To outsiders, Diavata may seem like a sleepy village tucked in the rolling hills and bucolic landscape beyond Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. But it's actually a flashpoint of nationalism, packed with far-right groups bent on keeping Greece for Greeks only.

Just years ago and at the height of Europe's refugee crisis, violent demonstrations emerged out of the region as authorities moved to set up some of the nation's first migrant camps.

Then, months later, locals in surrounding districts kept their kids home, padlocking the gates of state schools to block migrant children from seeking education in Greek classrooms.

Now, nationalists in Diavata are organizing an all-you-can-eat pork-and-booze-fest, with wafting smells of grilled pork and wine, next to the area's mostly Muslim refugee camp.

A former military camp in Diavata has been hosting refugees since 2016

No more warm welcome

Pork and alcohol are strictly forbidden in Islam. "It's a new and innovative protest to show our opposition to continued inflows of illegal migrants," says Dimitris Ziambazis, the head organizer and leader of the nationalist United Macedonians group. "This situation cannot continue."

"Our homes and communities are turning into ghettos, and we will not stand for it," he adds.

Greece is a predominantly Orthodox Christian state, and as large numbers of Muslim migrants have entered the country, Ziambazis and thousands of Greek nationalists have labeled Islam a "dire threat."

"It is high time authorities wake up and realize what's really happening here," warns Ziambazis.

Leftist parliamentarians and human rights groups have condemned the provocative protest, set for Sunday. They say it bodes badly for a country that just decades ago welcomed more than 600,000 Albanians, who are majority Muslim, allowing them to assimilate and start a new life here.

But it seems Greece's ancient tradition of hospitality to strangers is dying out fast.

At the height of the 2015-2016 refugee crisis, some 60,000 refugees, mainly from Syria, were left stranded in the country as neighboring Balkan states threw up steel walls and fences to block their passage to the heart of Europe. Athens agreed to take in the stranded refugees.

Tens of thousands of refugees arrived in Greece in 2015, such as the ones above reaching the isle of Lesbos

More recently, over 55,000 asylum-seekers have arrived from Turkey since the start of this year, with monthly entries rocketing from 1,486 in February to 10,551 in September, according to UN data.

Read more: Refugees in an 'enemy country': Exiled Turks in Thessaloniki

This new influx of mainly Muslim asylum-seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan is being met with increasing hostility. Government plans to relocate thousands of refugees to the Greek mainland and other parts of the country to ease overcrowded migrant camps on a host of Aegean islands are being challenged.

Just this week, mobs of angry protesters in Giannitsa, another city in northern Greece, took to the streets, blocking buses that had been charted by the state to resettle hundreds of migrants and their families. On the Aegean island of Kos, the mayor led hundreds of locals in a march to barricade the port and block hundreds of migrants from being shipped there. And on another tiny island, Leros, local leaders took to the streets, vowing to evict migrants living on side streets and in abandoned homes if the government fails to act.

Watch video 03:35 Share Moria mayor appeals for help Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3Qi1v Migrant camp buckles under huge number of arrivals

New government, new migration policy

Unlike the open-arms migration policy embraced by the previous leftist government, the newly installed conservative administration of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is marshaling a tougher stance.

It has vowed to deport some 10,000 migrants back to their homelands by the end of the year. The government has also pulled the plug on free hospital health care for migrants. Most recently, parliament pushed through new asylum regulations that make it tougher for refugees to seek safe haven here.

Listen to audio 04:17 Share Greeks protest migrant transfers Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3Scl5 Inside Europe: Greeks protest migrant transfers

But the government's new approach to immigration has given rise to huge public debate, dividing even Mitsotakis' own government.It has also underscored centuries of lingering Greek unease and resentment. The country traditionally links Islam to its 400-year domination by the Ottomans and its historic enemy, Turkey.

Politicians have weighed in loudly. "Greeks shouldn't have to adapt their way of life to accommodate immigrants," Konstantinos Kyranakis roared from the backbenches of parliament this week, in a heated exchange over the Diavata cookout. The lawmaker, among the prime minister's closest advisers, later doubled down and posted a picture on Facebook featuring himself and friends eating pork and drinking beer.

