More child migrants arriving on Greek islands to dismal conditions

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that over 7,000 migrant children have made it to the Greek islands in the first eight months of 2018, a rise of 32 percent compared to the same period in 2017. After surviving the perilous journey, most of these children find themselves in unsanitary and overcrowded facilities stationed on the islands.

Lucio Melandri, Country Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response for UNICEF in Greece, said conditions at the centres hosting the children are becoming “more dire and dangerous” with the increase in new arrivals.

“All refugees and migrants living in the reception and identification centres, especially children, need to be transferred to the mainland without further delay to make sure they can have adequate accommodation, protection, health care, and other basic services,” he added.

About 80 percent of the 20,500 refugees and migrants now on the Greek islands, including more than 5,000 children, are being sheltered in unsanitary, overfilled reception and identification centres. More than 70 people often rely on a single toilet, leading to sewage leaks in the camps. Local authorities have threatened to close the camps before the end of October unless the overcrowding issue is resolved.

Moria camp on Lesbos island, built to shelter only 3,100 people, and a reception centre on Samos built for 650 people, are now hosting nearly 13,000 people in total, including nearly 2,400 children. The Greek government has agreed to move 2,000 refugees and migrants from Moria camp to the main island of Greece.

UNICEF said children on the islands face health and protection risks, including severe psychological distress. “The majority of children and young people I met have dealt with the trauma of war and then been forced to flee their homes. Now they are living in miserable conditions, with no end in sight. Many are in severe emotional distress,” said Melandri.

Aid agencies International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have also recently warned that many teenagers in Moria camp have attempted suicide or have harmed themselves. A recent IRC report said a staggering 60 percent of migrants in Moria have contemplated suicide.

According to Greek law, refugees and migrants should spend a maximum of 25 days at these centres to complete arrival procedures, but some children end up waiting over a year.

Greece currently shelters about 60,000 refugees and migrants. The latest figures by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and UNICEF indicate that there are nearly 23,500 migrant children, including 3,448 unaccompanied minors, living across the country.

TMP – 10/10/2018

Photo Credit: Anjo Kan/Shutterstock Migrants in Lesvos reception centre.