Palestinian Refugees on Edge as Greece Decides to Push Back 10,000 Migrants to Turkey

Palestinian Refugees on Edge as Greece Decides to Push Back 10,000 Migrants to Turkey

Concerns have mounted among Palestinian asylum-seekers in Greece after the southeastern European country announced its intent to deport 10,000 migrants to neighboring Turkey.

Greece is predicting up to 100,000 asylum-seekers to arrive on its islands from Turkey in 2020, placing a further strain on its already bursting migrant camps.

In order to ease the crisis, Manos Logothetis, government commissioner for migration, told the German Funk media group on Wednesday that the Greek government wants to deport 10,000 asylum-seekers to Turkey, but to do so the country will need 270 asylum case reviewers.

In addition, the Greek government plans to build new arrival centers on each of the five islands where most migrants arrive after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey.

"The crisis is happening now, and it is serious," said Logothetis.

In the past six months, 45,000 refugees arrived in Greece, leading the government commissioner to say the situation was "clearly more critical" for Greece than the 2015 migrant crisis, at the high point of people fleeing the civil war in Syria.

Currently, there are more than 41,000 people waiting at the infamous camps on the islands such as Moria on Lesbos or Vathy on Samos, according to the Greek government — this is the highest number since the EU-Turkey refugee pact came into force in 2016.

During 2015, migrants passed through Greece on their way to other EU countries, but now they are largely held at the island reception centers that are increasingly beyond capacity. In April 2019, there were still 14,000 migrants living on the island and humanitarian agencies report the situation is drastic.

The decision to deport migrants comes after Greece elected the New Democracy party — it adopted a more hardline approach to migrant arrivals, focusing on deportation and faster decisions over asylum applications.

Thousands of Palestinian refugees have flooded across the Mediterranean and into Greece over the past few years, counting on being relocated in safer places. The list includes hundreds of Palestinian refugees who fled from the war in Syria among other tension-stricken zones and who now live in harsh condition on Greek islands.

Unofficial data by the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria estimates that around 4,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are seeking shelter on such Greek islands as Lesbos, Mytilene, Chios, Leros, and Kos, among other areas in Greece.

Short Link : http://bit.ly/2MfnQXz