Darko Vojinovic / AP/Press Association. All rights reserved.The Pope's visit to Lesbos last Saturday has put the Greek islands in the spotlight yet again after the media exposure in the summer of 2015 when thousands of Syrian refugees reached its shores trying to build a new – and possibly safe – life in Europe.
These days you don't easily come across refugees in town. The Greek authorities, with the help of international NGOs and volunteers who are supported by an amazingly welcoming local population, have managed to move the refugees to facilities built on the island in the hope of relocating them to other EU countries on a quota-based system. This was before 20 March, when new procedures that were agreed upon in the recently signed deal between the EU and Turkey were set in motion.
People arriving in Greece after 20 March face an unknown fate – which includes a very likely return to Turkey – unless they are assessed to be legitimate asylum seekers. Herein lies the first problem with this agreement (and there are several): who is going to hold interviews and register asylum requests before assessing them and deciding who is to stay in Europe and sent back to Turkey? Is this a task that should be performed by Greece? Is the EU going to send skilled personnel – interpreters, lawyers, etc – to help out?
