Camps set up for refugees
The government is preparing eight military camps around the country to host as many as 200,000 refugees from Iraq in the coming months, sources told Kathimerini. The estimate, from United Nations sources, is down from an initially estimated 300,000 people, but even the lower number will place a big strain on Greece’s resources and will test relations between the central government and local authorities, which, according to the government, will be responsible for feeding the refugees. The State will provide security and will look after questions of hygiene. Greek officials have declared that the country cannot sustain a large wave of immigrants but are also determined not to expel any of the Iraqi refugees. A cabinet meeting tomorrow is expected to seek assistance from the European Union and ask other EU member states to take some of the refugees.
