(AFP) As the sun dips into the wetlands of northeastern Evros, Greece’s river border with Turkey, two Greek guards climb into a boat to begin their daily lookout for irregular migrants.
Siren blaring, and with flamingos flying overhead, the guards sail past the remains of prior crossings — plastic dinghies, slashed and abandoned on small sand islets in the middle of the river.
This area is where the Greek state has chosen to deploy a new anti-migration arsenal of measures, including cameras, radar and a 40-kilometre (25-mile) steel fence over five metres (16 feet) high.
“An automated border system with thermal cameras and sensors is under construction and near completion to cover the entire border, from the Evros delta to the Bulgarian border,” Dimosthenis Kamargios, a police officer in the area’s border and migration management centre, told AFP.
