UN refugee chief says Greece is feeling strain

Migrants make their way among tents at a makeshift camp for refugees and migrants next to the Moria camp following rainfall, on the island of Lesbos, November 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

Frontline state Greece is feeling the strain of hosting thousands of migrants in camps and Europe must come up with a policy to ease the crisis, the United Nations senior refugee official said on Thursday.

Conditions in the huge open-air camp on the island of Lesbos were "extremely disturbing," said Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on a visit to Greece.

He also expressed misgivings about recent changes that Athens had made to its legal framework for granting asylum.

"Patience and hospitality is now less visible than before," said Grandi.

On Wednesday, he visited Moria, a camp built for up to 3,000 people but now accommodating more than 15,000.

Migrants and refugees are seen on an inflatable boat during a rescue operation by the Turkish Coast Guard on the Aegean Sea between the Turkish resort town of Bodrum and the Greek island of Kos, November 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

"Conditions in which people live are extremely disturbing. There is a big sense of despair and a lack of prospects makes the situation difficult," Grandi said.

Greece's new conservative government, elected in July, has taken a tougher stance to the migrant crisis compared to its leftist predecessor.

It says that a chaotic response by the Syriza administration contributed to overcrowding on the islands and virtually adopted an "open door" policy toward arrivals. It has also classed most recent arrivals as economic migrants rather than refugees.

The main gateway into the European Union for more than a million people fleeing conflict in 2015-16, Greece continues to be on the frontline of Europe's migration crisis and has seen a resurgence of arrivals via Turkey in recent months.

Athens has announced plans to shut overcrowded refugee camps on Aegean islands and replace them with holding centers to process new arrivals.

(From left to right) Italy's Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese, European Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, Malta's Interior Minister Michael Farrugia, Finland's Interior Minister, Maria Ohisalo and Germany's Interior Minister Horst Seehofer address a press conference following a meeting of Interior ministers from four EU countries, France, Germany, Italy and Malta at Fort St. Angelo in Birgu, September 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

"I made clear to the government that UNHCR policy is against detaining asylum seekers," Grandi said.

Athens wants to move up to 20,000 people to the mainland by the end of the year, expecting the new facilities to be ready by July 2020.

Greece has repeatedly called for a cohesive policy from its European Union partners for an equitable distribution of challenges from the refugee and migration crisis.

"Europe has to get its act together," Grandi said.

The new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has promised to present a proposal for a revamp of the EU's migration policies next spring.

Source(s): Reuters