For weeks, migrants on the Greek mainland have been barred from claiming asylum. Locked out of the system, many are forced to sleep outdoors or to go without food – in spite of the freezing winter conditions.
Three children have died and two others are in life-threatening condition after a wave of storms and freezing temperatures hit northwest Syria, according to UN officials and aid workers. Tens of thousands of displaced people are living in makeshift shelters in the area.
Wintery weather conditions in the north of France make it difficult for migrants and refugees to stay warm, especially at night. A woman has now donated the 20 tons of firewood to help desperate people survive the cold months.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR in Italy has called for donations to help refugees and displaced people from Afghanistan and Syria who 'will have to face snow, rain, freezes and extreme temperatures' this winter.
Doctors for Human Rights (MEDU) denounced a worrisome situation northwest of Val di Susa, on the border between Italy and France, where winter is approaching and transiting migrants have no place to stay.
A plane carrying winter relief from UN refugee agency has brought 33 tons of winterization kits to Kabul. In a statement, UNHCR said this was the first of three flights, with the next two scheduled to land in the Afghan capital on November 4 and 7.
Hundreds of migrants have set up camp in the northern French port in the hope of eventually making it to Britain. According to coast guard statistics, migrant crossings across the channel have soared in 2021.
Bosnian authorities have announced that over 100 migrants who had been sleeping rough have been moved into asylum centers. Nearly half of those moved were reportedly children.
The Kara Tepe camp for displaced people on the Greek island of Lesbos is ill-suited for the harsh winter conditions. Aid agencies are sounding the alarm about catastrophic conditions there.
Thousands of refugees and migrants wait in Bosnia for the possibility to enter the EU. Disagreements over how to distribute aid threaten to leave many in cold — if it weren't for volunteers working on their own.
In the midst of the ongoing pandemic and harsh winter weather that has hit Greece over the past few days, residents of the island of Lesbos -- where over 7,500 asylum seekers are hosted -- have made an impassioned plea to help as many people as they can.
Tomo Knezevic, director of the "Caritas" charity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is taking Europe to task: His chapter of the global Catholic charity has received "far too little support" in its efforts to care for migrants, he said in an interview. He is appealing for more help from sister organizations across Europe.