Editorial Ta Nea: Investigation

A dual wave of protests has arisen on the islands of the Northeastern Aegean.

Residents of the islands are demonstrating (photo) over the fact that they are unfairly shouldering the lion’s share of the burden of the migrant-refugee crisis.

The migrants and refugees are protesting because their living conditions are more akin to an entrapment than to hospitality.

These are two sides of the same coin and the situation is liable to spin out of control and become explosive.

To be more precise these are the visible sides of a problem that has more, hidden dimensions.

Just as opposition parties justly say that the protests are triggered by the miserable living conditions of refugees and migrants, so too there is a well-grounded suspicion that some NGOs have played a role that is a far cry from their stated humanitarian mission.

Equally well-grounded is the suspicion that a huge amount of mainly EU funding was squandered for purposes other than ensuring better conditions of hospitality.

These dark sides of the problem must at long last be revealed.

That requires an investigation and the creation of a registry of all organisations that are active on the islands.

The state is obliged to determine which groups are serving humanistic ideals and which are simply exploiting human misery.

That is a necessary step that will benefit the refugees and migrants as well as those putting them up.