Dreams of Europe - Greece
2010-02-10At the border between Greece and Turkey a new EU cooperation on joint border control is emerging at a furious pace. During the fall about 20 Swedes got involved in the guard along with officials from 21 other EU countries. Soon, the authorities may be responsible for chartering flights to send home "illegal immigrants". By the greek island of Samos the narrowest point between Greece and Turkey is only of 800 hundred meters. In a speedboat smugglers can travel back and forth in five minutes. But the criminals are afraid of being arrested - and sentenced to a high imprisonment. The most common approach is to let the migrants themselves pass the overloaded inflatable boats. When migrants are detected by the Coast Guard, which monitors the strait with infrared cameras and a large electronic binoculars, the immigrants cut holes in the canvas of the small boats so that they have to be rescued and taken into custody by the greek authorities.



