Migrants stranded on Greek islands attempt to swim back to Turkey

Refugees and migrants who feel trapped on Greek islands have started to try to swim back to Turkey due to the protracted asylum application process, along with the unbearable living conditions, which the Greek government has so far been unable to improve.

According to the Chios coast guard, four Pakistani migrants left the Souda camp and tried to reach the Turkish town of Çesme in the western province of İzmir 26 kilometers away but were captured by the Greek coast guard and returned to the island.

In addition the four Pakistanis, who have been waiting for borders to open for 90 days, two other migrants made the same attempt on Tuesday.

More than 2,000 refugees and migrants live in the three refugee camps in Souda, Vial and the municipal theater in Chios in insufficient and crowded conditions. Two new arrivals were recorded in the last 24 hours on Chios and five more on the island of Samos, according to Greek authorities.

Doctors of the World said on Tuesday that the ongoing tensions, considering the living conditions at the camps, are understandable and the island has to be decongested as soon as possible.

"All camps are overcrowded, and despite things being stable for now, the island needs to be decongested if it is to receive people again," Doctors of the World spokeswoman Maria Lavida said.

The Greek Aegean islands have been the main gateways to Europe for migrants for the last two years. Since 2015, slightly less than 1 million refugees and migrants entered Greece by sea, according to United Nations refugee agency data.

The rate of arrivals has significantly dropped since March 20 when the EU and Turkey struck an agreement to discourage irregular migration on the Aegean Sea and to develop a mechanism to resettle Syrian refugees from Turkey in the EU.

The agreement includes returning migrants who were refused asylum in Greece to towns in western Turkey in exchange for resettling Syrian refugees from camps in southeastern Turkey in EU countries such as Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. The deal stipulates 6 billion euros in aid to Ankara for the care of Syrian refugees in the country, who number more than 2.7 million.