Greece reopens camps to accommodate more refugees
Greece is being criticized by human rights groups over the living condition of migrants as it struggles to accommodate a growing number of people entering the country.
Greece
Report: Fewer migrants arrive in Europe by sea
The UN agency International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that migrant arrivals in Europe this year dropped significantly from the same period last year, amid the European crisis over the case of migrant-rescue vessel Aquarius.
Female asylum seekers detained with unrelated men in Evros, Greece
Human Rights Watch has called on the Greek authorities to end the "dangerous detention conditions" of women asylum seekers in Evros who are rouitinely confined with unrelated men, putting them at risk of harassment and sexual violence.
No respite at Moria camp as violence erupts again
An overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos has once again witnessed violence between groups of refugees. After Kurdish-Arab tensions rose in late May, clashes between Africans and Syrians have now led to several people being hospitalized.
Balkan states come together to prevent further migrant crisis
A new migrant route has sprung up in the Balkans, and local governments are attempting to stem the flow. Governments in the region want to collaborate more in order to prevent another crisis.
Greece has 'wide disparities' in standards among its migrant detention centers
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published preliminary observations on its ad hoc visit to Greece and migrant detention centers there from April 10 to April 19 of this year. As reported by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), the CPT, "confirmed the persisting reality of wide dispartities in standards across Greece's detention centers."
Kurdish refugees to lose rights for staying away from Moria
Around 1000 Kurdish refugees who fled the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesvos following riots just over a week ago on May 25 have been told they will lose their food and financial allowances as well as they appointments with the asylum service if they do not return to the migrant camp.
Greece: the Perilous River Evros
The flow of refugees into Greece is rising again – not just on the Aegean islands, but mostly along the river Evros, Greece‘s border with Turkey. For many of the people who attempt the crossing, it becomes a deathtrap.
Lesbos mayor blasts state as migrants leave Moria
After violent fighting between migrants at the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos last week, the local mayor has criticized the government's failure to move 900 Kurdish migrants out of the camp into alternative accommodation. Six people were injured in the fights between Kurdish and Arab migrants.
Over 27,000 migrants to Europe by sea in 2018, 636 victims
The UN's International Organization for MIgration (IOM) released data showing that 27,482 migrants and refugees came to Europe by sea in the first 20 weeks of 2018. It said that 38% of that total arrived in Italy and Greece, while 23% arrived in Spain. Arrivals through Mediterranean crossings thus far in 2018 are less than half compared to those over the same period in 2017 (58,921) and less than 15% of the total arrivals in the same period in 2016 (190,977).
Greek campaign launched to help 150 Kurdish refugee minors
A campaign was launched by refugee solidarity groups and local radio stations on Monday to help the struggling volunteers at the Lavrio near Athens care for 150 Kurdish migrant children and their families following the increased influxes of refugees arriving in Greece. The Lavrio Center for Kurdish Refugees (KFPL), which is a small facility on the coast of Attica, is appealing for donations of food, personal hygiene products, and clothing.
Smugglers arrested in Greece over weekend
Greek police said Sunday they had arrested four human traffickers and released 14 migrants being held in a warehouse near the border with Turkey. The previous day, a smuggler and 48 migrants believed to have crossed the Evros river illegally were detained in Western Greece.