Refugees in Greece protest outside German embassy, block traffic, over re-unification delays

Record ID: 904980

  • Title: Refugees in Greece protest outside German embassy, block traffic, over re-unification delays
  • Date: 2nd August 2017
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (AUGUST 2, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF REFUGEES, INCLUDING CHILDREN, MARCHING ON ATHENS STREET, HOLDING PLACARDS WOMAN HOLDING TWO CHILDREN, MARCHING WOMEN WEARING HEAD SCARFS MARCHING WOMAN HOLDING A CHILD MARCHING VARIOUS OF REFUGEES MARCHING PAST PARLIAMENT, SHOUTING: (English) "WHERE ARE YOU GO? GERMANY!", POLICE ON GUARD AT PARLIAMENT WATCHING AS THEY PASS POLICE AT THE PARLIAMENT, WATCHING THE PROTEST REFUGEE HOLDING PLACARD DESIGNED AS A FLIGHT BOARDING PASS FROM ATHENS TO FRANKFURT POLICE BUSES BLOCKING THE STREET IN FRONT OF THE GERMAN EMBASSY POLICE OUTSIDE THE GERMAN EMBASSY IN ATHENS GERMAN AND EU FLAGS ON ROOF OF EMBASSY REFUGEE HOLDING PLACARD THAT READS: (English) "BOARDING NOW", REFUGEES SHOUTING: (English) "NO MORE WAITING" REFUGEES ARRIVING AT THE GERMAN EMBASSY REFUGEES OUTSIDE THE GERMAN EMBASSY SHOUTING: (English) "NO MORE WAITING" REFUGEES HOLDING PLACARD THAT READS: (English) "OUR CHILDREN WAITING FOR US" BOYS HOLDING PLACARD THAT READS: (English) "I WANT MY FAMILY" REFUGEES HOLDING PLACARD THAT READS: "OUR CHILDREN WAITING FOR US", SHOUTING: (English) "DEUTSCHLAND, GERMANY" VARIOUS OF WOMEN DEMONSTRATING OUTSIDE THE GERMAN EMBASSY VARIOUS OF GIRLS HOLDING PLACARD SHOWING A DRAWING OF A PLANE AND A FAMILY, READING: "GERMANY" VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE, MALAK RAHMOUN, AT PROTEST WITH HER DAUGHTER NOOR RAHMOUN'S DAUGHTER, NOOR, AGED 18, AT PROTEST WITH HER MOTHER RAHMOUN WITH HER DAUGHTER NOOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) MALAK RAHMOUN, FROM ALEPPO, SYRIA, AGED 41, SAYING: "Enough waiting, enough suffering, I am suffering from not two years here in Greece, I am suffering from five, seven years, from Aleppo until now. Stop suffering my children want, I want my children go to school." (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAHMOUD BITAR, A SYRIAN REFUGEE WHO NOW LIVES IN SWEDEN, SAYING: "Of course make me sad, I feel very sad for when I go in Sweden and I live there, and I get a life, and I get everything, I sit to right now, think about that people, for all that people is war refugees, it's not it's coming to Europe for money or for food, it's only war refugees, you know what mean, war refugees? that people is only searching for safety place." REFUGEES BLOCKING TRAFFIC IN ATHENS WHILE SHOUTING: (English) "GERMANY", CARS PILED UP BEHIND THEM CARS PILED UP REFUGEES IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC TOURISTS ON TOUR BUS STUCK IN PILE-UP TAKING PHOTOS OF REFUGEES PROTESTING ON STREET CARS PILED UP BEHIND REFUGEES BLOCKING TRAFFIC REFUGEE HOLDING PLACARD THAT READS: "NO MORE WAITING" IN FRONT OF BLOCKED CARS ON STREET
  • Embargoed: 16th August 2017 12:37
  • Keywords: migrants refugees Greece reunification Germany protest
  • Location: ATHENS, GREECE
  • City: ATHENS, GREECE
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016SGRM13
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Syrian refugees protesting against what they called a slow and restrictive re-unification process between Athens and Berlin demonstrated outside the German embassy in Athens on Wednesday (August 2), and blocked a main street in the city, causing traffic pile-ups.
    The refugees, most of which have siblings or spouses already in Germany, demanded the families be re-united, holding placards reading, "I want my family". Tourists on a tour bus stuck in the pile-up took photographs as the protesters shouted, "No more waiting!". One protester held a placard resembling a boarding pass from Athens to Frankfurt.
    Forty-one year old mother, Malak Rahmoun, in Greece for almost two years with her three daughters, while her husband and son are already in Germany, applied for reunification last year. She said she has already lost years of her life from the war in Syria, and every year that goes by is another delay for her family to start normal lives. She said she sometimes thinks of attempting the journey illegally, but it is too expensive.
    Syrian refugee Mahmoud Bitar, who has now been living in Sweden for more than two years after travelling illegally from Greece, said he came back to assist the refugees after understanding their frustration.
    More than 60,000 refugees and migrants are stuck in Greece since border closures in the Balkans halted the onward journey to central and western Europe, facing a slow reunification and relocation process.
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