“An end to the anti-immigrant hysteria in Greece and in Europe,” SYRIZA-PS calls for in a statement, on the occasion of the shipwreck off the coast of Samos.

In its announcement, SYRIZA states: “Eight of our fellow human beings, including 6 minor children, lost their lives today in the waters of the Aegean, in yet another tragic refugee shipwreck, whose circumstances are still being investigated, near the coast of Samos. Beyond the obvious sadness caused by the news, we must point out that the cause of such tragedies is nothing but the (anti)refugee policy of the European Union as a whole and of the Greek government in particular. As long as safe passageways are not opened for people fleeing war and all kinds of persecution, as long as Europe erects fences and applies proven inhuman tactics of pushbacks, as is happening in the Aegean, the more it will push refugees and immigrants deeper and deeper in traffickers’ nets and on even more dangerous routes with tragic results like today’s, very dead shipwreck. There is an urgent need to put an end to the anti-immigrant hysteria, orchestrated by the far-right and readily adopted by right-wing parties across Europe – among them, of course, New Democracy – out of concern for their electoral audience. It is the duty of every progressive party and every progressive citizen to bring solidarity and, ultimately, humanity back to the fore.”

In closing, he turns his fire against the government, arguing that “The Mitsotakis governments have a proven track record in managing immigration – from pushbacks to Pylos. Crocodile tears are unnecessary.”