Published : 19-10-2019
Dozens of Palestinian refugees from Syria and Gaza have rallied on the Greek island of Samos, protesting the slow pace of asylum procedures and delays in the transfer of refugees from the island to Greek mainland after their tents were burned down.
The migrants have railed against the dire living conditions they have been facing on the island, saying the situation has gone worse as a result of the increasing migrant influx, particularly by refugees from Afghanistan.
Last week, a number of migrants were injured and another killed in a clash between asylum-seekers in a refugee camp set on the Greek island of Samos. The violence, apparently between groups of Syrians and Afghans, erupted in a camp pitched in the town of Vathy. A fire later broke out around the camp, resulting in heavy material damage.
"Half of the 6,000 people who are stuck in Vathy camp on Samos are women and children," medical charity MSF said in a tweet. "This nightmare must end! Children and other vulnerable people must be evacuated from the Greek islands to safe accommodation."
Despite efforts to relocate people to the Greek mainland, there are thousands of migrants and refugees in camps on Aegean islands near Turkey, most of them vastly overcrowded, unhygienic and violence-prone. Scores of asylum-seekers continue to arrive daily.
Dozens of Palestine refugees who fled the relentless Syrian warfare to remote Greek islands have been crammed in refugee camps that have reportedly been running at three times their capacity. Overpopulated refugee camps cause a shortage of resources, not least healthcare.
Last month month, 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.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian and Syrian refugees have flooded across the Mediterranean and into Greece over the past few years, counting on being relocated elsewhere in Europe as part of an E.U. plan to redistribute the asylum seekers to lighten the burden on the countries at the front lines of Europe’s migrant crisis.
AGPS has kept record of the death of dozens of refugees onboard Greece-bound ships. Several others have been rounded up by Turkish coast guards.
Activists estimate that around 4,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are taking cover in such Greek islands as Lesbos, Mytilene, Chios, Leros, and Kos, among other areas in Greece.
Dozens of Palestinian refugees from Syria and Gaza have rallied on the Greek island of Samos, protesting the slow pace of asylum procedures and delays in the transfer of refugees from the island to Greek mainland after their tents were burned down.
The migrants have railed against the dire living conditions they have been facing on the island, saying the situation has gone worse as a result of the increasing migrant influx, particularly by refugees from Afghanistan.
Last week, a number of migrants were injured and another killed in a clash between asylum-seekers in a refugee camp set on the Greek island of Samos. The violence, apparently between groups of Syrians and Afghans, erupted in a camp pitched in the town of Vathy. A fire later broke out around the camp, resulting in heavy material damage.
"Half of the 6,000 people who are stuck in Vathy camp on Samos are women and children," medical charity MSF said in a tweet. "This nightmare must end! Children and other vulnerable people must be evacuated from the Greek islands to safe accommodation."
Despite efforts to relocate people to the Greek mainland, there are thousands of migrants and refugees in camps on Aegean islands near Turkey, most of them vastly overcrowded, unhygienic and violence-prone. Scores of asylum-seekers continue to arrive daily.
Dozens of Palestine refugees who fled the relentless Syrian warfare to remote Greek islands have been crammed in refugee camps that have reportedly been running at three times their capacity. Overpopulated refugee camps cause a shortage of resources, not least healthcare.
Last month month, 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.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian and Syrian refugees have flooded across the Mediterranean and into Greece over the past few years, counting on being relocated elsewhere in Europe as part of an E.U. plan to redistribute the asylum seekers to lighten the burden on the countries at the front lines of Europe’s migrant crisis.
AGPS has kept record of the death of dozens of refugees onboard Greece-bound ships. Several others have been rounded up by Turkish coast guards.
Activists estimate that around 4,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are taking cover in such Greek islands as Lesbos, Mytilene, Chios, Leros, and Kos, among other areas in Greece.
