'I'd rather die than be sent to Turkey' — Why Pakistani migrants prefer Greece's hellish camps
The Greek island of Lesbos is in full bloom during these spring days. The sun has warmed the Aegean Sea to swimming temperature.
By the port of Mytilene, I saw two young Pakistani men wash themselves in the salty seawater, before returning to the squatter camp where they have been living for the last few weeks.
I’ve been covering the story of migration to Europe for more than five years, but somehow, the Pakistani migrant workers in Greece feels like the last chapter.
Also read: Pakistanis among 200 migrants deported to Turkey by Greece
Arrivals have nearly come to a halt and these economic migrants are stuck all over Greece and former Yugoslavia, feeling increasingly desperate as they begin to realise their fate.
They are not getting to Germany or the UK anytime soon. The EU has decided instead to send economic migrants to Turkey from Greece as part of a deal struck last month.