ATHENS -- There are just a few countries in the world that have experienced a stronger population decline in recent years than Greece. The number of live births in the Mediterranean nation has decreased dramatically, and since 2009, the country’s ...
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Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Fix your borders or face isolation from Schengen countries, EU warns Greece
Greece could soon be suspended from Europe’s free-travel Schengen zone if the country doesn’t increase its border controls for migrants and refugees coming through the island nation, European Union officials said. The European Commission said that Greece has failed its obligation of conducting necessary steps before allowing migrants to flow into Europe, in accordance with the rules governing Europe’s 26-country passport-free travel area, known as Schengen.
Europe Raises Pressure on Greece to Tighten Its Borders
BRUSSELS — European Union authorities on Wednesday raised pressure on Greece to step up its efforts to slow the flow of migrants and tighten control of the bloc’s external borders, the first step in a process that would allow some countries to its ...
The forward found the back of the net twice as his side blew aside Asteras Tripolis in a Greek Cup encounter on Wednesday evening
Brown Ideye got two goals in Olympiacos 5-0 defeat of Asteras Tripolis in the Greek Cup first leg quarter final match played at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. His goals in the 13th and 41st minute helped the Legends brush aside the Yellow-Blues ahead ...
Is GREECE about to be martyred again by the EU?
Amid concerns that GREECE is failing to control its borders, some EU countries have been talking of suspending the Schengen free-travel area and ...
Schengen: GREECE warned it faces expulsion from passport-free zone
GREECE has been warned that it could be expelled from Europe's passport-free Schengen zone if it does not manage its borders better and slow the ...
Netanyahu: Possible Turkey detente unrelated to GREECE ties
Israel's rapidly improving ties with GREECE and Cyprus do not come at the expense of its relations with other countries in the region, notably Turkey, ...
Israel and Greece in historic alliance
JERUSALEM, Israel - Greece has befriended Israel on a scale not seen before, signing a number of bilateral agreements which will see the two countries cement ties across a range of activities. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was in Jerusalem this week ...
Statues of GREEK Gods Unearthed in Crete
Archaeologists excavating a Roman-era villa in Crete have uncovered two impressive, small-sized statues depicting the gods Artemis and Apollo, ...
6 Signs GREEK Life Just Isn't For You
While joining a sorority can be an amazing experience for many people, it's not for everyone. Some universities are strongly GREEK, like where I went to ...
Further protests against GREEK pensions reform
Ferries were docked at GREEK ports yesterday as sailors kicked off their second 48-hour strike this week, adding to a groundswell of public discontent ...
The first freezing of assets for huge accounts abroad
Athens, January 27, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Olga Mavrou Greek authorities proceeded in the freezing of the assets, real estate bills, and other securities of 24 citizens that were in the “Borjans list” (a list of names with significant bank accounts abroad, but with insignificant tax returns in Greece). All of them are called to document the […]
New tender for TRAINOSE
Athens, January 27, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Olga Mavrou The Greek republic asset development fund (HRADF or TAIPED) will proclaim a new tender for railway service operator TRAINOSE. According to sources the first tender was not an ideal one, but the next is expected to be better. The main reason is that the companies that were initially […]
EU threatens Greece over “serious” neglect of its border
[refugeeraft]The big guns are still focused on Greece which has been told it could be quarantined from the rest of the EU because of its “serious” border neglect. A European Commission report said that Greece had “seriously neglected” its borders during the migrant crisis last year.
EU warns GREECE could be sealed off from Schengen zone over its handling of refugee crisis
The European Commission has accused GREECE of “seriously neglecting” its obligations under the Schengen Code by failing to maintain proper ...
Israel and Greece send message to Turkey: Our friendship is not aimed against you
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras sent a message to Ankara on Wednesday, saying the growing alliance between the two states, together with Cyprus, is not aimed against Turkey, with whom all three have tense ties.
