Netherlands sending medical assistance to Greece for refugees

The Netherlands is sending medical facilities, assistance and equipment to Greece to help out with the many asylum seekers in the country. The Greek government asked for help last week. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation will soon be sending necessary equipment to Greece to provide adequate medical and first aid to the tens of thousands of asylum seekers who are stranded in different parts of the country. The aid will consist of nine mobile clinics, each equipped with two vehicles, a generator, tents and medical supplies. There will also be extra sleeping bags, blankets and sheets, as the Greek government requested. Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs calls the aid very necessary. "It is also proof we are not letting Greece stand alone in this crisis, which weighs so heavily on the country. I think it is important that there is European humanitarian aid for Greece. We must help the refugees stranded there and assist the Greeks in the great effort they have to make." he said. Minister Lilianne Ploumen of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation agrees. "We already provided assistance in recent months in Greece and the Balkan countries with camp beds, light poles and sleeping bags", she said. "The Netherlands is making this new donation at the request of the Greek government, and I hope that other EU Member States will follow. We can not leave these people out in the cold."