke with said they’d been stuck in Athens for a month already, and were worried their resources can’t last for another five.
Another banner read, "We demand the Greek government find solutions for the Syrians in Greece."
Local churches are bringing the demonstrators hot tea to stay warm as they wait in protest. When it rains or gets too cold, they go down to the metro below.
Tarik from Damascus, who would only give his first name, said he has been in Athens for two months. He came from Syria through Turkey and the island of Kos by plastic inflatable boat. Such a trip can be extremely hazardous - the UN says more than 2,500 migrants have disappeared or died in the Mediterranean this year.
Tarik, who has a degree from a Jordanian university, said he’d been offered a job, but that it would take six months to get the documents to actually start. He wants the Greek government to give him papers allowing him to travel to the UK or Germany. He said that a government official came by the protest site recently offering refugee status -- but added that most of his compatriots would prefer just being allowed to leave.
By Cherry Martinez