The Ongoing Greek Crisis
The proposal to seal the border between Macedonia and Greece made by the Slovenian Prime minister and being considered by Brussels is the latest round in last year's Eurozone crisis, in which the plan to expel Greece has entered through another door. Having held off doing the irrevocable at the last minute in 2015, Brussels is now proposing to take the more incremental step to expel Greece from the Schengen free travel zone. Under the Slovenian plan, the rules of Schengen would be changed to deny Greece the European right of free travel. The expression "ring-fence Greece" often heard in the press is a weasel word. To "ring-fence" should mean to place a fence around an area. In this case, the fence would obviously not go around Greece, only across its northern border. Being open to the sea, Greece's southern and eastern borders would continue to be accessible to the rickety, unseaworthy craft that transport migrants to Greece from Turkey and other points in the middle-east. Turkey has so far declined to assist Europe in stemming the flow of migrants, so the EU is considering "ring-fencing Greece," redrawing Greece's border to leave Greece out. In addition, "ring-fence" has another, sinister connotation. We speak of "ring-fencing" a section of a bank or a business when its financial condition is precarious and is believed to threaten the solvency of the whole. In fact, that is the true sense of the Slovenian suggestion. Greece is a problem, so this is the way to solve the problem -get rid of Greece. As early as 2014, I argued in the Mediterranean Review ("Greece--the Open Circle," Mediterranean Quarterly Review, August 2014,) that in conjunction with its agreement with the Eurozone, Greece should be given EU assistance to monitor the flow of refugees into the country. Now, events have joined these two crises -the Eurozone crisis and the migration crises- together. The role of Greece is central to both. The solution continues to be now as then that the EU should 1) provide some debt relief to Greece to stimulate its economy, 2) give assistance to Greece to house refugees in temporary but humane conditions on Greek soil. This would go some way to meeting the two crises that threaten to tear Europe apart, and in the process it would lower the risk of violent European home-grown extremism. It is folly for Europe to open its doors to middle eastern migrants without at the same time protecting its own EU citizens in Greece, Italy and Spain, all of which are in the front lines of the migration route to Europe. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Greece refloats privatisation of rail operator
Athens (AFP) - Greece on Wednesday said it has agreed a new tender process for rail operator Trainose, frozen in 2014 for a lack of firm bids from three suitors, including French state rail operator SNCF. The body overseeing the Greek privatisation fund ...
GREEK tanker owner approached about transporting Iran oil
A GREEK oil-tanker owner has been asked about transporting Iranian crude, a shipment that's only just become permissible following an easing of ...
Fuel leaked during bunkering operations in Elevsis port, Greece
Fuel leaked during bunkering operations in Elevsis port, Greece. The general cargo ship Athina P was receiving fuel from a bunkering tanker Agia Kiriaki, when the pipe started leaking and the oil spilled in the water. There was sufficient leak and ...
EU blasts Greece over migrant crisis as seven more drown
Athens: Seven migrants drowned trying to reach Greece on Wednesday, as the European Union blasted Athens for its handling of the crisis, saying it had "seriously neglected" its duty to protect the bloc`s borders. The European Commission said Greece could ...
GREEK Pension Protests Hit All Transport Sectors
Ferries were docked at GREEK ports on Wednesday as sailors kicked off their second 48-hour strike this week, adding to a groundswell of public ...
GREEK PM arrives in Israel marking 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted GREEK Prime Minisiter Alexis Tsipras in Jerusalem Wednesday as the two leaders convened to ...
Human Rights Watch notes areas of concern in GREECE
Human Rights Watch highlighted a number of concerns regarding GREECE as part of its 659-page annual World Report, which was published ...
Greece given three months to fix border or Schengen is suspended
Brussels came a step closer to sealing off Greece from the Schengen free travel zone today as a report found “serious deficiencies” in the country's border. Athens has three months to start finger printing and registering migrants passing through its ...
IOC's Bach: Rio de Janeiro Games will 'overwhelm' world
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach says he is confident the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will "overwhelm" the world, despite Brazil's deep financial crisis.
