The Greek island of Lesvos is faced with a serious issue, since the island’s burial grounds have reached their capacity after the mass influx of refugees which has led to hundreds of deaths. The island has morgues and cemeteries that have been overwhelmed over the last few months due to the high number of individuals who lose their lives on a daily basis, as refugees try to cross the Greek sea border.
According to the latest UN data, over 218,000 people arrived in the EU during the month of October 2015, beating the total annual number for the whole of 2014. In total, some 744,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe in 2015, of which at least 3,300 died while making the journey.
Due to the worsening weather conditions, the seas have become rougher. As a result the bodies of 19 people were recovered from the Aegean in three separate incidents on Sunday alone. The Hellenic coast guard is constantly organizing rescue and search missions in their attempt to help the migrants and refugees. However, more than 70 people, many of them children, died during the past week when the flimsy boats carrying them across the sea capsized.
The island’s mayor Spyros Galinos stated that authorities were still trying to locate free burial grounds for more than 50 bodies that are currently in the morgue. Galinos added that he was trying to rush the procedures so a field next to the main cemetery could be taken over for fresh graves.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has criticized the European Union for its inability to successfully address the refugee crisis. “These are hypocritical, crocodile tears which are being shed for the dead children on the shores of the Aegean,” Tsipras told the Greek parliament. “Dead children always incite sorrow, but what about the children that are alive who come in by the thousands and are stacked on the streets? Nobody likes them.”
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