EU President Tusk Urges More Solidarity With Refugees Amid Tragedy

(Vatican Radio)The top leader of the European Union, Donald Tusk, has urged the global community to show solidarity towards refugees and says Europe's biggest refugee crisis since World War Two is is a global problem. His remarks came after the Italian navy said at least 5 people died and hundreds of others narrowly escaped drowning after their smugglers’ boat capsized in the southern Mediterranean and Greek police evacuated more refugees from an overcrowded camp near Macedonia. 

Stefan Bos reports

Tusk, the president of the EU's European Council, told reporters at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan that he would seek support and commitment from the seven most developed economies to increasing global assistance for the immediate and long-term needs of refugees.

He said he was aware "that because of geography, most of the responsibility regarding the refugee crisis" will be on Europe. "However we would also like the global community to show solidarity and recognize the fact that this is a global crisis." he said.  "Therefore we will seek the support of our G7 partners in three dimensions. First to commit to increase global assistance so that the immediate and long term needs of refugees and...communities are met."   

The G7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

His call for solidarity came while the Italian navy said it had managed to save about 550 people after their smugglers boat capsized in the southern Mediterranean.

DRAMATIC PHOTO'S

Dramatic photo's showed that their their boat – a repurposed trawler – tipped over, throwing those on deck into the water. At least a handful of people reportedly died in the incident.

Yet for survivors the future remains uncertain. In Greece, riot police have begun to evacuate thousands of people staying in the Idomeni refugee camp near Macedonia. Some Syrians were allowed to leave on foot.

The camp in Idomeni doesn't have water or food. It has nothing," a Syrian man said while walking with his family to an uncertain destination. "The police everytime says: 'Go out, go back, go back, go back, go back, go back!. If you don't go back I fight against you'," he added.

A desperate Muslim woman said: "We need a good life. Not this life. This life is the life for animals. This is not human. Where are the human rights? Where is [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel? Where is Europe? I think there is nothing," she complained.    

Further away she and others don't have to expect solidarity in countries such as Hungary: A new opinion poll shows four out of five Hungarian voters are against an EU plan to redistribute as many as 160.000 refugees among EU member states. The poll was held ahead of a government-initiated referendum on the quota system, later this year.