Protesters have prevented the vessel “Open Arms” of Spanish charity NGO Proactiva from anchoring at the small port of Skala Sykamias in the North of Lesvos on Monday afternoon.
A group of some 15 people from the neighboring villages of Petra and Molyvos moved to Skala Sykamias to prevent the vessel from approaching.
In a symbolic action, they reportedly threw stones at at volunteers onboard of an inflatable boat of Open Arms.
Police and the Frontex rushed to the area, local media report.
The Open Arms remains moored some 200 meters away from the shore also on Tuesday.
The protesters were local businessmen involved in the tourism sector.
Their protest did not find positive echo in the local community.
The President of Sykamia, Giorgos Saroglou, told local media stonisi that the same people had staged a protest in Mythymna two days ago iin another effort to prevent the ship form approaching.
“I can’t understand how they thought it right to intervene in another village without asking anyone, they have nothing to do here” Saroglou said.
“I have personally addressed the Port Authority on the issue. The ship has anchored outside the port of Sykamnia. This protest was totally unreasonable, it almost led to a hot episode between all villages for no reason. They had no business to come here and disturb us, they won’t tell us what to do!,” he stressed.
Pointing out at the importance of the temporary structure at Skala Sykamnias, Saroglou said “more than 350,000 people have passed through and we have not become Moria. We keep the whole thing in low tones, let’s not exaggerate. “
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2019/10/15/lesvos-charity-open-arms-protest/&media=https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/openarms.jpg&description=A group of protesters from neighboring villages rushed to Skala Sykamias on Monday to prevent charity vessel "Open Arms" from docking there. They threw){kind=link}
Just tell those German, French, Spanish, Dutch, North European captains of NGO’s that they are not welcome to enter your National waters and if they do they have to pay and their ship will be taken by Port Authority and Law and captains will be send to Court. Just like Mr. Salvini did in Italy / Lampedusa.
It is all caused by Germany, France, Italy, and the EU, UN, UNHCR, Amnesty Intl., Child Right, NGO’s like Open Arms and Sea-Watch-3,etc. that these people get a free ticket to Greece and further up Europe.
To get cheap labor in their industries, to make themselves more rich.
The Italian leftwing Mrs. Mogherini representing the EU, with her huge EU/EC-income, bonusses and pension, is giving protection by intl. law to all seeking a new, better life with the help of the tax-, V.A.T.-money of Greeks who are also cut in their pensions and are left with nothing, but misery.
These so called refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and so on, who have nothing in common with Greek culture, religion and way of life create their own foundations and lawyers to get what they want by Intl. law and till then keep up their hands to take it all from Greek people.
And the UN/EU/EC is watching and doing nothing to stop this madness: HYPOCRITES!
This is a disgusting far right rant. First of all, I doubt that the author of this text has ever met any refugees arriving in Greece after terrible journeys through Turkey and elsewhere in order to escape from their home country. Any normal persons (i.e. not totally uneducated and fascist) will see immediately that these are people struggling to survive — like the Greek refugees of 1922 and other periods.
Secondly, the country of origin does not indicate your claim to refugee status. This is another far right trope, which ND has started repeating (to their shame). Around 70% of Afghans in Greece are awarded full refugee status by the Greek courts; even some Pakistanis are found to be eligible. And as for Syrians and Somalis, I think we need not wonder if they are fleeing warzones. Describing them as “so-called refugees” is an attack on reality, what is sometimes called “fake news”.
Thirdly, most of the people arriving here do not really want to stay in Greece, because of the lack of work and the difficult economic situation. They came to seek refuge in the EU. It is the EU that everyone should be complaining about, especially the East European communist bloc that thinks it does not have to accept any refugees as part of EU policy.
Finally, the only madness is that people in Europe do not know the facts. A tiny proportion of the world’s refugees ever reach Europe — in 2017, Europe hosted IN TOTAL (not new arrivals only) just 14% of the world’s refugee population, the USA and Canada only 3%, and Turkey alone hosted more than the entire European Union.
