Published : 24-10-2021
Greece's migration ministry has rejected claims from NGOs that refugees and migrants residing in camps across the country have been deprived of food. This comes after UNHCR handed over the cash assistance program to Greek authorities.
A group of 26 NGOs active in Greece released a statement on Monday (October 18), saying that many migrants and refugees in camps go hungry.
They called on the Greek government and the European Commission to ensure immediate access to food for people residing in facilities run by the migration ministry "regardless of their legal status." They also demanded of the government "to restore financial assistance to asylum seekers and recognized refugees."
The NGOs said that pregnant women, single-parent families, children and the chronically ill people are among those affected.
36,000 asylum seekers eligible to receive cash benefits have not received their money following a handover of the program from UN refugee agency UNHCR to Greek authorities on October 1, according to the NGOs.
Instead of money, these people "have been receiving portions of food, reportedly of very poor quality and often not fully cooked," the NGOs claimed.
The NGOs also said that "in some places food is not even provided to those who have been quarantined due to the coronavirus". Moreover, they estimated that 60% of migrants and refugees living in camps on the Greek mainland had not received food.
Among the NGOs that signed the statement where prominent organizations such as the Greek Council for Refugees, Intersos, the International Rescue Committee, Lesvos Legal Center and the Greek branch of Terre des Hommes.
Earlier this month, Palestinian refugees and other migrants from the Nea Kavala camp in northern Greece protested against a rule that bans people with a rejected asylum case as well as recognized refugees from accessing food distribution points.
Greece's migration ministry has rejected claims from NGOs that refugees and migrants residing in camps across the country have been deprived of food. This comes after UNHCR handed over the cash assistance program to Greek authorities.
A group of 26 NGOs active in Greece released a statement on Monday (October 18), saying that many migrants and refugees in camps go hungry.
They called on the Greek government and the European Commission to ensure immediate access to food for people residing in facilities run by the migration ministry "regardless of their legal status." They also demanded of the government "to restore financial assistance to asylum seekers and recognized refugees."
The NGOs said that pregnant women, single-parent families, children and the chronically ill people are among those affected.
36,000 asylum seekers eligible to receive cash benefits have not received their money following a handover of the program from UN refugee agency UNHCR to Greek authorities on October 1, according to the NGOs.
Instead of money, these people "have been receiving portions of food, reportedly of very poor quality and often not fully cooked," the NGOs claimed.
The NGOs also said that "in some places food is not even provided to those who have been quarantined due to the coronavirus". Moreover, they estimated that 60% of migrants and refugees living in camps on the Greek mainland had not received food.
Among the NGOs that signed the statement where prominent organizations such as the Greek Council for Refugees, Intersos, the International Rescue Committee, Lesvos Legal Center and the Greek branch of Terre des Hommes.
Earlier this month, Palestinian refugees and other migrants from the Nea Kavala camp in northern Greece protested against a rule that bans people with a rejected asylum case as well as recognized refugees from accessing food distribution points.
