Athens anticipates fresh surge of refugees by winter

According to the Greek Coordination Center for the Management of the Refugee Crisis, every day about 100 refugees from Washington's wars in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya are coming to Greece. Data from the center show that 9,400 people have entered Greece this year alone, compared with 173,450 refugees and migrants who flowed into the country in 2016.

After registration and obtaining documents, many of them are hoping to reach West European countries where they expect to find an earthly paradise with huge social benefits.

At present, more than 62,000 asylum seekers still stay in Greece. Local authorities take great pains to accommodate refugees and migrants in transit centers lest they should scare away rich tourists who would fill Greece's coffers to a great extent. Most of them, 6,237 asylum seekers, have been accommodated on the island of Lesbos and 2,018 on Chios while continental Greece gave refuge to over 47,500 people. The largest makeshift refugee camps were pitched in Athens and nearby districts, as well as on the Greek-Macedonian border near the tiny village of Idomeni.

The Greek migration ministry stated that the influx of migrants stabilized by July with about 2,000 refugee arrivals in May and June. However, Greek authorities anticipate a fresh surge of asylum seekers arriving in the country by winter. Without the influx of funds from the European Union, it would be increasingly difficult for Athens to maintain the unbidden guests who beg for alms, commit theft to survive and raid vegetable farms.

Paul Craig Roberts, chairman of the Institute for Political Economy, wrote that the American state murderous rampage through the Middle East and North Africa was enabled by the Europeans who provided diplomatic and military cover for Washington's war crimes. Today the Europeans are suffering the consequences as they are overrun by refugees.

It is worth noting too that the total budget of the U.S. military/security complex has been estimated at $1.1 trillion, a figure that is 70% of Russia's estimated 2017 GDP. There are 195 countries in the world. Only 14 of them have the GDP larger than the budget of the U.S. military/security complex.