Tensions rise between Greeks and refugees

The mutilated rabbit on the doorstep was the latest warning. A fortnight of menacing incidents, including a smash-and-grab break-in and glue in the locks, culminated this week with the dead animal left in front of the building. The message was clear: the refugee kitchen was not welcome in Chios.

The Greek island of 50,000 has hosted about 2,500 asylum seekers since the EU in March signed its refugee deal with Turkey, and tempers are fraying. A tranquil place of mastic trees and secluded beaches, Chios has become a cauldron of frustration for locals and migrants alike.

None more so than in the village of Chalkios, home to the Basque-run refugee kitchen and minutes from the Vial asylum camp, set up in an old factory among olive groves.

“The intimidation is increasing day by day. A lot of people from the village hate us,” says Daniel Rivas of the Zaporeak-Sabores kitchen, run by Spanish volunteers and turning out 1,400 meals a day. “At the beginning the Greeks were helping. They’re not fascists or anything. But they’re not with the refugees like before. They’re against them now.”