HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH
16,360 Persons that benefited from the Accommodation for Relocation project since November 2015
17,018 Accommodation places with services for relocation candidates/other asylum seekers established since January in line with UNHCR policy on alternatives to camps. Cash/voucher assistance granted to 5,804 relocation candidates.
612 Accommodation places for unaccompanied children established by UNHCR in Greece
3,589 Asylum seekers transported by UNHCR to the Regional Asylum Offices for full registration of their asylum claim during the month
47,382 Number of PoC who received NFIs assistance as part of the Winterization such as blankets and clothing.
108 Water and Sanitation facilities (prefab shower and toilets) provided to partners and cleaned on monthly basis.
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
Winterization activities, in preparation for the harsh weather ahead, started on18 October, to the benefit of 47,382 asylumseekers in Greece. An estimated total of 109,513 winter items were distributed in 47 mainland sites and five islands. 234 containers were installed in various sites, including Katsikas, Nea Kavala, Filippiada and Alexandria. In Kara Tepe and Moria on Lesvos, installation is planned for November. The non-food items (NFIs) for the winter were distributed thanks to the financial support of the European Commission - Humanitarian Aid and donations by Zara and UNIQLO. Structural upgrades, such as heating are foreseen, whilst alternative solutions will be sought for places that do not have sufficient electric power-. Due to environmental risks, the site at Kipselochori has been completely evacuated and the vulnerable asylum-seekers were accommodated in hotels and apartments. The opening of a new site at Ktima Iraklis in Pieria is expected, after infrastructural developments. Although the sites in Nea Kavala and Katsikas will eventually close, considering that winter may affect these locations as early as mid-November, some form of limited winterization is ongoing. In the meantime, UNHCR received requests from NGOs to intervene with winterisation in sites which were not included at the original list of 15 sites from the Ministry of Migration Policy (MoMP). UNHCR is following up, to adjust the level of intervention needed.
A meeting between the Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Ioannis Mouzalas and the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz on 20 October focused on ensuring the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement by all sides and on relocating refugees from Greece to other Member States, especially unaccompanied minors (UACs). Minister Mouzalas asked for Schulz’s support in the establishment of a European return mechanism, and on the amendment of the Dublin regulation concerning the examination of asylum claims in a way that doesn’t burden solely the countries of first arrival to Europe. From his side, Mr. Schulz noted that Greece should speed up returns to Turkey. Since the beginning of the year, 1,085 third country nationals have returned to Turkey on the basis of the bilateral Readmission Protocol between Greece and Turkey, 51 Turkish nationals on the basis of the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement and 682 foreigners of various nationalities, on the basis of the Joint EU-Turkey Statement. Besides, since the entry into effect of the Joint EU-Turkey Statement, 228 third country nationals that had entered Greece by sea from Turkey, have returned to their home countries voluntarily through the IOM-managed voluntary return program (source: MoMP).
Tensions amongst the asylum-seekers country-wide and security concerns are in critical levels due to severe overcrowding at the open accommodation sites and delays in the registration and processing of asylum claims. On 8 October, in Chios a group of people at the open accommodation site in Souda broke windows of the containers belonging to UNHCR’s partners in the administration area. In an unfortunate and tragic incident, a refugee woman and her young son were killed outside the Oreokastro site in Thessaloniki, on 16 October. This led to further tension, as the offender’s car was set on fire by asylum seekers. The police intervened and the driver was detained. In Herso site, UNHCR staff evacuated the area, after threats of violence in relation to unmet accommodation needs. Incidents of protest related to shelter were also reported in Malakasa, Elliniko and Agios Andreas, while food and cash program related protests took place in Schisto and Skaramangas. On the 20 October, a fire started at Moria, Lesvos destroying nine containers used by EASO and the Regional Asylum Office. The schedule of the transfer of 113 PoCs residing in the shelter managed by Caritas who were scheduled to be transferred to the mainland were affected, because their documents were inside one of the containers burnt in Moria. An equally serious incident happened in Softex (Northern Greece), on 24 October, where site residents threw stones on UNHCR containers due to frustration for not being selected for relocation. The police swiftly intervened.