Ai Weiwei shuts Danish show in protest at asylum seeker law
Chinese artists closes Ruptures at Copenhagen gallery in protest at new law that allows government to seize valuables from refugees arriving in country The Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has closed down his exhibition in Copenhagen in protest at a new law that allows Danish authorities to seize valuables from asylum seekers. The 58-year-old, who is currently on the Greek island of Lesbos undertaking research on Europe’s refugee crisis, told the Guardian: “My moments with refugees in the past months have been intense. I see thousands come daily, children, babies, pregnant women, old ladies, a young boy with one arm. They come with nothing, barefoot, in such cold, they have to walk across the rocky beach. Then you have this news; it made me feel very angry. Continue reading...
Neighbors, business partners fuse GREEK, Cuban cuisine
Cuban rice is one of the side choices for entrees at Café Cuba, an eatery that combines GREEK and Cuban delicacies. Photo by MIKE HAMSON.
Bring your appetite and your dancing shoes to the GREEK Winter Feast
If you've always loved Greece and its culture, you don't have to travel overseas to experience the warmth and hospitality of this Mediterranean ...
GREECE Hit With EU Warning Over Management of Refugee Influx
The European Commission said GREECE is failing to heed the terms of an agreement on passport-free travel in the so-called Schengen zone of 26 ...
EU Warns Greece Over ‘Seriously Neglected’ Borders
(AFP) – Greece has failed to protect the EU’s external frontiers from migrants and faces border controls with the rest of the Schengen passport-free zone in three months if it fails to act, the European Commission said Wednesday. The highly critical ...
Protesting Greek Farmers Stage Blockage of Border with Bulgaria
Thousands of Greek farmers on Wednesday rallied at two border crossings between Greece and Bulgaria and elsewhere across their country. The Ilinden-Exochi border crossing remained sealed off from 11:00 local time (EET) to 14:00, but the blockade was renewed at about 18:00, a Greece-based correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio says. Long queues were formed in both directions at the other one, Kulata-Promachonas, with protesters blocking movement until just before 18:00, according to Focus News Agency. Farmers are venting their anger at new taxation policies announced by the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. In their words, the new legislation will force them to give back to the state EUR 85 out of every EUR 100 they have earned. Their representatives say the blockade will be "permanent", despite the government's assurances it is expected to continue through to Friday. Across the country, there are a total of 66 road blocks agreed by farmers' unions. These meanwhile rejected the invitation Tsipras had earlier extended for talks. The Greek Reporter writes that farmers on major islands such as Rhodes or Crete are also threatening to join the demonstrations.
Greece’s National Theater stages play based on terrorist’s book, sparks controversy
Athens, January 27, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Marina Spyropoulou A stormy public debate has opened in Greece this week over the decision of the National Theater to stage a play that includes excerpts of a book written by Savvas Xeros, a jailed key member of the “November 17” terrorist group that has been linked to […]
Varoufakis: Not even God can save Greece with this memorandum
Athens, January 27, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Olga Mavrou In a new interview to Bloomberg Yanis Varoufakis, former Finance minister of Greece, said that the programme and the reforms that were imposed on Greece “are impossible to work” and “everybody knows it, but nobody cares to fix it, it is essentially the fact that Greece […]
Greece did better in corruption ranking this year
Athens, January 27, 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency By Olga Mavrou According to the findings of the non governmental organization that is rating corruption and transparency in 168 countries Greece is more “clean” than last year, since it is ranked 58th – it was 69th on 2014. The NGO Transparency International measures corruption in the world based on economic indicators, on […]
Greece reacts to EU's hard line on refugees
Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Greece's migration minister dismissed a Belgian proposal to build a camp for almost half a million migrants in Greece as "dangerous nonsense". Talking to Al Jazeera after a two-day summit of European Union interior ministers in ...
The Latest: Greece says EU criticism against it is unfair
Greece says a European Union investigation that found major flaws in its border management is outdated and that the situation with migrant screening and registering has become much better. Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili said Wednesday that it is ...