Of course, if the Greek people think (like the Hungarians) that refugees should be left to die, or shot in the legs as Trump proposed, or left to drown in the central Mediterranean as Theresa May wanted — then fine. Just don’t claim that there is such a thing as Greek civilisation when you go down that road: it looks very much like the approach of Nazi Germany, to most historians.
as usual: many of far-rightist do not even know where Greece is located on the map.
Dear Joseph Heller, I am very sorry I made you upset with my comment, it seems I may not have my own vision, opinion on the matter, that is the extreme-one way-thinking of people like you, people who think you are only right always in your way of thinking and doing. While I have no problem with your thinking, we differ, that is all. The same with Climathissues, you have people who are PRO or CONS.
I am a Dutch woman, and I know very well the case and also refugees and what becomes finally of all the resqued people in the Northern Europe, only maybe 15-20-25% of them gets a new life and work can survive on their own, the rest is chanceless and living illegal after their procedures or on social security sytem, do not adapt, do not learn language and we all have to pay Taxes for them, they take our houses with procedures and so on. They cost us a lot of Taxmoney and we see nothing back in return, but problems.
Many get exploited for cheap labor in many European countries and live under very bad circumstances 400,00 Euro rent or more for a dirty place you would not even put your dog in or are left very often in tents out there on the streets in cities, parkingplaces, near harbors, entering illegal trucks and the driver gets fined, robbing people and shops, prostitute themselves, ending up in drugscene to survive. And you think you do them good.
I never voted for FAR RIGHT so far and come from a good and social family where I learned to be good to others, to share and give, gave many donations myself throughtout my life, helped a lot of people for free, was also a Foster Parent, but that is my business and not yours. I also have ties with Greece.
I think the way the world and Europe is dealing with this, meaning Germany (because of WWII trauma want to show good to the world), France and Italy as leaders of EU with the NGO’s located in Berlin/France/Spain,etc. is not the right way, the problem should be solved in the Region, even if a tiny proportion of refugees, as you call it, figures show almost 50.000 every year only arrive on Greek islands with help of UNHCR and NGO’s and nobody cares about local Greeks and their rights as humans, their work, Tourism, their property and so on, I do not hear you about that, they have to swallow it all year after year together with their own crisis. And that is the wrong. I leave it up to this and wish you well in life.
Just accept that millions of people do think different from you and want to solve different from you, many countries have their own misery, history and past suffering from outsiders and are therefore not willing to accept refugees/migrants as you wish. You would be more beautiful in your expressions to me if you had respect for them and their opinions too. But unfortunately you can not, it is a one-way-street with you.
I do not understand why a Dutch person should be telling Greek people how they should think and behave. I told you that your post was a far right rant against refugees. Indirectly, you have confirmed that you have never met the refugees arriving in Greece. What right do you have to express an opinion on something you know NOTHING AT ALL about? Those of us living in Greece see the desperate condition of the people arriving: even if Greece cannot afford to do much for them, there is still sympathy for their plight.
Holland, on the other hand, is one of the countries that along with Germany imposed terrible economic conditions on the Greek people, and created a lot of suffering. Perhaps you should pay some attention to the poor and illegal management of the eurozone, and the complicity of the Dutch in harming Greece.
I as an Iriish person fully agree with you and also believe that due to our history like Greece and Jews we should be particularly sensitive to the plight of all seeking refuge.I feel my country is not doing enough even though public opinion in Ireland I’d positive our political elite are not shouldering the burden and are leaving it to Greece.
Down with racism and discrimination from whatever quarter
Dear Michael Curran from Ireland,
Thank you very much for your comment, understanding, empathy.
I like to shake hands of peacekeeping with you and support Greece as much as possible, sympathising also with the locals of Lampedusa, Malta, Spain.
The Intl.law for refugees is there to protect people who really need help, but not for luck-seekers, economical migrants or people like terrorists who are among those refugees and migrants too who like to exploit our goodness and systems we fought for ourselves.
@cvrooij Warning! spammers will be banned from this site especially when they also post with different names.