Arrivals rise as Lesvos officials monitor activists
There was a notable rise Monday in the number of refugees reaching the Greek islands over the previous 24 hours, as local officials on the island of Lesvos attempted to convince a small group of “No Borders” activists to leave.
According to data provided by the Greek government, a total of 126 migrants and refugees crossed the Aegean between Sunday and Monday morning, which was higher than the average of around 80 on previous days.
The majority of new arrivals landed 99 on Chios, while 27 reached Samos.
The government said that there are a total of just over 57,000 refugees at official camps. Of these, almost 10,000 are on the eastern Aegean islands, where organized facilities are only designed to accommodate a maximum of 7,450 people.
On Lesvos, local officials continued efforts to convince a group of 30 to 40 pro-immigration activists to abandoned a self-administered camp they had set up in the island’s Epano Skala area. The activists moved to the open-air camp after being forced out of an abandoned building owned by Alpha Bank. They are making food for refugees at the new site but local officials argue that they have taken over public land without permission, that there are safety concerns because it is next to a busy road and that there are worries about hygiene, which is a key issue given that the food prepared there is used to feed hundreds of people.
