According to the detailed report by Aboutpeople, which conducted the research on behalf of VouliWatch, a total of six in 10 Greeks thought there were currently more than 100,000 refugees in the country. Half of those participants said they believed the number was larger than 200,000, although official data showed that less than 62,000 were actually in Greece. The figures were released on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimina tion of Racial Discrimination, commemorated annually on March 21. According to the report, 72.8 percent said refugee children should be granted access to Greek schools, while 60.1 percent said young refugees should join Greek pupils in classes. On the housing issue, a total of 55.7 percent of respondents said refugees who were currently trapped in camps for an extended period of time should be moved into temporary apartments. Thirty five percent said they should stay in the camps. Over 60 percentt said they did not mind if refugee families moved into their apartment building. "The first undeniable conclusion is that Greek citizens are starting to have a realistic view of refugees and, more specifically, what it means to have them living next to us in our cities and not isolated in camps," Andreas Takis, assistant law professor at Thessaloniki's Aristotle University and a former general secretary for migration policy, told reporters. Turkish camps 'below eu standards' Meanwhile,  Turkish activist Deman Guler supported claims by migrant rights groups in Greece that conditions at similar refugee camps in Turkey, home to some 3 million migrants, were well below European standards. "Many pre-departure centers have similar conditions to what you might find in some prisons. Refugees are stuck in a room for 23 hours a day, there are no interpreters and there have been many problems with demands for legal representation," Guler, a member of the nongovernmental Lawyers for Freedom organization, said following a recent visit to the Greek island of Lesbos. In a related development, Greece's Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, is expected to rule on whether Turkey can be considered safe for returned refugees within the month.

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