There is one critical, still-unanswered question about the quickly spreading Zika virus
[zika mosquito spray]Oswaldo Rivas/REUTERS An alarming rise in Brazil in the number of cases of babies born with smaller-than-normal heads — a condition known as microcephaly — has public health officials racing to determine if the cause is a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika. Officials are still trying to determine if Zika definitively causes microcephaly in babies born to women infected with the virus during their pregnancies. But as Zika cases pop up in more places around the world, and global health agencies issue travel warnings for pregnant women, concern about microcephaly is on the rise. So what actually is microcephaly? And if children are born with it, what does that mean for them? Here, STAT answers those questions and more. WHAT IS MICROCEPHALY? Microcephaly is not a specific disease. Instead, it’s a generic term used to describe any case in which someone’s head is a certain size smaller than the average. In babies born with microcephaly — which is known as congenital microcephaly — physicians identify it simply by measuring the circumference of the head and comparing that to growth charts. In some instances, it can be diagnosed during pregnancy with an ultrasound. (Babies born with normal-sized heads can also show signs of the condition later in infancy.) Microcephaly is derived from the Greek words meaning “small” and “head,” but what it really means is that the brain has not formed properly or has stopped developing. Typically, as a fetus matures, its head gets larger to accommodate the budding brain, so “if the brain doesn’t grow, the skull doesn’t grow,” said Dr. Sumit Parikh, a pediatric neurologist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. WHAT CAUSES MICROCEPHALY? A lot of things. Microcephaly is a physical manifestation of a variety of underlying problems. “It’s like saying fever … there’s a billion causes,” Parikh said. Causes range from genetic mutations to injuries to infection. “Anything that arrests the cells from dividing or differentiating can result in a smaller brain,” said Dr. Avindra Nath, the clinical director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. _Read more: Everything you need to know about Zika virus_ Fetuses can have strokes during a pregnancy, cutting the blood supply from reaching the brain. Genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome can throw off how the brain forms. Drug and alcohol use by pregnant women can cause microcephaly, as can malnourishment, chemical exposure, and certain medications. [zika microcephaly]Oswaldo Rivas/REUTERS WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR CHILDREN BORN WITH MICROCEPHALY? It depends on the severity and how the brain is affected. Some newborns have heads small enough to be labeled as cases of microcephaly, but their neurological function isn’t impaired. More severe cases result in stillbirths or infants who die soon after birth. Many of the problems associated with microcephaly — including developmental delays; problems with vision, hearing, or speech; and epilepsy — are actually the result of the underlying cause. Babies born with microcephaly can have trouble moving their arms and legs and problems with feeding because of difficulties sucking and swallowing. A smaller head at birth is also associated with mental retardation. But people with neurological problems “can live close to a normal life span,” Nath said, particularly if they have a strong support network as they grow up. One problem is that even in milder cases, microcephaly can be linked to seizures, which can reduce life expectancy. DOES IT AFFECT BOYS AND GIRLS AT THE SAME RATES? Because there are so many causes, it’s hard to say for sure, researchers said. But if there is a difference in rates between boys and girls, it’s a small one. WHAT KIND OF INFECTIONS CAUSE OR ARE THOUGHT TO CAUSE MICROCEPHALY? The infections associated with congenital microcephaly are those that can cross the placental barrier, which is meant to protect the fetus and blocks certain infections. When viruses break through the placenta, they can enter the fetus’s nervous system and halt the brain’s development. [ZIKAMAPS]OSWALDO RIVAS/REUTERS WHY DO RESEARCHERS THINK THE ZIKA VIRUS COULD BE CAUSING THE SURGE IN MICROCEPHALY CASES IN BRAZIL? WHAT DO THE CASES IN BRAZIL LOOK LIKE? Researchers have found Zika virus RNA in the brains of infants born with microcephaly in the past few months in Brazil, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an indication that Zika can bust through the placental barrier and enter the fetus’s nervous system. Before the Zika outbreak, microcephaly in Brazil appeared at rates of about 0.5 cases for every 10,000 births, although some public health experts have said underreporting contributed to an artificially low rate. Still, even adjusting for possible underreporting, Brazil likely saw no more than one to two cases per 10,000 births. In the second half of 2015, Brazil was seeing rates of 20 cases per 10,000 live births, according to a CDC report released last week. The country has reported almost 3,900 cases of microcephaly since October. _Read more: Will Hawaii’s dengue outbreak foreshadow how Zika plays out in the US?