Greece Begins Evacuating Thousands of Refugees from Idomeni Camp

Hundreds of Greek police began the evacuation of the squalid Idomeni camp at the Greek-Macedonian border at dawn on Tuesday, June 4. The operation aims to relocate thousands of refugees within ten days. Idomeni camp has become home to many displaced and lost refugees since last winter when Balkan countries closed their borders to refugees, at one point housing around 12,000 refugees. Greek police started their operation shortly after sunrise on Tuesday, and according to The Guardian, no violence or resistance occurred during the operation. Yiourgos Kritsis, the Greek government's spokesperson for refugees, stated that there is no need to resort to force and that the operation is proceeding peacefully. He mentioned that the operation will last ten days. Nearly seven hundred police officers will be involved in this operation, attempting to evacuate the camp and send its residents to other reception centers across Greece. According to Greek officials, there are currently about six thousand vacancies in refugee reception centers that will be allocated to Idomeni refugees. AFP reports that most refugees will be sent to camps near Thessaloniki (Greece's second-largest city), which were previously industrial centers and factories no longer in use. A large number of Idomeni camp residents are women and children whose husbands have previously traveled to other European countries, and now these women and children intend to join them. In recent months, due to the poor living conditions of refugees in Idomeni, this European camp has become a symbol of the disarray and chaos surrounding refugee situations. The very cold winter and heavy rainfall that caused the living conditions to become muddy were reflected in news agency photographs and shared widely on social media, eliciting much sympathy. One reason refugees gather in camps like Idomeni or Piraeus and do not go to reception centers is that they prefer to stay closer to the borders in hopes of finding a smuggler and leaving Greece. Going to reception centers would hinder their ability to leave Greece easily. Meanwhile, reports indicate that with the start of the Idomeni camp evacuation operation, some refugees are hiding in the surrounding areas in their attempts to remain at the borders. According to Greek government statistics, there are currently 54,000 refugees living in Greece.