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Nikos Vourexakis, owner of the harbour-front Premiera restaurant, watches the crowds outside of city hall, but he’s thinking about refugees.

“What we gonna do about all these people?” he asks. During the day, tourists pedal along the bike path opposite the Premiera, passing the refugees by. At night, the refugees sleep on the benches around the restaurant patio, on the harbour in front of it, and underneath an olive tree planted in the middle.

“Everybody in the world has to do something about [the crisis], even Canada.” The country has helped the world before, he says. “Canada has done a lot of things. Please, do one more thing. Help us.”

Next door at the press conference following the European Commission’s meeting with Kos officials and NGOs, First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans calls the refugee crisis “a global challenge that requires European solutions.”

When Timmermans is asked if a global crisis also requires more resettlement and rescue solutions from Canada, in light of the fact that the Kurdi family hoped to reunite with family there, he notes that he has great affection for Canada but that he would like it to share more responsibility with Europe.

“We’re not in a position as Europeans to tell others what to they need to do,” he acknowledges. “We need to get our own act together. But the obvious answer to your question is ‘yes.’ Syrians deserve refuge all over the world, given the situation they are in now in their own country. If you look at applications from Syrians, more than 90 per cent of applications are met with ‘yes’ by the authorities in Europe … And yes, it would be great if other nations would take also a greater responsibility in that.”