_ Brazil is also seeing severe cases of microcephaly, which are more likely to be paired with greater developmental delays. “Most of what is being reported out of Brazil is microcephaly with other associated abnormalities,” Dr. Denise Jamieson, medical officer in CDC’s division of reproductive health, told STAT this month. An important note: If a pregnant woman contracts the Zika virus, her child will not necessarily have microcephaly. Public health officials are still trying to determine what percentage of pregnant women infected with Zika will have a baby with microcephaly, if the virus does in fact cause the birth defect. WHEN DOES MICROCEPHALY PRESENT ITSELF DURING FETAL DEVELOPMENT? DOES THE TIMING AFFECT THE SEVERITY OF THE CONDITION? Initial evidence indicates that mothers in Brazil who gave birth to infants with microcephaly tended to be infected with the Zika virus in their first trimesters, the CDC said. But “we do have some evidence that the risk can continue into the second trimester,” Dr. Cynthia Moore, the director of the CDC’s division of birth defects and developmental disabilities, told reporters this month. Dr. Ganeshwaran Mochida, a pediatric neurologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, said that congenital infections often strike the fetus between the second and fourth month of a pregnancy, when most neurons are formed. “This is the critical period for neurogenesis,” Mochida wrote in an email. “You cannot ‘catch up’ if not enough neurons are made during this period.” If an infection occurs later in the pregnancy, it may be less likely to trigger microcephaly, researchers said. And when cases of microcephaly occur later in pregnancy, infants may be better off in the long run because their brains will have had more time to develop properly. Still, CDC officials have said that pregnant women in any trimester should think twice before traveling to an area with Zika transmission. In the case of Brazil, they have also said there is evidence of brain tissue that was forming in fetuses being destroyed. WHAT ARE RESEARCHERS LOOKING AT? Most research connected to microcephaly is focused not on the physical condition, but on the problems that cause it. Scientists are also trying to stem the conditions tied to microcephaly. A group of Dutch researchers, for example, is exploring the use of amino acid replacement therapy to halt seizures associated with a rare neurometabolic disease that also causes microcephaly. WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR BABIES BORN WITH MICROCEPHALY? Unfortunately, not much in the large majority of cases. With congenital microcephaly, “the injury has already occurred, and we’re just dealing with the consequences of the injury,” Parikh said. Parents who have a child with microcephaly caused by a genetic mutation are encouraged to get genetic counseling so they can have a sense of the microcephaly risk for future children. As for the children, speech, physical, and, eventually, occupational therapy can improve their ability to function day to day. Associated complications like seizures can be addressed, as well. But assisting people with microcephaly requires teams of highly trained caregivers. So if the Zika outbreak in Brazil is indeed causing the surge in microcephaly cases, researchers said, the country is going to need to grow its workforce of people who can support the children who survive beyond their first few days and, for some of them, eventually enter adulthood. _Helen Branswell contributed reporting._ _Andrew Joseph can be reached at andrew.joseph@statnews.com _ _Follow Andrew on Twitter @DrewQJoseph_ NOW WATCH: The CDC is telling pregnant women not to travel to South America because of Zika
Migrant tide floods into GREECE from Turkey
More refugees and migrants have travelled from Turkey to GREECE each day this year than in the whole of January 2015, throwing doubt on the ...
EU threatens GREECE with border closures over migrant crisis
GREECE has been told it could face greater border controls, including temporary border closures, with Schengen zone states unless it fixes "serious ...
