UNHCR head thanks Greece, frontline islands, for improved response to continuing arrivals
UNHCR chief António Guterres witnesses improved humanitarian response mounted by Greek local authorities and civil society
LESVOS, Greece (UNHCR) - In a weekend mission to the main EU entry point for nearly 450,000 refugees and migrants so far this year, UNHCR chief António Guterres witnessed the improved humanitarian response mounted by Greek local authorities and civil society while lamenting the continued lack of a large-scale and effective European response.
Assessing conditions on the Greek island of Lesvos, the main landing spot for tens of thousands of people taking smuggler boats from the nearby Turkish coast, Guterres said European governments had yet to match the "gigantic effort" that the island and its people had made in trying to cope with the huge influx.
"It is amazing that on a small island, you are managing, whereas in a big Europe, with half a billion people, they are finding it so difficult," Guterres told Lesvos Mayor Spyros Galinos and other Greek officials. "We are always saying this crisis is manageable at the European level, but to be manageable, it needs to be much better managed."
Without a Europe-wide approach and an effective strategy in dealing with the influx, Guterres warned, criminal networks would continue to thrive. "When states are not able to organize the orderly movement of refugees, smugglers take charge, exploiting people further and adding to their suffering," he added.
Describing his island as frontline, Mayor Galinos said: "the main issue is not the numbers, but the lack of a European policy to respond." Nevertheless, he said, Greeks would continue to do whatever they could to address the crisis and combat smugglers, "who not only exploit the people, but who put their lives at continuous risk."
"Above all, we are all human beings," the Mayor added. "We must all recognize the position of these people because we might all find ourselves in this situation one day."
UNHCR has deployed an emergency team to Greece and now has some 120 staff in the country to support the government in its effort to address the continuing crisis. The island of Lesvos, which according to the last census in 2011, had a population of 85,000 people, but is probably several thousand higher now, has received over 220,000 people in nine months. UNHCR figures put the number of arrivals in September alone at 160,000, while the Greek coast guard records show 110,000 people.
The majority of the refugees and migrants arriving on Lesvos are from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The rest, about five per cent, are migrants and refugees from 21 countries as varied as India, Bangladesh, Togo, Niger, Columbia, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The Greek Coast Guard on Lesvos receives between five to 10 distress calls a day and then sets out to rescue people in overcrowded boats.
Deputy Harbour Master, Antonio Sofiadellis, a leader in the Greek Coast Guard effort that has saved between 240-400 refugee and migrant lives every day, said that more people are being packed onto the flimsy boats these days - around 60 when 50 used to be the limit.
"The engines are very cheap and the smugglers don't care that they don't know how to operate the boats. This is something no country in Europe has faced. If we weren't there to rescue them, half or more than half would drown. The boats capsize, some fold, when the floor breaks."
Guterres also visited the north of Lesvos, where most refugee boats land. The beaches were strewn with hundreds of bright orange life jackets and deflated rubber boats, soaked shoes and pieces of clothing. Some 1,050 people had arrived overnight and volunteers helped them to an assembly point nearby, where they found food and a warm place to sleep in a large UNHCR shelter.
Some Syrian refugees he met told him they had fled directly from Aleppo, Damascus or Homs. Other Syrians said they could no longer make ends meet in neighbouring countries amid cuts in humanitarian aid and restrictions on work. Most people said they felt now was their chance to find safety in European countries where refugees were welcome.
By Melissa Fleming, Lesvos, Greece
Related news and stories
Ukraine's refugees find long-term support in Europe's host countries
Women-run businesses in Afghanistan dealt a blow by deepening restrictions
Earthquake survivors in Türkiye count the devastating toll
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
UNHCR launches new appeal for Afghan refugees and hosts, urging partners to stay the course
Your search for « syria » matched 4302 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 13 of 112 pages.
-
Estonia
... In 2020, Estonia reported 49 registered asylum-seekers, the majority coming from Russia, Syria and Tajikistan. Estonia is covered by the UNHCR’s Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries, ...... -
UNHCR stocks new office in south Syria with aid for thousands
19 Jun 2014 ... DAMASCUS, Syria, June 19 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency has opened a field office and warehouse in ... Tarik Kurdi, UNHCR's representative in Syria, said UNHCR would now be able to distribute relief ...... -
Thousands brave freezing conditions to escape fighting in Syria and reach Lebanon
19 Nov 2013 ... ARSAL, Lebanon, November 19 (UNHCR) - Mohammed, a construction worker from the western Syria city of Homs, had been forced to flee his home six times since the Syria crisis erupted in March 2011. ...... -
Syrian refugees in Lebanon lose everything in a fire but just rebuild
15 Apr 2014 ... Within minutes that January fire had consumed 10 other tents housing refugees from Syria. Amar and ... Her seeding, planting and harvesting earns her just $5 a day. "It's still better here than in Syria,...... -
Higher education programme helps refugees in Syria continue studies
22 Dec 2014 ... DAMASCUS, Syria, December 22 (UNHCR) - Excelling at high school is no easy task for teenagers. But for Fatima, an 18-year-old Iraqi refugee student living in Syria, it has been harder than most. Amid ...... -
UNHCR's protection chief sees key role in future for Syrian refugee women
4 Dec 2013 ... to play in Syria's future, UNHCR's protection chief Volker Türk told a conference in London on Wednesday. "Despite the conflict, horrors and human rights abuses they have escaped in Syria, refugee ...... -
Born in exile, Syrian children face threat of statelessness
4 Nov 2014 ... Rasha* gave birth to her twin girls in Jordan, after fleeing from Syria alone and pregnant. Her husband Sayid was arrested in Syria after refusing compulsory military service, and she has heard no ...... -
Syria to admit nearly 200 Palestinians stranded on the Iraq-Jordan border
25 Apr 2006 ... welcomed an announcement by the government of Syria to admit 181 Palestinians who fled Baghdad in ... The group will be accepted into Syria under the auspices of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), ...... -
More than four million Syrians have now fled war and persecution
9 Jul 2015 ... July 9) put the total number of refugees from Syria to just over 4,013,000 people. "This is the ... At least an additional 7.6 million people are displaced inside Syria -- many of them in difficult ......