Dangerously unprepared

Thousands of migrants and refugees have been stranded in Greece over the past week as a result of border restrictions imposed by nations along the so-called Balkan route that is used by the majority of people trying to reach central and northern Europe.

This worrying development did not really come as a surprise. The country’s leftist-led government has for months now known that it was only a matter of time before the countries of the Balkans would shut down their borders in order to stop the influx of migrants. And yet the development, and the ensuing logjam, appears to have caught the Greek authorities by surprise, unprepared.

The situation soon risks spiralling out of control and unfortunately it is evident that there is very little in the form of organized, coordinated response – with the exception of those tasks that are being overseen by the armed forces.

Let’s hope that this government will not have to deal with a full-blown national crisis.