#Greece to be part of the solution of the surrounding region crisis, #interfaith dialogue, the only bridge of differences, said @tsipras_eu

“Even now in this difficult economic situation for the country, we feel obliged to take care of the refugees who arrive on the shores of our country,” stressed the Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, on Tuesday night wellcoming the Meditteranina Spiritual Leaders at the Acropolis Museum in Athens at the dinner hosted by the Foreign Nikos Kotzias in honor of the delegates of the International Conference on “Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East” organised in
by the Foreign Ministry in Greece on this semiologically significant timing

The Prime Minister noted that “in today’s globalized world, Greece is in the midst of a crisis that affects Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean in economic, political, geopolitical and spiritual level”.

“Therefore we believe that religion and culture are bridges of communication and understanding for the folks and people of different countries and civilizations ” he added.“It is Greece again that is asked to face this Eurozone crisis as well, which is objectively posing the question of what kind of Europe do we want in the future, a Europe of solidarity, development and social justice, or a Europe of austerity and inequality. ”

 

“This is a time of great tension in the region surrounding Greece”, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras noted ealier on Monday on his meeting the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Monday.

“Greece found itself in the midst of three overlapping crises:”, he explained.  “The economic crisis in Europe that was still underway, the refugee crisis, where Greece was among the countries bearing the brunt of the refugee waves, and the generalised destabilisation, instability and conflict in the broader region.

“We believe that we will manage to cope and at the same time upgrade Greece’s role in the surrounding region,” he added, stressing that Greece did not want to be part of the problem but part of the solution.

“For this reason, we look for and anticipate the efforts of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,Tsipras said, whose global perspective has the ability to highlight the positions that contain humanity, the value of dialogue, values that we share, adopt and will also support at all international fora,” Tsipras said.

“In these difficult times, the prayers of the mother Church are with you for the success of your mission and the prosperity of the Greek people,” he added.

The prime minister greeted the Patriarch by saying that his presence was a great honour for the International Conference on “Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East”, especially given the Patriarch’s own initiatives for interfaith dialogue in the Middle East and on a global scale.

Dialogue is the only path to bridging differences, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras underlined.

Visit our Solidarity on eu borders page #Empathy@Aegean on Greek to me !#Empathy@Aegean by greek2m.org

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The Sad Fading Away of the Refugee Crisis Story

Last month, 44 children died at sea trying to cross to safety from the Middle East to Europe. None of them made world headlines. The…

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Despite euro crisis, #Greece is still very #hospitable, and #affordable

Source: Despite euro crisis, #Greece is still very #hospitable, and #affordable

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Are Afghan refugees now the top story? the UN worries and @tsipras_eu quest

Afghan refugees in hundreds having settled at Tsamakia Hill in Lesbos island, with no water or toilets , been stuck there for more than ten days ( end of August – September 10)

thousand of tents have been bought by the hundreds of thousands of refugees that passed through Lesbos this summer, who had to stay there while identification procedures were taking too long , especially the Afghans whom took longer and harder to be provided travel documents

It surprising to hear that  Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras chose to stress to UNHCR chief António Guterres during their meeting the need to include Afghan refugees in resettlement programs within the EU, while underlining the importance of developing safe passages for refugees through migration from non-EU countries, such as Turkey, directly to destination countries in the EU.

While the EU council is taking place tomorrow, October 15 to decide on the European agenda on priority actions on Migration crisis , which primarily concerns Greece….

