- Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GREECE-UNHCR UN urges Greece to take charge of refugee crisis
- Date: 18th August 2015
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (AUGUST 18, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS VARIOUS OF NEWS BRIEFING UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR SPOKESPERSON, WILLIAM SPINDLER, SAYING: "The number of refugee arrivals to Greece which have been increasing dramatically and have now reached the 160,000 mark and this is as of the 14th of August." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR SPOKESPERSON, WILLIAM SPINDLER, SAYING: "If the central authority would come up with a leadership ambition and appoint somebody who would coordinate this response, then we and other international organizations would be ready to come and help. But it is difficult for us, if there is, to start working on the ground if we don't have somebody who is in charge." JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOM SPOKESPERSON, JOEL MILLMAN, SAYING: "Migrants are being rescued, both in Italy and Greece, at a rate of over a thousand a day if you add the two nations together and we would like to point out that there are 135 days left this year, we have every expectation that the total number of arrivals will surpass 300,000." JOURNALISTS
- Embargoed: 2nd September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Switzerland
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA5CWCVM6MAPI7DCMSRGYW740UQ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Greece must show "much more leadership" to tackle an escalating crisis in which 160,000 refugees and migrants have reached its shores so far this year, the United Nations said on Tuesday (August 18).
"The number of refugee arrivals to Greece which have been increasing dramatically and have now reached the 160,000 mark and this is as of the 14th of August," William Spindler of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told a Geneva news briefing.
Clashes erupted last week on the overwhelmed Greek island of Kos between desperate people, mainly fleeing conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, who come on small boats from nearby Turkey only to find dire conditions.
Hundreds of Syrian refugees on Kos boarded a passenger ship chartered by the government on Sunday that is to house and process them, aiming to ease chaotic conditions onshore, where many are living in tents or cardboard boxes.
The government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is grappling with an economic crisis but has responsibility to do more, and the European Union must also support Athens, the UNHCR said.
"If the (Greek) central authority would come up with a leadership ambition and appoint somebody who would coordinate this response, then we and other international organizations would be ready to come and help. But it is difficult for us, if there is, to start working on the ground if we don't have somebody who is in charge," Spindler said.
Nearly 250,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea so far this year, and at least 2,349 have died making the journey, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says.
Rescuers found one migrant dead and saved 354 on a fishing boat near the southwestern shore of Italy, the coastguard said on Monday. At the weekend, 49 people were found dead, probably from suffocation, on an overcrowded fishing boat.
A total of 1,000 migrants are being rescued on their way to Italy and Greece each day, said IOM spokesman Joel Millman.
"Migrants are being rescued, both in Italy and Greece, at a rate of over a thousand a day if you add the two nations together and we would like to point out that there are 135 days left this year, we have every expectation that the total number of arrivals will surpass 300,000," he said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None