Published : 10-10-2019
A navy ship carrying around 500 refugees and migrants, including 65 Palestinians from Syria, from the southeast Aegean island of Symi docked at the Greek capital’s Piraeus port on Tuesday morning.
The operation to transfer the migrants to the mainland came in response to an appeal from Symi Mayor Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, who said that his island is unequipped to deal with a surge in arrivals from Turkey.
Symi does not have facilities to house migrants and asylum-seekers, which means that dozens of people were having to sleep in tents or in the open air outside the island’s police station and port authority, as well as in public squares and streets.
It was not clear where the refugees and migrants were being transferred after reaching the mainland.
Over recent months, displaced Palestinian families in Greece-based refugee camps have expressed concerns over their fate as a freezing winter season has been around the corner, denouncing the absence of vital services, including health care, housing, relief assistance, and power and water.
In recent years, Greek refugee camps have reportedly been running at three times their capacity. Overpopulated refugee camps cause a shortage of resources, not least healthcare.
Last month, the UNICEF warned that the number of unaccompanied migrant minors staying in overcrowded reception centers on the Greek islands exceeds 1,100, the highest level since the peak of the refugee crisis in early 2016, calling on European countries to do more to protect vulnerable children.
Palestinian refugees from Syria continue to risk their lives onboard the “death boats” to Greece, rummaging around for a momentary respite from the daily scenes of bloodshed and destruction.
AGPS has kept record of the death of dozens of refugees onboard Greece-bound ships. Several others have been arrested by Turkish coast guards.
Activists estimate that around 4,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are taking cover on such Greek islands as Lesbos, Mytilene, Chios, Leros, and Kos, among other areas.
A navy ship carrying around 500 refugees and migrants, including 65 Palestinians from Syria, from the southeast Aegean island of Symi docked at the Greek capital’s Piraeus port on Tuesday morning.
The operation to transfer the migrants to the mainland came in response to an appeal from Symi Mayor Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, who said that his island is unequipped to deal with a surge in arrivals from Turkey.
Symi does not have facilities to house migrants and asylum-seekers, which means that dozens of people were having to sleep in tents or in the open air outside the island’s police station and port authority, as well as in public squares and streets.
It was not clear where the refugees and migrants were being transferred after reaching the mainland.
Over recent months, displaced Palestinian families in Greece-based refugee camps have expressed concerns over their fate as a freezing winter season has been around the corner, denouncing the absence of vital services, including health care, housing, relief assistance, and power and water.
In recent years, Greek refugee camps have reportedly been running at three times their capacity. Overpopulated refugee camps cause a shortage of resources, not least healthcare.
Last month, the UNICEF warned that the number of unaccompanied migrant minors staying in overcrowded reception centers on the Greek islands exceeds 1,100, the highest level since the peak of the refugee crisis in early 2016, calling on European countries to do more to protect vulnerable children.
Palestinian refugees from Syria continue to risk their lives onboard the “death boats” to Greece, rummaging around for a momentary respite from the daily scenes of bloodshed and destruction.
AGPS has kept record of the death of dozens of refugees onboard Greece-bound ships. Several others have been arrested by Turkish coast guards.
Activists estimate that around 4,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are taking cover on such Greek islands as Lesbos, Mytilene, Chios, Leros, and Kos, among other areas.
