Despite Greece's economic depression, migrants from Syria, Pakistan, Eritrea and Afghanistan are still arriving to Greece. Some migrants come alone or with their families. Some Western European and Libyan naval ships have stepped up patrolling the central Mediterranean searching for migrants from across Africa and Asia who make it to war torn Libya. Many of the long distance travelers try to avoid Libya because of the instability, militant violence and chaos, ISIS and assaults. Many migrants have now switched from going through Libya and Italy to overland treks from Turkey to Greece. Others are going further North sometimes on foot through Serbia and Balkans onward. The migration through the Balkans has made Hungary both terrified and angry to the point that the Hungarian government ordered that a wall be built between its border with Serbia. Both the Serbian government and migrants have condemned the anti-migrant wall that still has yet to rise.
But the tourists must not see...
Some 68,000 people have entered Greece over the last year and more are coming with determination. One of the newer stops for migrants is Kos, Greece a small island in the Docendane that is literally a stone's through from Turkey than to the main Greek island where Athens is located. Lesbos is another Greek island that is seeing an increase flow of migrants. Tourists who visit Greece prefer to be blinded by the beautiful island beaches, great food, music and blue seas rather than see the reality and consequences of roosting chickens. Some tourists and local Greeks have shown their respect for human dignity and life provided migrants with food and listen to their stories. On the island of Kos, the millions of tourists from Northern Europe who visit the quiet island each year in summer can't avoid the large influx of migrants with families with limited time to figure out where to go next. Most migrants who come with families are educated, middle class, were professionals and able to leave Syria, Pakistan. Their previous successful lives does not save them from mafia styled human smugglers, shadowy middlemen and frustrated coast guards and indifferent local governments. |
| Kos, Greece the small mountain in the distance is Turkey. |
Turkey is balancing the migration of people from across Asia and remaining tourists that it is still a safe and friendly country. Turkish military has also joined the coalition bombings in Syria against ISIS after the terrorist attack in Suruc, Turkey that killed over 20 Kurdish youths from the Socialist Party. The youth were rallying to help their brothers/sisters next door in Syria against ISIS. The Kurds have been fighting nonstop as they have been for decades for their own political, cultural and language survival against ISIS as well as the Turkish government repressive attacks against Pro Kurdish and human rights. Turkey itself has been walking on eggshell on the issue of fighting against ISIS, has even been suspected of supporting ISIS or Daesh or allowing the United States and other NATO members to use its bases for airstrikes inside Syria. Erdogan is also crisscrossing the tightrope between steering an economically stable, regional power or falling into the unending neighboring conflict.
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