New closed camps for migrants in Kos and Leros

The gated camps on the islands of Kos and Leros are expected to open their gates by the end of the year, with residents being able to enter and leave the Center from 8:00 to 20:00, and a closed surveillance system will be installed.

After discoveries in September, closed camps for refugees and immigrants at Samose it is now the turn of new centers in Leros and Kos, the projects of which are at the final stage. In fact, these two camps on the islands of the East Aegean Sea can open their gates even in November or until the end of the year.

The new centers in Kos and Leros, as well as in Lesvos and Chios, on which construction work is due to begin in 2022, following the completion of the relevant tender, are located in areas remote from the cities. However, this will not save the villagers, whom the migrants living in the camps mercilessly robbed.

On Kos, the new camp is located in Mesovouni, Gaion Pili, 12 km from the town of Kos, and is planned to accommodate 1,816 people. Accordingly, the new camp on Leros is located in the Lepida area, in the bay of Lakki, about 6.7 km from Agia Marina, and will be able to receive 1,360 refugees and migrants.

Occupancy

According to NEA, citing the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, the actual number of camp residents is now less than planned. For example, 816 people live in the camp on the island of Kos, while the number of the camp’s inhabitants could not reach 100 people for a long time. The authorities hope that the camps are implemented in such a way that they will not have problems with overpopulation for a long time.

However, if a situation suddenly happens, as in 2015-2016, the camps will be filled in a couple of days.

New camps are being built on Kos and Leros, which are the development of existing facilities for the accommodation of migrants and refugees. They will be an example of how to implement the organization of work and the appearance of the now closed and controlled structure on Samos, in Zerva. This was confirmed by both the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, and the Secretary General of the Ministry, Manos Logotetis, indicating that the new structure of Samos will become a model and a model for the rest.

On October 3, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the ill-fated KYT camp in Wathi was permanently closed (after it previously burned out), and its territory was returned to the municipality of East Samos.

Social and ethnic criteria will determine the placement of asylum seekers in the camp, which will be divided into separate residential zones – “neighborhoods”. Thus, there will be a separate area for unaccompanied children, as well as for vulnerable refugees and migrants, and for single parent families.

Security will be given special attention at the facility, while ensuring controlled entry and exit from the facility. Turnstiles will be installed, and its inhabitants will be able to enter and leave the center only from 8 to 20 hours. At the same time, as was done in the structure in Samos, it is expected that a closed monitoring system will be installed in which software will be used to warn about any emergency events in time, as well as a fire safety system.

Today, the islands host a total of 4,577 refugees and migrants, most of whom are located in Lesvos (3,400 people). It is worth noting that at the same time, two years ago, more than 30 thousand refugees and migrants were on the islands. It is significant that 313 and 143 people, respectively, live on Kos and Leros (outside the territory of the camps).

Financial aid.

In the meantime, the program of rendering financial aid Asylum seekers in Greece passed from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the Greek authorities.

It is noted that since the spring of 2017, the provision of financial assistance using prepaid cards has ensured the lives of more than 200,000 asylum seekers in Greece. The initiative was part of the Emergency Support for Integration and Housing (ESTIA) program, which began in 2018 and included housing and financial services. As for the housing part of the ESTIA program, it was transferred to the management of the Greek government last year.

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