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Migrants in Greece: The struggle for a better life

On the streets there is fear and trepidation of far-right Golden Dawn party members known for their attacks on migrants.

Young migrants at a detention centre in the village of Filakio near the Greek-Turkish border. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Young migrants at a detention centre in the village of Filakio near the Greek-Turkish border. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
By 
Milos Bicanski
3 Jun 2015

Patras, Greece – The number of migrants trying to enter the EU by crossing the Mediterranean Sea on boats has surged with more than 30,000 people reaching the Greek islands already this year.

Most refugees have fled war-torn areas such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. Migrants use Greece as a transit point, and many continue their treacherous journey towards Germany and Scandinavian countries. 

Those intercepted by Greek authorities are usually locked up in one of seven designated detention centres for migrants. Greece’s debt crisis has hammered the nation’s finances, and no funds have been allocated to tackle these immigration issues.

With many migrants also trying to enter Greece on land, immigration officials are now seeking abandoned hotels and state buildings to house the asylum seekers.

On the streets there is fear and trepidation of far-right Golden Dawn party members known for their attacks on migrants. 

Applying for asylum in Greece buys refugees time to prepare for journeys to other EU countries. Only a few hundred applications are accepted each week. Many migrants wait all night at government offices, only to be sent away by police in the morning.

An undocumented Syrian refugee hides in the hope he will not be fingerprinted in Greece on his way to Germany, where he plans to apply for asylum. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
An undocumented Syrian refugee hides in the hope he will not be fingerprinted in Greece on his way to Germany, where he plans to apply for asylum. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Migrants wait to submit applications for asylum outside a Greek police station in Athens. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants wait to submit applications for asylum outside a Greek police station in Athens. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
A Somali woman outside a building used by migrants that was cleared during a police raid. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
A Somali woman outside a building used by migrants that was cleared during a police raid. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
The Greek port city of Patras has become a major human-trafficking hub for undocumented migrants trying to reach Italy and other parts of Western Europe. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
The Greek port city of Patras has become a major human-trafficking hub for undocumented migrants trying to reach Italy and other parts of Western Europe. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants try to stow away on ferries to Italy as they seek a better life in Europe beyond crisis-hit Greece. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants try to stow away on ferries to Italy as they seek a better life in Europe beyond crisis-hit Greece. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Thousands of migrants live in shacks made of paper, plastic sheeting, and wooden boards scavenged from a nearby beach. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Thousands of migrants live in shacks made of paper, plastic sheeting, and wooden boards scavenged from a nearby beach. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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An immigrant jumps over a fence into a ferry terminal in the city of Patras. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
An immigrant jumps over a fence into a ferry terminal in the city of Patras. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants wait on the beach near Patras. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants wait on the beach near Patras. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
A migrant watches far-right Golden Dawn members attack an old courthouse where hundreds of refugees lived for months amid piles of fetid rubbish and human waste without electricity, running water, or sanitation. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
A migrant watches far-right Golden Dawn members attack an old courthouse where hundreds of refugees lived for months amid piles of fetid rubbish and human waste without electricity, running water, or sanitation. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Syrian refugees sleep on the street in Omonia Square in Athens. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Syrian refugees sleep on the street in Omonia Square in Athens. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Serbia is a new hot spot in the land transit route to the EU with thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa flocking to its border with Hungary. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Serbia is a new hot spot in the land transit route to the EU with thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa flocking to its border with Hungary. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants in the abandoned brick factory in the northern Serbian town of Subotica. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants in the abandoned brick factory in the northern Serbian town of Subotica. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants warm up next to a fire in an abandoned brick factory. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Migrants warm up next to a fire in an abandoned brick factory. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Syrian refugees walk towards the Serbian-Hungarian border attempting to cross it at night. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
Syrian refugees walk towards the Serbian-Hungarian border attempting to cross it at night. [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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