As Turkey says it will no longer stop refugees leaving for Europe, the Greek island fears more arrivals Indignation and a sense of preordained fate have gripped Lesbos as the Aegean island long on the frontline of the refugee crisis readies itself for possible new arrivals on its beaches following Turkey’s stated intention of no longer impeding access into Europe for migrants. Along the shoe-horn harbour of Mytilene it was business as usual as the sun went down: cafes were brimming, boats were docking after a day out on a silky smooth sea, local teenagers were getting into the spirit of a long holiday weekend. But it was hard not to miss the police in full kit, as soldiers and coastguard officials gathered outside a squat two-storey building on the harbour front. Inside, the minister for shipping, Yannis Plakiotakis, freshly arrived from Athens, was discussing contingency plans that in the words of one official will see “every boat and every patrol we have out on the sea”. Continue reading...
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