A tale of two crises in Greece – coping with economic depression and refugees | Daniel Howden
One hot afternoon this August, the peaceful waters of Vokaria Bay on the Greek island of Chios were disturbed by a jetski as it headed in a straight line for the shore. As well as the noise, swimmers noticed the passenger hanging on behind the driver. Instead of the usual loudly coloured beach shorts he was dressed in shirt sleeves and suit trousers.
Stepping off and thanking his driver, the man trudged up the pebbles to introduce himself to locals in flawless Greek. He was Syrian, he explained, and had studied at Athens law school two decades earlier before returning home where he went on to become a judge. Now in his mid-40s he had lost hope after four years of civil war and fearing for his life, decided to leave.
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