A rush of migrants and refugees have poured onto the small Greek island of Kos in recent weeks, leaving the nearby shores of Turkey in droves to make the relatively easy boat trip to the island.
They are among thousands fleeing instability and war in their home countries, seeking the safety of Europe but have been met with the reality of a country ill-equipped to provide for even their most basic needs. Hundreds are migrants sleeping rough in public parks and abandoned hotels on the island.
The island currently has no formal processing center in place, despite the fact that the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, warned for months that the situation in Greece, in the midst of its own financial crisis, would get worse. Since July, more than 7,000 people – the majority Syrian refugees – have arrived on the shores of Kos.
On Tuesday, clashes broke out on the streets when authorities shepherded hundreds of Syrians in the blazing heat into a football stadium in an attempt to process them. More than 1,000 were locked into the stadium overnight without food, water or access to toilets.
Greek authorities have brought a ferry into Kos as a place to process Syrians seeking asylum, but thousands more are still on the streets, waiting for help.
[nggallery id=23998 layout="list"]