Refugee numbers drop while obstacles multiply for some nationalities
By Adrian Lancashire



"We can't accommodate any more refugees in Europe."

PARIS: -- The number of refugees arriving in Greece has dropped dramatically, prompting some observers to suggest Turkey may have clamped down on people smugglers. The International Organisation for Migration says average daily arrivals this month were 4,500, but since Sunday there have been fewer than 200.

On the island of Lesbos, Patric Mansour, with the Norwegian Refugee Council, supporting the UNHCR, said: “They are not aware of the dangerous crossing. They think they are going to be in a safe boat and that the sea is going to be calm. There are a lot of refugees telling us that they are forced under gun threat to get on the boat after they have paid, to get on the boat and do the crossing, even if they are objecting it.”

Several countries along the Balkan route to western Europe are now only allowing Syrians, Iraqis or Afghans through, stranding many others. The refugees who can press on.

At the snowy border between Austria and Germany, German police officer Rudolf Hoser said: “As of December 5th, there will be a new procedure. A winter hall is being built in Nebelberg, in Austria. From there, the migrants will be brought directly to Wegscheid by bus so that they can skip the walk across the border.”

Germany counts on accommodating one million refugees by the end of the year, and anyone helping is constantly challenged to improvise. Every day or so, another gymnasium is transformed into a shelter.

Sweden is nearing 190,000 asylum applicants this year. Its population is less than ten million, so this means roughly one applicant for every 50 Swedes. Germany has 82 million people, looking at say one refugee for every 80 Germans.

Swedish premier Stefan Löfven, tightening border controls and asylum rules, said his country is overwhelmed: “Towns can no longer handle asylum seekers safely, the authorities can’t cope. The Swedish Migration Board can’t provide beds for people who come here. This is untenable. People must seek asylum in other EU countries.”

The French prime minister has said: “We can’t accommodate any more refugees in Europe.”

Poland’s new government is backing away from an EU quota of 7,000.

Meanwhile, migrants allowed no further that the Greek-Macedonian border are protesting they cannot be turned back.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2015-11-26

How about only women,children and the elderly can pass through? I am sick of watching liveleak vids of what is clearly an invading army of young, strong, virulent men storming through Europe, with no vulnerable people in sight. Not quite what the word refugee means. If kids are let in they should be resettled with "real" Europeans like the stolen generation. That is assuming assimilation is the goal.

How about only women,children and the elderly can pass through? I am sick of watching liveleak vids of what is clearly an invading army of young, strong, virulent men storming through Europe, with no vulnerable people in sight. Not quite what the word refugee means. If kids are let in they should be resettled with "real" Europeans like the stolen generation. That is assuming assimilation is the goal.

It was always too many refugees? too soon,and mainly too many economic migrants.

Oh Noooo,, don't tell it to the UN, who think that everybody has the right to be a refugee and just

hop on a rickety boat and travel to another country he chooses... and god forbid, you dare to

be selective whom do you admit into your country as profiling and vetting is a crime against

humanity according to the very benevolent, merciful and generous UN guys...

I really like the photo, the do gooders actually think we fall for it ,The only thing real about is all the trash around the refugee i mean economic migrant / terrorist.

Shut down Turkey you shut down ISIL and the migrant flow to Europe.

How about only women,children and the elderly can pass through? I am sick of watching liveleak vids of what is clearly an invading army of young, strong, virulent men storming through Europe, with no vulnerable people in sight. Not quite what the word refugee means. If kids are let in they should be resettled with "real" Europeans like the stolen generation. That is assuming assimilation is the goal.

This is exactly what Canada has decided on. No single males!

How about only women,children and the elderly can pass through? I am sick of watching liveleak vids of what is clearly an invading army of young, strong, virulent men storming through Europe, with no vulnerable people in sight. Not quite what the word refugee means. If kids are let in they should be resettled with "real" Europeans like the stolen generation. That is assuming assimilation is the goal.

This is exactly what Canada has decided on. No single males!

Well played Canada.

And they can laugh as Mutti Merkel again tries to demand all EU countries must accept the German solution of enforced quotas - so everyone else suffers from German arrogance and mismanagement.

But its not about the number of migrants a country is made take. There is a policy of family reunification so you could multiply the number ten fold.