Refugee Rights Europe and Still I Rise presented a new report on the current situation of unaccompanied minors on the island of Samos, Greece, denouncing a "gravely disheartening picture" of their condition.
Franck and his wife, originally from the DRC, were granted refugee status in Greece on March 1. Yet, due to a lack of work and integration, the family is still stuck in the camp on the Greek island of Samos, with no prospects for the future. "We feel we have been abandoned to our sad fate," says Franck.
A 25-year-old Afghan man, father to a five-year-old child who died in November in an attempt to reach the Greek island of Samos from Turkey by boat, has spoken out about being charged with endangering his son's life by the Greek authorities and why he is bringing a counter-case against the Greek coast guard.
A six-episode documentary attempts to give a voice to migrants under the age of 18 in Greece who have witnessed one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. The web series, named "Through Our Eyes," is sponsored by the NGO Still I Rise.
Greece has announced that 7,200 migrants stuck in temporary accommodation since the blaze at the Moria camp in September will be moved to permanent accommodation by September 2021. The European Commission will support the Greek government with the building project.
A father whose son drowned on the weekend in an attempt to reach Samos by boat was arrested on suspicion of endangering a life. News agency AP reported that father and son were among a group of 25 migrants who set off from Turkey to the Greek Aegean Islands.
The body of a young boy, thought to be six years old, was discovered by the Greek coast guard near the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea. A woman, still conscious, was located in the same spot along with ten other migrants nearby. Six others were located on land after their boat ran into trouble off the Greek island.
Two aid organizations have criticized the situation for migrants who live in island camps in the Aegean Sea. While Germany's Kindernothilfe condemns the evacuation of PIKPA camp on Lesbos for allegedly being inhumane, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) demands safety for migrants on Samos after the fire at the Vathy camp.
A fire broke outside the Vathy refugee and migrant camp the Greek island of Samos in the early hours of Monday. About 15 tents were reported to have burned down. However, no one was injured, according to information by the migration ministry.
Several NGOs have launched a petition, calling on European leaders to drastically improve the treatment of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands. Their petition has been signed by over 165,000 people and organizations.
A "closed camp" for displaced people is being set up on Samos as part of the EU's strategy for fortifying its external borders. Neither residents of the island nor the people who will be held there want the camp.
A day after a fire broke out near a migrant camp on Samos that houses some 4,600 people, 13 migrants were detained on the island. Also on Wednesday, police arrested six people in connection with the Moria fires from last week. Lockdowns remain in place on at least two of the five Greek Aegean islands.