Feature: Greeks send message of solidarity with refugees in donation drive

Despite six years of recession and tough austerity measures, Greek citizens have not turned their backs on stranded migrants and refugees who have been trapped in the country and cannot continue their journey to western Europe due to border restrictions along the Balkan route.

More than 12,000 people responded to the call of the NGO "Social Solidarity Network" in Athens on Sunday to donate goods to assist refugees, with compassion prevailing once more time in the debt-ridden country.

Syntagma square in the center of the Greek capital transformed until late in the evening into a big open warehouse where priority items were gathered for refugees. The response to the event, which was organized through social media, came as a surprise to the network as well.

"The response of people was overwhelming. They kept arriving with bags in their hands throughout the day. More than 200 volunteers were in the area to help them," a volunteer member of the network told Xinhua on Monday.

Elders and young couples with babies in prams, even people in wheelchairs, went to the meeting point to contribute to the donation drive.

A chain of volunteers sorted through all the goods gathered, from sleeping bags and rain gear, to baby carriers and blankets.

Social Solidarity Network had posted on social media a detailed list with first-aid necessities such as gauze and tongue depressors, as well as basic medicines, disposable cutlery and food containers to be distributed to two refugee reception centers set up recently at Piraeus Port and at the former Athens airport premises at Ellinikon on the capital's southern coast.

"Bankrupt Greece shows its humanity, but where is Europe?" 55-year-old Katerina wondered as she donated clothes and blankets for the refugees.

Dimitris, who came with his friend after seeing a post on social media, left a bag with six kilos of pasta and rice.

"It is the least we can do for these people who had to leave their country due to war and start over again putting theirs and their children's lives into danger for a better future. We should all have a chance to a better life," he told Xinhua.

Anna Theologitou, 75, donated a small portion of her pension to help the refugees and the people in need.

"Greeks are particularly sensitive to the suffering of this fragile group, because we know from our parents and grandparents what being a refugee means. Thousands of Greek families have experienced this pain in the past. In 1923, Greeks in Minor Asia had to leave their homes and relocate to Greece due to the war. And later on, several Greeks migrated to Germany, America, or Australia to find a job and a better future for their family," she explained a few hours ahead of the EU-Turkey summit in Brussels that will decide the fate of thousands of refugees and migrants today.

Greece has been under increasing pressure in recent months to stem the influx of people arriving from Turkey, in addition to handling the other thorny issue -- its debt crisis.

More than 30,000 people have been stuck in Greece over the past three weeks, according to official estimates by the Greek government.

Over 14,000 people are waiting to enter the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) at the Idomeni border crossing, 3,500 migrants and refugees are housed in Piraeus port terminals and another 15,000 in various hospitality facilities across Greece.

Meanwhile, the flows from Turkey to the Greek islands stand at approximately 1,000 people on average every day, according to the latest data from the Greek Coast Guard.

As the government steps up efforts to find accommodation for the refugees, Greek deputy migration minister Yannis Mouzalas predicts that the number of people stranded in Greece could exceed 70,000 by April. Endit