Israel & Greece accuse Turkey of funding ISIS, smuggling oil
Israel’s defense minister has alleged that the Islamic State terror group has long been funded with “Turkish money.” “As you know, Daesh (Islamic State, previously ISIS/ISIL) enjoyed Turkish money for oil for a very, very long period of time. I ...
Will Greece Be Kicked Out Of Schengen Zone? Amid Refugee Crisis, EU Slams Greek Border Controls
As the debate heats up over Europe's passport-free travel area, called the Schengen Zone, amid a massive influx of refugees from conflict-ridden countries in the Middle East and Africa, could Greece be the first to go? The European Union has slammed Greece ...
Michael Essien's superb strike for Panathinaikos wins goal of the week in Greek Super League
Michael Essien's sumptuous strike for Panathinaikos against Levadiakos has been voted the best goal of the week in the Greek Super League. Essien, 33, drove home a cracking voila to put the game to bed in the visitors 2-0 win at the Levadia Stadium.
Greece pressed to improve Schengen checks
"Serious deficiencies" in Greece's border controls must be fixed in three months, says the European Commission. It's warned Athens that it risks exclusion from Europe's Schengen zone. Greece, the main conduit from Turkey for refugees, was told on Wednesday ...
Greece is found guilty of 'serious deficiencies in managing its borders' after a surprise EU inspection finds officials regularly failed to register migrants or check their ...
A snap EU inspection has found 'serious deficiencies' in Greece's border management saying officials regularly failed to register migrants or check their travel papers. Expert teams arrived in Greece and on islands in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey ...
Greece could be sealed off from the rest of EU within three months, warns Brussels
Greece faces the prospect of being sealed off from the rest of Europe within three months over its “serious” failure to control its external border, the European Commission has said in a report. The report comes amid growing pressure on Athens to deal ...
These Photos Show Another Face Of The Refugee Crisis
Images of refugees making the dangerous journey to Europe have filled news pages in recent months. Often, these images are heart-breaking -- showing men, women and children who have braved death in the Aegean Sea, survived in squalid camps or marched for days through European countries often reluctant to let them in. One Canadian photographer who went to cover refugees’ passage through Europe decided to show another face of the crisis -- resilience amidst adversity. Frederic Seguin, 26, captured portraits of children in moments of joy as he traveled along the migrant route, from the refugee camps of Lebanon, through the shores of Greece, to the transit camps in Macedonia and finally to Germany -- many refugees’ desired destination. “The dramatic and tragic pictures we always see tend to ‘dehumanize’ the refugees,” Seguin told The WorldPost by email. “Someone strong and smiling in the same tragic situation is a thousand times more powerful and touching.” “Kids most of the time will be asking for pictures and will react with a smile to the camera,” Seguin said. More than a million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe last year, most fleeing war-torn Syria. One in five of those who fled via the Mediterranean Sea last year were children. Despite the dangers of making the sea crossing at winter, and tightening borders in Europe, migrants and refugees continue to arrive in record numbers. Over 45,000 people reached Greece by boat last month, more than 30 times the number in January last year. _See Seguin’s photo series ‘Smiles in Exile’ below and visit his website to learn more about the project. All captions are by the photographer and have been lightly edited._ _RELATED ON HUFFPOST: _ -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Why These Volunteers Are Braving Dire Conditions To Provide For Refugees
DUNKIRK, France -- Social worker Rita Beesbrouck shares a tent with five Kurdish teenagers at a refugee camp in northern France, pitched in ankle-deep mud where rats run rampant. There are two showers for every 3,000 people. Ailments range from hypothermia to burns from sleeping too close to a fire at night. And sadness is a silent backdrop to everyday activities. Beesbrouck said people have suggested she stay in a hotel while volunteering there. “But I don’t want to,” she said, although she said she does go home a few nights a week. “I want to live like them. I share my life with them.” Breesbrouck is one of the many workers in the Grande-Synthe refugee camp now providing assistance to the mainly Iraqi Kurd and Iranian refugees who are biding their time until they can figure out how to enter the United Kingdom. She said that when she arrived to the camp from Belgium in the fall, "people would come to me and say, 'We haven't had food for two or three days.'" Six