Migrants in the Greek migrant camp on the island of Chios have burned down their tents, and some have threatened to kill children in protest of asylum waiting times.
Police have arrested several migrants who started a riot in the migrant camp on the Greek island of Chios. The camp, which houses more than 1,500 migrants who have travelled from Turkey into Greece, saw at least 40 people participate in the rioting.
The rioters proceeded to burn down their own tents, trash various areas of the camp and one man threatened to kill both his wife and their child, Die Welt reports.
Authorities say that it took several hours to calm the rioters and bring order back to the camp. They stated that the man who threatened to kill his wife and child only did so after the police started to try and regain control of the situation. So far only four of the migrant rioters were detained by the police, all of whom were released only a short time after their arrest.
The Chios camp has become notorious for the prevalence of rioting and violence that has taken place over the past few months since the implementation of the European Union (EU) migrant deal with Turkey. Though around 1,500 migrants live in the camp the total number of migrants on the island exceeds 8,500 as the fabled migrant deal with Turkey has resulted in very few deportations. Migrants on the islands have chosen to seek asylum in Greece rather than be deported.
Though around 1,500 migrants live in the camp the total number of migrants on the island exceeds 8,500 as the fabled migrant deal with Turkey has resulted in few actual deportations. Migrants on the islands have chosen to seek asylum in Greece rather than be deported.
The frustration for many of the migrants lies with the fact that due to their claiming asylum in Greece they are no longer permitted to leave the country; many are not even allowed to leave the island of Chios itself. The giant wave of applications to avoid deportation has also meant that the Greek authorities face massive delays in processing asylum claims. Migrants may be looking at waiting times of up to several months before a decision can be made on their cases.
The giant wave of applications to avoid deportation has also meant that the Greek authorities face massive delays in processing asylum claims. Migrants may be looking at waiting times of up to several months before a decision can be made on their cases.
The threats toward children in migrant camps are not a new phenomenon. In April Breitbart London reported the same behaviour from migrants — again, at the Chios camp. The protest back then was regarding deportations back to Turkey, with one Syrian man stating: “If they make me go back to Turkey I’ll throw myself and my family into the sea.”
In March, at the now cleared Idomeni camp near the Macedonian border, children were used as a bargaining tool by migrants who laid infants on train tracks to protest the closure of Europe’s “racist” border.