At the moment just a rumour, but one that I expected to see. It is backed by news from the BBC.
The message I got is that Macedonia is restricting entry of refugees to the point that the Greek mainland is having trouble coping with the numbers.
As a result it seems that the ferries will limit the numbers coming from the islands. On the islands the refugees are not fed well by governments or the UN, they are fed by local people like Iokasti Nikolaidi or people that volunteer their time there like Ifty Patel and have been for many months.
I understand that boats with refugees found at sea in the Eastern Aegean will be returned to Turkey, which should help reduce the build up on the islands.
Nevertheless the numbers on the Islands are likely to build up – like they did when I was there. As numbers build tensions rise, the locals find it hard to provide enough food for everybody (remember they can only take out 75 Euros from their bank accounts each day).
It looks like they may need urgent help in the near future.
It is also important to make sure the message goes out to the refugees in Turkey – The borders are closed – stay where you are.
My guess is that this could signal an end to the refugee crisis in the Greek Islands, but not without a bumpy few months to come.
My personal feelings are that stopping this route is the right thing to do. 1 in 200 die as they try to cross the Aegean. We cannot continue to allow the criminals in Turkey to make a fortune out of murder. Yes we all know that these are desperate people that are fleeing from horrific situations, but the Merkel Madness approach of telling people that the first million that can run to your country will get in needs to be relegated to history.
The question is what is the alternative? How many years would you want to sit in a tent relying on handouts? Most Syrians I spoke to want to return to their country. The answer is to take real action to stop the war.
In the meantime we need to be much more pro-active at giving the refugees in the enormous camps a feeling of worth, of value. There are enormous groups of young people that need formal education that can be recognised once this war is over. How do we make sure this happens?