Greece's message to refugees: 'We love you,' but it's complicated
"Do not lose your courage, we stand by you, we love you."
That's the message Greek authorities are sending to the tens of thousands of refugees and migrants living in informal tents and camps throughout the country, in pamphlets encouraging them to move into reception centers.
But, even though Greece loves refugees, it's complicated.
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53,000 people are stuck in limbo in the country after the Balkan states closed borders further along the route into western Europe last month. The pathway into Europe had been used by more than 1 million people, mostly refugees, to make their way into economically prosperous nations in 2015. It's been used by hundreds of thousands more this year.
Then the border closures began and the EU and Turkey instituted a new plan to turn people back, to alleviate the burden on countries like Greece that are on the front line of the crisis.
But Greece is still struggling to cope with the tens of thousands camped out in makeshift sites and move them to the formal, but hastily arranged, reception centers.
Deteriorating conditions and outbursts of violence at Idomeni, near the border with Macedonia (FYROM), and in the port of Piraeus, have added pressure to Greek authorities to institute a better system for formally resettling people.
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Greek authorities are well aware that their formal reception facilities are not up to scratch and even say so in the pamphlet, which is being distributed in Greek, English, Arabic and Farsi.
“It is true that a few of the reception centres (that have been established with great speed and in a short period of time due to the fact that the borders were closed/blocked) are not very well organized and are not functioning yet as we hoped they would be," reads the information booklet.
"Take our word though, they are better than Idomeni and in a short period of time they will be by far better than conditions at the Port of Piraeus."
Greek authorities say the new facilities will be "improving on a daily basis."
Authorities are working to clear Piraeus before peak tourist season hits Greece, as its a main port of call for those traveling to the nearby islands.
Despite Greece's best efforts, the economically volatile nation has struggled to cope. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said a comprehensive way to address the problem is what is needed next.
"A wider solution – namely to relocate those who may qualify for international protection to other European States – has been agreed for many months. It needs action," read a statement released by the organization Monday.
For now, Greece hopes to instill a sense of hope and belonging in those who have arrived on its shores, but made it clear they must move to formal camps.
"The Greek people will always be your friend. They will always be the friends of the people of Syria, of the people of Afghanistan and of the people of Iraq, and of all other people that find themselves as refugees," reads the final of the 10 points in the information booklet.
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Megan Specia was Mashable's Assistant Real-Time News Editor and joined the team in September 2014. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Mass Communications from the University of New Hampshire after growing up in the Jersey 'burbs. She made her way to New York via a four year stopover in Dublin. Megan previously worked as a journalist and editor at Storyful in both Dublin and New York. Before all of that, though, her claim to fame was as head cake arranger and purveyor of all things sweet at Queen of Tarts cafe in Dublin, where she developed a serious addiction to macarons.
