Greece Fights Next Crisis and This Time It's Not About the Euro
- Island of Symi shows how refugee influx overshadows election
- `Wartime spirit' kicks in as Syrians use Greece as gateway
Migrants arrive on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey on a dinghy on September 9, 2015. The EU unveiled plans to take 160,000 refugees from overstretched border states, as the United States said it would accept more Syrians to ease the pressure from the worst migration crisis since World War II. AFP PHOTO / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS (Photo credit should read ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images)
On the Greek island of Symi, where the clear eastern Mediterranean Sea gently laps onto secluded beaches, a gray warship maneuvers in the main bay while a patrol boat with commandos docks alongside luxury yachts.
Surrounded on three sides by Turkey, this rugged outpost is the front line of Europe’s struggle to get a grip on the mass influx of refugees from war-torn parts of the Middle East and Africa. The island, which has one local doctor and no public toilets, has received 5,500 refugees since March, almost double the total in 2014 and roughly twice its population.