“No more waiting!” Syrians stuck in Greece protest at German embassy

Reuters
A Syrian girl holds a placard reading in English and German 'We only want a normal life' outside the German embassy in Athens on July 19, 2017 during a protest of Syrian refugees against delays in the reunification process with their families in Germany. The German government has significantly cut back on family reunions for refugees arriving from Greece since May 2017. Asylum seekers - mostly Syrian refugees in Greece's case - are entitled to join family members elsewhere in the European Union within six months from the date their request is approved. / AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI

ATHENS: Syrian refugees stranded in Greece chanted “no more waiting!” and protested outside the German embassy in Athens on Wednesday against delays in reuniting with their relatives in Germany.
About 100 people, among them young children, marched from parliament to the embassy holding up cardboard banners in English reading “I want my family” and shouting slogans about travel to Germany.
Greek media have reported that Greece and Germany have informally agreed to slow down refugee reunification, stranding families in Greece for months after they fled Syria’s civil war.
About 60,000 refugees and migrants, mostly Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis, have been in Greece for over a year after border closures in the Balkans halted the onward journey many planned to take to central and western Europe.
“My message is ‘enough waiting, enough suffering’,” said 41-year-old Syrian Malak Rahmoun, who lives in a Greek camp with her three daughters while her husband and son are in Berlin. “I feel my heart (is) miserable,” she said.
Rahmoun said she and her daughter applied for family reunification last year but that the Greek authorities have not given a clear reply.
A deal between Turkey and the European Union in March 2016 slowed the flow of people crossing to Greece but about 100 a day continue to arrive on Greek islands.
Nearly 11,000 refugees and migrants have crossed to Greece from Turkey this year, down from 173,000 in 2016 and a fraction of the nearly 1 million arrivals in 2015.
Most of the new arrivals this year are women and children, according to United Nations data. In earlier years, men were the first to flee to Europe, leaving other family members to follow.
“I’ve never seen my son (in) two years,” Rahmoun said.

Topics: Syrian refugees Greece Germany