Anger and solidarity
The Greek government’s response to the accumulated indignation reflected in the large protest rallies on the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos in the northern Aegean on Wednesday, where residents and business owners protested against the creation of new more restrictive reception centers and the overcrowding at the existing camps, cannot just be a demagogic appeasement involving conciliatory recognition that “their anger is justified.”
The proper response to this anger can only be the swift implementation of the government’s announced policy to decongest the affected islands and speed up the asylum application process.
Of course, this implementation presupposes that, in addition to the politicians, the message from the islands is also heard by the local communities on the Greek mainland where more migrant centers need to be set up. The antidote to anger is national solidarity.
