Feeling Abandoned by Europe, Greece Hardens Migration Policy

Feeling Abandoned by Europe, Greece Hardens Migration Policy
A boy plays next to a newly built concrete wall inside the Ritsona camp for refugees and migrants, in Greece, on June 15, 2021. Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters
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RITSONA, Greece—With walled camps and tougher border controls, Greece is hardening its approach ahead of summer when migrant arrivals pick up, defying criticism from aid groups and saying it has little choice given a lack of support from the rest of Europe.

The squalid conditions facing many asylum-seekers were laid bare last year when a fire devastated the sprawling Moria camp on Lesbos, and Greece has denied repeated accusations that its coast guard vessels have pushed back migrant boats as they entered Greek waters from Turkey.