LESBOS, GREECE — Greece wants to put up a sea barrier to stop boatloads of refugees and asylum-seekers from reaching its islands.<br /><br />According to the BBC, migrants fleeing persecution and violence in countries like Afghanistan and Syria often try to reach Europe by travelling through Turkey to Greece.<br /><br />Migrant camps on several Greek islands are now overcrowded, but plans to create new ones have only angered residents, who took to the streets to protest them.<br /><br />With arrivals proving hard to manage, Greece is planning to install a floating barrier near the island of Lesbos on the Aegean Sea.<br /><br />According to the Guardian, the 2.7-kilometer long netted barrier will rise from pylons 50 meters above water, and will be equipped with flashing lights.<br />Greece's defense ministry said the budget for the project is 500,000 euros, which includes around four years of maintenance costs.<br /><br />The BBC reports that such barriers rising above sea level will make it difficult for small boats to pass, and may present a problem for propeller-driven vessels.<br /><br />Greek authorities believe a sea barrier will be able to curb flows in a similar manner to the barbed-wire fence built in Evros, along the northern land border with Turkey, in 2012.<br /><br />Amnesty International, meanwhile, criticized Greece's plan, warning that it would only add to the dangers refugees are already facing in their quest for safety.
