Greece’s
Austrian community has issued a withering denunciation of Vienna’s
strongarm approach to the refugee crisis, describing it as “callous”
and deeply embarrassing for the country’s citizens abroad.
In an open
letter to the government, an English-language version of which has
been passed to the Observer, prominent Austrians long connected with
Greece appeal to their nation’s coalition government to assume a
more responsible role in handling Europe’s refugee crisis.
[...]
In an
extraordinary about-turn that has seen it break ranks with Berlin,
Vienna has led a charge to reintroduce border controls that has
effectively sealed the Balkan migration route. By Saturday, closure
of the corridor had trapped around 32,000 migrants and refugees in
Greece, with more than a third of them stranded at the Macedonian
border, where a state of emergency was declared.
The
situation arose after Austria – imposing a cap on the number of
refugees it would accept – held a mini-summit of eastern European
and Balkan states in which it was agreed that restrictions would be
tightened to stem immigration.
[...]
The
expatriates, many of whom have lived in Greece for decades and in
less heated times are the first to criticise their adopted homeland’s
failings, accuse Vienna of pursuing neo-nationalistic policies that
have “no place” in the Europe of the 21st century. While the
burden of managing the crisis has fallen to impoverished, debt-ridden
Greece, they say, Austria has distorted the truth, misrepresenting
the number of refugees it has taken in since men, women and children
fleeing conflict in the Middle East and poverty elsewhere began to
pour into Europe.
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