Caritas says migrant crisis in Kos is getting worse each day

(Vatican Radio) As tensions rise in Kos with more migrants arriving each day on its shores from Turkey, Caritas  Greece warns that the situation is “getting worse”. Maristella Tsamatropoulou, Communication Officer at Caritas Greece, criticized the local authorities’ decision  to hold the migrants in a sports stadium, and said that it could not be a “permanent solution” as it lacked basic facilities.

Tsamatropoulou said that mothers with their children and the elderly were living in the stadium where there was “horrible hygiene”, and that basic human rights were being violated. Tsamatropoulou spoke to Vatican Radio’s Claire Gilbody Dickerson about the deteriorating  situation in Kos.

Listen to the interview with Maristella Tsamatropoulou of Caritas Greece:

Commenting on the scuffles that broke out in Kos between migrants and police on Tuesday, after refugees protested over delays in being registered, Tsamatropoulou said that the police's reaction was not “racist” but they had to control the anger of the huge crowd. She also said that the army had to intervene to “calm” the situation. However, Tsamatropoulou pointed out that there were not enough “humanitarian resources to resolve the crisis”, and suggested the local authorities were not “helping at all” and a better long-term solution must be found.

Kos is one of the main Greek islands near Turkey that has seen a massive increase of migrant and refugee arrivals in recent weeks.