Leftist Avgi daily slams govt’s ’slow reflexes’ as refugees brave snow

Leftist daily Avgi, which is close to the ruling SYRIZA party, on Wednesday criticized the government’s failure to adequately protect refugees living in camps across the country from sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall.

In an editorial titled “Slow reflexes,” the newspaper said that the Ministry for Migration Policy ought to have made the necessary preparations in light of forecasts for severe weather.

Footage of tents weighed down by snow in the overcrowded Moria camp on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos has been a major embarrassment for the government. Only days ago, Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas said that the government had taken all the necessary measures so that there would be no refugees living in the cold.

The newspaper said it was “unforgivable” that the government waited until Tuesday before deciding to send a naval ship to Lesvos to accommodate migrants.