Weeks prior, another conservative lawmaker, Constantinos Bogdanos, made a blunter assertion. He said record inflows of refugees entering Greece "bore the hallmarks of an enemy invasion," and that Western civilization was at "serious risk of being diluted" by symptoms of so-called creeping Sharia, including women wearing headscarves and mosques.

Read more: Transgender refugees in Greece reclaim their dignity

Migrants and refugees have protested the government's new tough migration policy

Is the government providing cover?

Critics warn that Greece's hard-line shift in migration could feed into the hands of reactionary forces, giving nationalist groupings like the one in Diavata cover to target and intimidate migrants.

Police and government officials contacted this week insist they will challenge hate crimes or any form of violent action against migrants. Ahead of Sunday's barbecue, authorities in Diavata are already mobilizing forces to fend off potential attacks.

Nonetheless, human rights experts say Greek actions against the social inclusion of Muslims pale in comparison to the intensity of violent cases recorded elsewhere in the European Union. In the German city of Leipzig, for example, far-right extremists recently sent death and arson threats to day care centers that had announced plans to remove pork from their menus.

'A huge disconnect'

Police freed 41 migrants from inside a refrigerated truck on November 4

Despite rising Greek animosity, migrants continue to arrive. Just this week, police found 41 people alive in a refrigerated truck that they had stopped in northern Greece after it illegally transported the individuals over the border from Turkey.

Athens had previously warned that the country would face a new humanitarian crisis if refugee numbers grew to over 100,000 — a count registered by authorities this week.

"It's no longer just about numbers," said Manolis Kottakis, a leading political analyst. "There is a huge disconnect between the veneer of ongoing efforts to accommodate these people and local societies that are boiling in opposition."

"It has to be addressed," he said — otherwise Diavata may just be the start.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits A view from above Moria refugee camp has a capacity of 3,000. Currently, some 14,500 refugees are squeezed into the infamous refugee camp, Greece's largest reception and identification center.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits Deep wounds A large majority of those who live in Moria have been deemed as vulnerable and are in need of immediate medical assistance. This girl from Gaza, who lives with her family in a tent in the olive grove outside Moria, was severely injured when an Israeli rocket hit her home.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits A false dawn? In August more than 2,800 people arrived in dinghies on the island of Lesbos. A boat carrying 40 people was brought into the port of Skala Sikamineas after it was intercepted by Frontex, the EU's border agency. Eight women and 18 children, including five unaccompanied minors, were on board along with 14 men, all from Afghanistan.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits The wait begins After the women and children have been transferred to a transit camp, 18 men wait to be taken away to the same camp by the authorities. Volunteers with the NGO Lighthouse relief assist the authorities in providing food and water to those who have recently arrived.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits Keeping the tradition alive An Afghan woman makes bread in a makeshift underground oven which she then sells for €1 ($1.10) to other refugees. Due to deteriorating conditions and food provisions that are below standard quality many refugees who remain for long in the camp of Moria have found new ways to pass the day and remember home.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits A soothing hand Countless refugees need urgent medical attention. Doctors without Borders operate an emergency clinic opposite Moria for the most urgent cases, as the main camp currently only has one doctor and the hospital of Mytilene is overwhelmed and in some cases unwilling to treat refugees.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits Discarded dreams A "graveyard" of life jackets and boats on the island's north is a stark reminder of the last huge influx of refugees in 2015/16. Lesbos has been at the center of the refugee crisis for years as thousands of people have landed on its shores. Currently there are more than 11,000 refugees spread across the islands. That number is expected to rise sharply by the end of the year.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits Monotonous routine Waiting in line has become the main daily activity for those stuck in Moria limbo — even for children. Some wait for hours in order to receive food and water.

Moria refugee camp: A new kind of hell awaits From the frying pan into the fire A group of refugees prepares to board a ship which will take them to mainland Greece. After the sudden arrival of 600 people in one night, the Greek government decided to transfer 1,400 people to the mainland. Most were taken to the camp of Nea Kavala in a remote village in northern Greece. Author: Dimitris Tosidis (Moira refugee camp)



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