Syrian Migrants Board Passenger Ferry On Greek Island

One of the closest Greek islands to the Turkish mainland, Kos resembles an apparently attractive choice for illegal migrants attempting to cross into Europe – although the reality of Kos is quite different. In the first seven months of 2015 alone, Greece has experienced a 750% increase on refugee and migrant arrivals by sea from the same period last year, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

“The situation here is very bad and police here they beat a boy, they beat a man, they beat children, it’s too bad”, Syrian refugee Laith Saleh, who is in the stadium, told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday. “I’ve looked for a room…” “I don’t have anything left in my country to return to”.

Riot police stood by without intervening in the violence, which spiralled out of control. He and his younger brother arrived a week ago on a boat packed with 140 people. There, in temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius (95F), they lie on dirty matrasses, rugs or flattened cardboard boxes spread out on a baking hot ground littered with cigarette butts and the husks of sunflower seeds. The crowds, including many infants, waited with little food and water under a scorching Sunday.

The police are overwhelmed and have struggled to calm restless people waiting for papers.

Earlier this week, police beat back migrants with truncheons and sprayed them with fire extinguishers to prevent a stampede as mostly Afghan and Syrian asylum seekers were being relocated to a local football stadium after camping along roads and beaches for weeks. “But the political people here, they did not have any organization to take care of so many of us”. “There’s still a ways to go”. Nearby, women dressed in headscarves watch over their toddlers as they sleep on the floor of ceramic tiles, trying to avoid broken glass strewn around. She says that causes resentment. Many migrants arriving on Greece’s islands said they had been recruited by fellow Syrians who were working with Turkish traffickers to organise trips. Many have crossed the narrow channel from Turkey while fleeing a civil war in Syria that has cost 320,000 lives in four years. “The only help is for Syrians”.

Donna Ellis, a 50-year-old English tourist who has been coming to Kos for the last five years and owns a house on the island, says she wasn’t expecting such an influx of migrants.

Allatuain said he had travelled to Damascus and easily crossed into Turkey with his passport.

Italian Navy Ship Commander Massimo Tozzi described the grim scene to Italian media, noting the “strong emotional impact” on rescuers, who opened the hold to find the dead piled on top of each other and submerged in water, fuel and human excrement.

The European Commission has already approved about $500 million in aid and is considering offering even more money.

Nearly 400 other migrants were picked up in the Mediterranean yesterday by other vessels taking part in the EU’s patrol and rescue operation, Triton.