Change of plans for asylum-seekers sent to Vrasna, after local residents react

File Photo: Photo ANA-MPA




Roughly 380 asylum seekers that arrived on the mainland from the island of Samos and were scheduled to stay at hotels in the northern Greek town of Vrasna will now be sent to the island of Evia instead, to be hosted in bungalows by the sea, authorities announced on Wednesday.
The nine coaches carrying asylum seekers did not reach the town of Vrasna on Tuesday, due to the protests of local residents that had gathered in the area.

According to Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) sources in the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which is responsible for the asylum-seekers’ transfer, the coaches attempted to approach Vrasna through back roads with police support but found their way barred by locals.

Finally, according to the same sources, at dawn the hoteliers that had agreed to host the asylum seekers refused to open up their premises to receive the asylum seekers, out of fear of the residents’ reaction.
The citizen protection ministry decided to send the 380 asylum-seekers (most of them families from Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan) to the island of Evia, where they will be accommodated in bungalows within a summer camp.

Ministry sources told the ANA that the reaction of the residents was understandable, as the municipality of Volvi already hosts a number of asylum seekers, but clarified that the decision to place them in hotels in these areas was taken after the signing of private contracts with the owners, as it foresees a six-month stay, which will not have an impact on the tourist season.

The same sources said that, on the one hand, we talk about the poor conditions prevailing on the islands and, on the other hand, we don’t have anywhere to take the asylum seekers because local communities on the mainland do not want them.

They also added that the ministry’s intention is to fairly distribute refugees throughout Greece but noted that regional governors have not yet sent any proposals on potential accommodation sites, as they had agreed in a meeting with the minister.

Meanwhile, hotels have been asked to submit an expression of interest in a tender for the hosting of asylum seekers and until this is concluded, the ministry is looking for places to put up the asylum-seekers in collaboration with hoteliers that had agreed to host refugees in the past. Additionally, the ministry is examining the possibility of turning unused industrial buildings and factories into hosting facilities.

Source: ANA-MPA

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