For migrants from Africa or the Middle East, the Greek border is likely to become even more repellent in the future. Athens is planning further fortifications and is publishing figures: this year alone, 150,000 illegal entries have been prevented.
According to the government, the Greek border guards have already prevented more than 150,000 migrants from entering Greece this year. "Since the beginning of the year, the entry of 154,102 illegal migrants has been blocked," Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi told the daily newspaper "Eleftheros Typos". In August alone, around 50,000 people tried to enter Greece illegally.
Controlling immigration is a top priority for the conservative Greek government, which came to power in 2019 and is running for re-election in 2023. As recently as August, the government announced plans to extend a 40-kilometer wall along the Greek-Turkish border near Evros by a further 80 kilometers to control the entry of migrants. In addition, thermal imaging cameras are to be installed and 250 additional border guards deployed.
Greece is often the first port of call for migrants from Africa and the Middle East on their way to Europe. Thousands cross the Turkish-Greek border on the Evros River or risk the dangerous crossing of the Aegean Sea.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Athens of illegally turning back migrants or forcing them back across the border into Turkey. The conservative Greek government has repeatedly rejected the allegations. Also on Sunday, Mitarachi denied that Athens was involved in illegal pushbacks. Instead, he accused Turkey of making "violent inroads".
The minister was referring to an incident in August in which Turkish border officials are said to have violently pushed a group of stranded migrants onto a small Greek island in the Evros River. According to human rights organizations, a five-year-old child died after the Greek government denied for days that the migrants were on Greek territory. Mitarachi questioned the information and pointed to inconsistencies in the case. "To put it very simply, the family gave up four children and we saved four," he said.
