(AFP) Thousands of residents on Greek islands hosting large migrant camps kicked off a day of protests on Wednesday, demanding the immediate removal of asylum seekers.
The islanders of Lesbos, Samos and Chios staged a general strike, shutting down shops and public services and rallying in central squares, many waving Greek flags.
Packing the waterfront of Lesbos harbour, the protesters chanted: “Our islands are not prisons. Shut down all the camps now.”
“Soon we will be a minority on our own island,” said Vassiliki Ververi, a Lesbos resident.
“It’s Greece and the islands that are paying the price of migration,” she told AFP.