months ago, refugees were "living practically without any assistance in absolutely deplorable and catastrophic conditions," said Samuel Hanryon, press manager for Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières. But as word about the camp conditions spread, large organizations and individual volunteers began arriving. Today, Doctors Without Borders and the French domestic volunteer organization, Médecins du Monde, or Doctors of the World, treat refugees at a clinic five days a week for hypothermia, upper-respiratory problems, hygiene-related issues, burns and wounds sustained from trying to jump onto moving trucks. They refer people to the hospital when their diagnoses are more serious. Elsewhere in the camp, individual volunteers take on a wide variety of tasks. Samantha Van Urk, a Dutch volunteer, makes breakfast -- eggs and bread -- with other volunteers in the mornings and then helps set up tents and clear debris in the afternoons. She also lives in one of the women's and children's tents to make sure nothing is stolen at night. "I was in Lesbos, Greece for five weeks and I came here after the new year because I heard from people that it was really bad here," Van Urk said. "I find it surprising that people are still happy and entertaining themselves in this camp, in this horrible situation. Especially at night, they sing and play music." She said "you sort of get used to" living conditions in the camp. "There are two showers for 3,000 people, but it's better than nothing," she added. Other volunteers drop by periodically to deliver essential items. The refugees' suffering had such an effect on a group of friends from Antwerp, Belgium, that they began weekly trips to drop off clothes, sleeping bags and water for the refugees. The group, which receives donations through Facebook campaigns, also has begun bringing small bags of food items, such as beans, rice and milk. "If the government doesn't help, somebody has to do it," said Marie-Claire Vercauteran. "Once you were here and you saw the situation, you have to come back. Even animals aren't living like this." She too noted the strength of the refugees. "It's amazing how all of the people are keeping their courage," she said. "Here, you feel like you're doing your thing but when you drive home, the sadness [piles on]." > I think it gives hope and courage that there are [volunteers] who > really really love them. > Rita Beesbrouck, Belgian social worker Grande-Synthe's city government is actively trying to improve conditions at the camp but has yet to receive any federal funding. "All of the volunteer organizations are irreplaceable," Mayor Damien Carême said. However, he laments the lack of coordination. It "creates a good deal of chaos. Lots of food arrives at the same time and it's thrown around, lots of clothes are dropped off and they're strewn about." On a weekday afternoon, piles of discarded food littered the muddy ground. Carême said he is working with Doctors Without Borders to build a new camp on a drier piece of land nearby where people can "have access to a greater number of showers and toilets as well as make use of more common spaces to be able to gather, make food, etc." Beyond the services and goods, the volunteers provide emotional support when things become too hard to bear. Beesbrouck spends her days tending to a variety of needs from the refugees, including finding blankets or places to wash their clothes and making trips to Western Union to retrieve money sent to the refugees. "They need help here. I walk, people come to me and ask for that and that, every day it's different," she said. Most importantly, she said, she lends her comfort to others. "Sometimes they cry and they need a big hug. I take their hands and I listen to them because for a lot of people here I am like the mother," Beesbrouck said. "We laugh, we sing," she said, "but after there are moments of silence, moments where we are sad because we are thinking about the situation." Beesbrouck said the refugees have become her friends. "I think it gives hope and courage that there are [volunteers] who really really love them." _ALSO ON HUFFPOST: _ -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
The Latest: German Cabinet OKs crackdown on alien criminals
[In this Friday, Jan. 15, 2016 photo, an Afghan man with his daughter walks after they receive a wristband tags at Tabakika registration center, Chios island, Greece. The island now has a functioning system which aims to process new arrivals through registration as fast and as painlessly as possible. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)]ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Latest on the continuing influx of asylum-seekers and migrants in Europe: All times local:
Europe's refugee crisis, continued: All eyes on GREECE?
There is also talk of suspending GREECE'S membership in Schengen altogether, on the grounds of its failure to stop refugees from continuing their ...