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ATHENS: Greece's interior minister Friday likened the grim camp holding thousands of refugees on the border with Macedonia to the Nazi concentration camp Dachau.

His comments came as EU leaders were meeting in Brussels to try to reach a deal with Turkey on the migration crisis.

"I do not hesitate to say that this is a modern-day Dachau, a result of the logic of closed borders," Panagiotis Kouroublis said in televised remarks from the squalid Idomeni camp.

The Greek government said more than 46,000 refugees and migrants were blocked in the country because of a border shutdown by Macedonia and other Balkan states last week.

Around a third of them are massed in Idomeni, where a makeshift camp initially planned for 2,500 people now holds over 12,000 mostly from Syria and Iraq -- and many of them children.

Recurring rains have turned the overflowing camp into a quagmire. Thousands sleep in tiny tents in muddy fields and ditches and queue for hours for food handouts by aid groups.

Dozens of children are suffering from colds and fevers.

Yet it is on this summit that many here are pinning their last hopes. "If they don't open the border after the [summit] meeting I will return to Syria. I will pay smugglers to take me back," says Mohammed Hasan, a 26-year-old business graduate from Aleppo.

A bomb demolished his house, killing his parents and two brothers, while he was minding the family clothing store. Two months ago, he paid smugglers $800 to get to Turkey, and another $900 to jump on a boat to Lesbos. He hopes to be reunited with one surviving brother in Germany.

DailyStar

AlJazeera

Is this a conscious political choice or a result of not having resources to take care of these people?

It seems like we are now hearing more and more stories of young children and families living in absolutely horrid conditions. Obviously we have anti-discrimination laws in Europe but shouldn't we have a system in place that prioritizes women and children in chaotic situations such as this?

 

[Carl2291]

but shouldn't we have a system in place that prioritizes women and children in chaotic situations such as this?

It's how it should have been from the start.

 

[Shiggy]

Not sure if anyone can blame the Greeks. This is a failure of the European Union.

 

[Bento]

What a bloody mess this has turned out to be. With the way this Turkey deal is shaking out it's hard to argue that, at least the Eastern border, of EU is closing and the right to seek Asylum (granted by the EU charter of human rights and the UN refugee convention) is being heavily compromised. Considiering that the redistribution in place at the moment from Greece and Italy to the rest of EU, and which will be used for refugees in Turkey as well, so far has managed to transfer a wooping 900+ refugees of 160 000. Simply put; the refugees waiting to get picked up in Turkey will probably never get safe passage to Europe regardless of what this agreement says and the EU officials are likely very well aware of that.

 

[Jag]

"I do not hesitate to say that this is a modern-day Dachau, a result of the logic of closed borders,"

It's a horrible situation that should never, ever happen in this day and age.

BUT, it's not even in the same universe as Dachau and it's wrong to compare it.

Hundreds of prisoners suffered and died, or were executed in medical experiments conducted at KZ Dachau. Some of these experiments involved exposure to vats of icy water or being strapped down naked outdoors in freezing temperatures. Victims writhed in pain, foamed at the mouth, and lost consciousness. Attempts at reviving the subjects included scalding baths, and forcing naked women to copulate with the unconscious victim. Nearly 100 prisoners died during these experiments. The original records of the experiments were destroyed "in an attempt to conceal the atrocities." Extensive communication between the investigators and Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, was discovered providing documentation of the experiments. High altitude experiments were conducted during 1942. Victims were subjected to rapid decompression to pressures found at 14,000 feet (4,300 m) and experienced spasmodic convulsions, agonal breathing, and eventual death.

 

[JimmyRustler]

On an other news site I read the other day that the Greek government is acutally encouraging people to go to other refugee camps in the country with much better conditions but most still choose to remain in Idomeni so they "don't miss it when the gates open again".

I mean, is this seriously about getting away from the war at this point? I would also love to move to Australia, NZ or Canada and live there but doing so is hard as fuck, even for me as an European.

What are these people expecting? I'm a little bit confused.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Not sure if anyone can blame the Greeks. This is a failure of the European Union.

Yeah. How could anyone expect Greece to be able to manage on their own, especially after having had their economy sabotaged by the rest of the EU.

 

[sheamus]

Yeah. How could anyone expect Greece to be able to manage on their own, especially after having had their economy sabotaged by the rest of the EU.

It takes two to tango

 

[Linkyn]

Yeah. How could anyone expect Greece to be able to manage on their own, especially after having had their economy sabotaged by the rest of the EU.

You're right that Greece should have more assistance from the rest of the EU, and hopefully, the talks with Turkey will help relieve some of the pressure, but I think it's unfair to act like the Greek economy was perfectly fine until the austerity measures began.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

On an other news site I read the other day that the Greek government is acutally encouraging people to go to other refugee camps in the country with much better conditions but most still choose to remain in Idomeni so they "don't miss it when the gates open again".

I mean, is this seriously about getting away from the war at this point? I would also love to move to Australia, NZ or Canada and live there but doing so is hard as fuck, even for me as an European.

What are these people expecting? I'm a little bit confused.

There is nothing for them in Syria to believe in or fight for. Also for many Europeans it is quite hard to believe that they have a legitimate reason to move to their countries in large numbers. Their dreams of living how they want in northern Europe do not capture the hearts of a lot of people. They also wouldn't enjoy the weather.

Probably the instability in the region is largely due to moves made to make Europe more secure politically. So there is some poetic justice in Syrian's desire to share in the stability of the European countries with the most thriving economies.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

The EU is one big incompetent club.

Turkey holds 2.5 million refugees while Europe with its size and wealth struggles with not even that much.

It's really a shame.

 

[DrGonzo615]

On an other news site I read the other day that the Greek government is acutally encouraging people to go to other refugee camps in the country with much better conditions but most still choose to remain in Idomeni so they "don't miss it when the gates open again".

I mean, is this seriously about getting away from the war at this point? I would also love to move to Australia, NZ or Canada and live there but doing so is hard as fuck, even for me as an European.

What are these people expecting? I'm a little bit confused.

There are a lot of people that are economic migrants that are not fleeing a war zone that are trying to take advantage of the situation as well.

There should have been a better vetting process in place to determine who is a refugee that is in need of help and who is just trying to get in among the chaos.