This article was orignally published here.
August in Samos has been exceptionally hot with temperatures often in the mid 30s. Now it is September and there is still no sign of any cooler weather over the next few weeks. For the refugees coming over from Turkey to Samos and the other Greek frontier islands this weather brings mixed blessings. Importantly it means the sea crossings at night are not deathly cold as in the winter months.
On Sunday a packed rubber dinghy sank off the coast. It took four hours to find and rescue the survivors. Some including a 1 month old baby were blue with cold when they were eventually rescued. Had it been earlier in the year she would have died as would have some of the other children with her who were in the sea for so many hours. But on the other hand when they eventually get to Samos the heat and sun becomes a major hazard. The police who are responsible for the refugees make no regular provision for transporting them from their landing places to one of the 2 ports on the island where they are initially processed. Instead they tell them to walk. In this heat it is nothing less than torture.
