Greece says 18 dead in latest migrant boat sinking
Source: Reuters
Roughly 1,500 migrants arriving daily in Greece
Authorities in Greece have raised the death toll from a migrant boat sinking to 18, after recovering seven more bodies off the island of Samos in the eastern Aegean Sea. The Greek Coast Guard said Thursday that nine children were among the dead — four girls and five boys — while eight adult men and one woman also died.
Another boat sank off the island of Kos on Wednesday, leaving seven dead, including two children. Only two people were rescued from that incident.
Despite toughening European border controls, refugees and migrants have continued to travel to the Greek islands near the Turkish coast, at a rate of roughly 1,500 per day since the beginning of the year, braving the bad weather in dinghies and old wooden boats. Greece is the main gateway into Europe for refugees and migrants, and hundreds have died attempting to make the short but dangerous crossing in unseaworthy, overcrowded vessels.
Some European countries have accused Greece of not doing enough to stem the flow of people. Athens retorts that it is both illegal and dangerous to attempt to turn back potential asylum-seekers at sea, and trying to do so would inevitably lead to yet more deaths. It also says it has asked for more help from other EU countries in the form of staff and equipment from Frontex, but has received far less than it needs.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/greece-migrant-boat-sinking-1.3423269
Greek islanders have been nominated for a Noble Peace Prize. It looks like their efforts will not end soon since 1,500 are still arriving every day.
Unless something is done to reduce or eliminate the creation of so many displaced people - largely the Syrian civil war - it is hard to imagine what can be done to deal with the resulting humanitarian crisis. The island of Chios is less than 5 miles from the coast of Turkey.
http://cekimetkisi.com/zamananotlar/2014/05/26/sakiz-adasi-2-bolum/
= new reply since forum marked as read
so very tragic 