A top U.N. official told Foreign Policy Tuesday that without increased support, Afghanistan risks spiraling into an even worse humanitarian crisis.

go to this story of Foreign Policy U.N. Fears an Afghan ‘Brain Drain’ as Taliban Surge Sparks Mass Exodus to Europe

A No by Greece to EU for joint patrols in Aegean, registration centers in Turkey proposes Lesbos

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“No official European documents raise the issue of joint sea patrols, but if Greece is asked,the answer will be no “–answered unofficially to the media the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias , on the scenario of joint Greek and Turkish patrols on the Aegean Sea for the EU’s external border protection,,,

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A No by Greece to EU for joint patrols in Aegean, registration centers in Turkey proposes Lesbos

“No official European documents raise the issue of joint sea patrols, but if Greece is asked,the answer will be no “–answered unofficially to the media the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias , on the scenario of joint Greek and Turkish patrols on the Aegean Sea for the EU’s external border protection,,,

go to full article by Greek to me 

Visit our special section on Greek to me Newsblog

A shocking view of lack of Hygiene safety at the reception camps in #Lesbos, by the @HRW, #Greece

It is appalling to see children with medical conditions and disabilities lying in the dirt as flies buzz around their eyes. The authorities should coordinate with humanitarian groups to ensure that people with particular needs are identified quickly and ensured access to the registration process and unhindered access to doctors.

Eva Cossé ,Greece HRW specialist

Human Rights Watch staff witnessed the confusion and tension at the Moria registration center created by the numbers of people and lack of information and interpreters. Aid workers and police at the center said that procedures have changed several times, generating more uncertainty.

• The lack of an orderly system, including
• the lack of interpreters and an effective communications system,
• combined with people’s desperation to move on

has created a volatile situation, with information traveling by word of mouth and large numbers converging in a short space of time.

Human Rights Watch witnessed violent disorder on October 4, which left one man briefly unconscious. Police in riot gear used tear gas to control an unruly crowd desperate to register.

The authorities have said that people with special vulnerabilities are entitled to priority in the registration procedure, but people are not aware of this, and the police appear to have no system in place nor to make any effort to identify these groups.

“There is no planning,” one Iranian man told us, “How can they do this?”

Conditions in the makeshift camp are abysmal. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, and other humanitarian groups have provided tents but hygienic conditions are very poor.

Many people sleep outdoors, on the dirt or on little more than a blanket on the ground. There is no separation of women and children from unrelated men, raising concerns about the risk of sexual harassment and violence.

Adee, a Somali woman traveling alone with her four young children, said she was scared to be surrounded by so many men. The night before we spoke, she had awakened to find a man with his legs over her 7-year-old daughter’s body. There is no established mechanism for reporting such incidents.

“It is appalling to see children with medical conditions and disabilities lying in the dirt as flies buzz around their eyes,” Cossé said. “The authorities should coordinate with humanitarian groups to ensure that people with particular needs are identified quickly and ensured access to the registration process and unhindered access to doctors.”

“We must welcome refugees with proper identification, health control and offer the correct reception conditions, but we also ave to be aware and definitely know who knocks on our door”  Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn stated , while visiting Greece and Greek Minister of Migration Yianis Mouzalas over the weekend, along with European Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos 

No country can shoulder this burden on its own. Europe will offer money and know-how,” said Asselborn.

The EU has so far spent 33 million euros on dealing with the migration crisis, officials said.

But the Municipality of Lesbos, island, has so far spent during the summer, over 1 million and 200 euros, only for providing hygiene to the island, due to the migration influx. Refugees were all over the isle, making it impossible for the local community, as well as the tourists, to step out of their doors.

But what about the more urgent preparedness on Public Health that Greece owes to itself and the Global Public Health Village, as to respond on such an unthinkable crisis, that is met on local level , but remains global , as no one could predict?

Recently a Dutch tourist that had visited Kos island, the second entry point of the refugees on the Aegean, has been transferred to Athens on severe condition and symptoms reminding cholera. His lliness has not been identified so far, but this has all over again set Greeces Public Health on the Alert

On the set up procedure of the first hotspot center that is announced to open on Lesbos next week, the municipality of Lesbos are reconsidering to include to their official proposal the health checking plan at the entry points that the Greek CDC, has proposed to the govt, early enough, though, far before the refugees crisis appeared on entry points.

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Traveler’s Health Emergency Case in Greece and the #humantsunami

Dutch tourist from Kos Emergency Disease sets Greece’s Public Public Health on the Alert