The situation is inhumane and even life-threatening for some: the migrant camps on the Greek islands are completely overcrowded. The number of refugees who reach Turkey via the Greek islands in the Aegean has been increasing for months.
Given these conditions, the Greens' co-chair, Robert Habeck, is asking Germany to help. "Get the kids out first," he said in an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" ("FAS"). It was about children in "absolute need".
The mayors of the islands in the east of the Aegean have been warning of uncontrollable conditions due to overcrowded camps for months. There are always violent protests. Around 7,500 people, including many minors, currently live in the Vathy camp on the island of Samos. The facility is designed for 648 residents.
"Everyone never gets involved anyway"
The conservative government in Athens has brought more than 10,000 migrants to the mainland in recent months. However, the influx of refugees from Turkey continues. There are currently more than 41,000 migrants living in and around the camps on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos, up from 14,000 in April.
According to Habeck, there are about 4,000 children, "many fragile little people". Quick help is a "requirement of humanity". Federal states such as Berlin and Thuringia had already declared that they were ready for it, as well as the green side of the government of Baden-Württemberg and the Lower Saxony Interior Minister Boris Pistorius from the SPD.
Germany would not be faced with a "completely uncontrollable situation", said Habeck to the "FAS": "In the European Council, Germany agreed to accept more than 27,000 people from the camps in Greece and Italy in 2016. To my knowledge, these commitments have not been fulfilled By mid-2018 it was just 10,000. "
Germany must also act if others in the EU do not take part. "Everyone never gets involved anyway," said Habeck. And: "We have options."