German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Greece needs to work faster to accommodate migrants. But a Turkish plan could keep many Syrian refugees from getting to Europe - or even Turkey - in the first place.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
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"Originally, Greece should have created 50,000 accommodation places for refugees by the end of 2015," Merkel told German weekly "Bild am Sonntag" in comments released ahead of Sunday's publication.
"The backlog must be resolved now at lightning speed because the Greek government has to guarantee decent accommodation," the chancellor said. She also promised Athens help from the European Union to cope with the crisis.
Idomeni by night
Chaos may define daytime in Idomeni, where 12,000 people are camping at the Greek-Macedonian border, but nighttime brings a strange air of peace beneath smoke-filled skies. Diego Cupolo reports.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
After dark
When night falls, hundreds of campfires are lit using firewood collected during the day and a serene smoke fills the air. In stark contrast to the days, which are filled with protests, TV cameras and, at times, violent riots, nights in Idomeni are relatively peaceful, allowing the camp's inhabitants to unwind - that is, if they have shelter.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Tent city
About 12,000 asylum-seekers have packed into Idomeni, a refugee camp designed for 2,500, turning the surrounding farm fields into a labyrinth of tents pitched between campfires. Arriving by bus, taxi or on foot, people trying to reach Northern Europe are being stopped by tighter controls at the Macedonia border and have opted to wait here, hoping the border will reopen.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Tense but calm
"The camp's well-organized and people are relatively calm again, but I think the situation is going to burst at any moment," said Kalliopi Mitelineos, a victim identification specialist for A21, an NGO focusing on human trafficking. "The borders aren't going to operate like they used to, and Greece is not prepared for this. We don't have money for this."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Away from the cameras
Some joke, saying the crisis has brought as many journalists to Idomeni as refugees, but Yazan, a Syrian guitarist, said he avoids cameras during the day. "I try to stay out of photos because I don't want my family to see me like this. They ask me how it's going and I never tell them anything close to the truth."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Group tents
Having lost everything but his guitar during his crossing to Samos, Yazan said he spent his first few nights in Idomeni inside group tents until a humanitarian worker gave him a one-person tent. "The people working in this camp are so nice," he said. "I don't think we could stay calm without their help."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Out in the open
Despite the 24-hour presence of aid workers, people who arrive late at night are more likely to sleep out in the open due to limited supplies. To address the problem, vans operated by Save the Children, as well as independent volunteers, have begun patrolling the camp after midnight to deliver tents to families without shelter.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
'Completely legal'
Currently, asylum-seekers who register in Greece receive documents granting them 30 days in the country. "What they are doing is completely legal," said a Greek policeman speaking on condition of anonymity of the people waiting in Idomeni to continue north. "But now they are new and they have money. I don't know what they'll do when they run out of money. I don't know where they'll go."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Selling through the night
"If you are looking for something in this camp, you ask around and the next day you will find someone selling it at the entrance," Yazan said of the many Greek and Arabic vendors who have set up stands near Idomeni. From cigarettes to aluminum pots and halal burgers, one can find an array of products at all hours.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
When it rains
Rain brings mud to the camp and often ruins tents not designed to withstand moisture. Sam Ismail, a former peshmerga soldier from Kirkuk, Iraq, complained of the weather. "In the night, I wake up and my blankets are wet inside the tent even if it didn't rain," he said. "I don't understand the weather here. The air is so humid."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
All eyes on the border
Currently, between 50-200 people are crossing the Macedonian border per day. Though the acceptance rate is far below the number of daily arrivals in Idomeni, Ismail said he will do whatever it takes to reach his brother in England. "It took me six tries to get from Turkey to Greece. Do they really think I will stop here?"
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
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While Germany said it aims to support Greece, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere added that Berlin would not unilaterally resettle people directly from Greece.
"The policy of waving migrants through began, among other places, in Greece," de Maiziere told the daily "Passauer Neue Presse." "Germany in particular has borne the brunt of it. The policy of waving through is now over and must remain so."
Merkel has, however, pushed for an EU-wide resettlement program that would share asylum seekers across the 28-member bloc. Some 1.1 million people sought refuge, mainly from conflicts in the Middle East, in Europe in 2015.
Bavarian leader Horst Seehofer of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party to Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, said the blockade by Austria and other countries was benefiting Germany because of the reduced number of migrants.
Erdogan proposes a special city for Syrian refugees as a solution to the migrant problemImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Turkish President Press Office
Erdogan proposes refugee city
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed building a special city for Syrians fleeing the war and creating it inside Syria.
"I am going to tell you something. What is the formula? We found a city in the north of Syria," the Anadolu news agency quoted the president as saying.
The city would be 4,500 square meters in area, could be built together with the international community, and refugees could resettle there, Erdogan suggested, adding that he had discussed the plan with US President Barack Obama.
The Turkish president's comments came shortly before he meets European Union leaders at the EU-Turkey refugee summit on Monday. Turkey has been asking its Western allies to create a safe zone inside Syria to house refugees.
Over 2.7 million people have fled from Syria to Turkey and Ankara has complained of lack of international support in caring for the refugees. The European Union has agreed to a deal providing Turkey with 3 billion euros so the country can care for refugees in exchange for stemming the flow of people into Europe. The agreement is expected to be a key talking point at the EU-Turkey summit.
Millions of people have left Syria after civil war broke out in 2011. The conflict has killed over 250,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless.