Tension broke this morning in downtown Athens’ Syntagma Square, since the Syrian refugees that have been camped at the square, protesting for the last 20 days, are refusing to let the state transfer women and children to accommodation centers. The refugees have also started a hunger strike in protest against the Greek state for not granting them legal documents so that they can move on to other countries. The Syrians stated that they will not accept the state’s proposal in fear that such a move would lead to the selective granting of valid passports. Meanwhile, their decision has left 70 Syrian women and children, who are suffering due to bad weather and exhaustion, without a home. Shouting slogans such as “passports for everyone” and “all or no one” the Syrians demanded that the state provides valid passports to all refugees without exception, despite the fact that it was made clear to them that the law will not permit such an act. Representatives from the Greek Interior Ministry arrived at the square in an attempt to properly inform the refugees about the current situation. When tension broke and the fighting began, a small boy fainted. Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis noted: “The fact that certain people are using children as a shield and they are not letting them be hosted in accommodation centers along with their mothers, is unacceptable.”
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