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Add to Preferred SourcesUNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling on Greece to urgently move thousands of asylum-seekers out of dangerously overcrowded reception centres on the Greek Aegean islands.
Sea arrivals in September, mostly of Afghan and Syrian families, increased to 10,258 – the highest monthly level since 2016 – worsening conditions on the islands which now host 30,000 asylum-seekers.
The situation on Lesvos, Samos and Kos is critical. The Moria centre on Lesvos is already at five times its capacity with 12,600 people.
On Samos, the Vathy reception centre houses 5,500 people – eight times its capacity. Most sleep in tents with little access to latrines, clean water, or medical care. Conditions have also deteriorated sharply on Kos, where 3,000 people are staying in a space for 700.
Keeping people on the islands in these inadequate and insecure conditions is inhumane and must come to an end.
“Urgent steps are needed and we urge the Greek authorities to fast-track plans to transfer over 5,000 asylum-seekers already authorized to continue their asylum procedure on the mainland. In parallel, new accommodation places must be provided to prevent pressure from the islands spilling over into mainland Greece, where most sites are operating at capacity. UNHCR will continue to support transfers to the mainland in October at the request of the government,” said UNHCR spokesperson Liz Throssell.
The plight of unaccompanied children, who overall number more than 4,400, is particularly worrying, with only one in four in a shelter appropriate for their age.
Given the extremely risky and potentially abusive conditions faced by unaccompanied children, UNHCR appeals to the European States to open up places for their relocation as a matter of priority and speed up transfers for children eligible to join family members.
UNHCR is prepared, with the continuous support of the EU and other donors, to expand its support through a cash for shelter scheme which would allow authorized asylum-seekers to move from the islands and establish themselves on the mainland.
Original source: UNHCR
Published on 01 October 2019