'It's a shame': Controversial deal enacted in Greece

'For every Syrian transported by plane to Adana then taken to camps, the same number of Syrians will be sent to Europe.'

Christ has called us to love one another. Saints are renowned for their great love of humanity and their humanitarian efforts. Pope Francis has called for us to open our hearts to the needy, the weary and the broken. Why, then, is the world shunning those who have risked their lives to escape unspeakable terrors across the sea?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Though they have yet to exhaust all possible tactics, Greek and European Union officials have decided to deport all new and existing illegal migrants arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos.

On Monday the first boats ferried 202 Turkish migrants back to their country, even as more arrived soaked and grateful for their lives after the dangerous journey aboard overcrowded boats and flimsy rafts.

Greek officials claim the migrants had not applied for asylum and were therefore deported.

The EU deal with Greece was struck last month and will support a "one in, one out" structure. For every Syrian returned to Turkey, a vetted Syrian refugee would be resettled in Europe. The maximum number is currently set at 72,000 people and the EU will provide billions to help Turkey provide for the migrants within its borders.

Mustafa Toprak, governor of Izmir province, told reporters, "For every Syrian transported by plane to Adana then taken to camps, the same number of Syrians will be sent to Europe."

The first wave of deportations were conducted smoothly but the remaining migrants smell the change in the air - and they're afraid of it.

Migrants stood behind a chain-link fence topped with three rows of razor wire and called to journalists. They complained about the detention camp's conditions and declared their refusal to be returned to Turkey.

Officers were forced to step in to separate the journalists from the fence and the migrants from the other side. The crowd of migrants was broken up and a potential riot was avoided. 

After the EU's deal with Greece was made public, several riots broke out in the camps, particularly between Afghans and Syrians, most of whom fear their deportation.

Giorgos Kyritsis, the Greek government's migration spokesman, explained: "The main objective is to stick a blow to the business model of human trafficking from the Turkish coasts to the Greek islands. 

"The deal aims to convince people that until now were victims of the smugglers, that it is against their interests to risk their lives and pay all this money in order to make it to the Greek islands and that the shortest and the only legal way to get to Europe is to be included in the resettlement program underway in Turkey."

Adrian Ils, a retiree from Cologne, spoke against the deportations, saying: "I can assure you there are many people in Germany who don't agree with the policy of closed borders.

"It's a shame the E.U. cannot find a common policy to share the problem. We need to show our solidarity with desperate people - isn't that what Europe is about?

Whether the deal will make a differences yet to be determined.  Meanwhile, new migrants continue to arrive each day.

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