The mayor of Lesvos, the island that saw more than 50,000 refugees pass through its land in January 2016 alone, Spyros Galinos, told CNN that no one was prepared for the flood of refugees that began arriving on Greek— and ultimately European shores last year. “No one was prepared. Not us, not Europe,” he told CNN in an interview.
But Galinos says the island of Lesvos decided to put humanity first. Islanders rallied, non-governmental organizations arrived, and the Greek government, floundering after years of economic crisis, pleaded for help in handling the influx.
But instead of financial support, the European Union is now slamming Greece, claiming that it has not acted properly to patrol the continent’s borders.
“The Schengen countries are just watching this crime happening in the world and they didn’t take action when it was happening. And they think that Greece is responsible for this when we are victims too,” Galinos said.
