Cyprus has submitted a request for EU member states to take over 5,000 migrants and refugees, as the number of people seeking asylum and protection is quickly rising in the island nation. It has also criticized Turkey in particular for not taking appropriate action.
Cyprus, a peaceful island in the middle of an unstable region and split by a demarcation line not recognized as a border, is seeing rising numbers of migrants entering the island to gain access to the Greek-speaking southern part of the island which is an EU member state. The island’s proximity to Turkey and Lebanon is leading smugglers to offer risky crossings to Syrians.
This is the story of Ahmed H., a Syrian man living in Cyprus since 2006 and married to a Cypriot national. He has two Cypriot-national daughters. Since 2015 he has been detained in Hungary. Now Amnesty International is trying to convince the Cypriot authorities to allow Ahmed to return home.
It only took a few clicks to overturn Maria Mapporidou's life. Shocked by the case of a serial killer who targeted foreign female domestic workers, she decided to organize a small demonstration in Nicosia, the Cypriot capital, via social media. Her appeal was answered by thousands of people, sparking a national debate that had political repercussions.
In an unprecedented serial killing case that has shocked the Mediterranean island, a Greek Cypriot army captain who murdered five migrant women and two girls was handed seven life sentences. Accusations of rampant racism and police negligence had led to the dismissal of the police chief and the resignation of the justice minister.
In the past few months, smugglers seem to have established a new clandestine route to bring African migrants to Europe. An increasing number of Cameroonians now find themselves 'trapped' in Cyprus after being sold a 'smuggle package' to Italy. Although Syrians still top the list of asylum seekers in Cyprus, Cameroonians are quickly catching up, and a growing number of other Africans are joining them. InfoMigrants went to Nicosia to investigate.
In Cyprus, a military officer has confessed to killing seven foreign women and girls, four of whom were Filipino. As authorities in the EU member state are being called to account by protestors, advocates for foreign workers say rampant racism contributed to police bungling.
Rising numbers of migrants are entering Cyprus through the Turkish-administered north of the country, on order to gain access to the Greek-speaking southern part of the island which is an EU member state. But what’s the situation like for migrants on the ground?
Cyprian police say they have stopped several dozen migrants trying to cross from the Turkish-controlled to the Greek part of the island. Earlier this month, more than 100 asylum seekers protested against poor job prospects and exploitation in Cyprus.
On Tuesday April 16, between 150 and 170 asylum seekers on Cyprus took to the streets of the capital Nicosia to demand full access to the labor market. A ministerial decision passed in October 2018 states that asylum seekers should be given access to the labor market one month after filing their asylum application. The reality is very different though, says the Catholic charity Caritas.
A total of 75 migrants were rescued in the waters near Cyprus as well as the Aegean Sea on Monday. Crossing into Europe along the eastern Mediterranean Sea is still a popular route for asylum seekers attempting to get to Europe.
A Somalian mother and her six-year-old daughter were reunited after three years apart and now live together in Cyprus, thanks to efforts by the UN Migration Agency International Organization for Migration (IOM), which made the family reunification possible.