New waves of refugees and illegal migrants are flooding Greece on a daily basis. The data released by the North Aegean Prefecture are alarming. Prefect Christianna Kalogirou said that in the last 57 days, Greece has received 75% of the total number of illegal migrants and refugees who arrived in 2014. The figures were discussed in the meeting between the prefects of border regions, the Ministry of Interior as well as other Ministries. Kalogirou said that the islands need a lot of funds and much more personnel in order to receive the migrants. The meeting took place under Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis, with the participation of Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Yiannis Panousis and Deputy Immigration Policy Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou. In Lesvos alone, 2,204 migrants arrived in the first 17 days of April. It should be noted that in 2014 Lesvos received a total of 646 refugees and illegal migrants. Among the refugees who arrived in Lesvos on Friday were three newborn babies suffering from hypothermia and are now hospitalized. The war in Syria has forced hundreds of thousands of Syrians to seek refuge in western countries. Turkey is the gateway, where human traffickers ask for large amounts of money to carry them by sea to the West. However, in many instances, they leave them in the middle of the Aegean. On Friday night, the Greek Coast Guard rescued 73 people in Lesvos, 34 in Kos and 39 in Pharmakonisi. “An immigration policy must soon be implemented. It is a major issue and must be addressed immediately,” Voutsis said.
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