“It would be of great political significance and highly symbolic if the UN Secretary General himself, Ban Ki-moon, visited the Eastern Aegean, the gateway of the refugee and migrant influx into Europe,” Xydakis stressed during talks with UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
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Europe is backing into an even greater refugee crisis by tightening border restrictions on the hundreds of thousands who have fled war and conflict in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi said.
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A UNHCR survey found that some 94% of Syrians arriving in Greece in January made the perilous journey by sea to escape conflict and violence in Syria. Similarly, 71% of the Afghans surveyed cited conflict and violence as the main reason they left their country.
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C. Lagarde: “The surge of refugees in the last few years has reached levels not seen in decades. And these numbers could increase further in the near future. The immediate priority must be to help the refugees—who bear the heaviest burden, and too often tragically—with better access to shelter, health care and quality education.”
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Frontex has called on the authorities of EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries to contribute an additional 269 officers to help screen, fingerprint and register migrants at the European Union’s external borders.
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Of the 660,000 refugees and migrants who have reached Greece this year more than half have landed at Lesvos. With winter approaching, reception conditions and capacity there remain overstretched and inadequate.
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In the most serious incident, a wooden boat that passengers said had been carrying at least 300 people sank in gale-force winds off the north coast of Lesvos island Wednesday evening. The Greek Coast Guard reported it rescued 242 people from the stricken vessel and authorities confirmed seven deaths.
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The European Commission has awarded € 5.9 million of emergency assistance from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to Greeceto support the country in coping with the high number of arrivals of migrants and refugees on the Eastern Aegean islands.
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UNHCR staff had to be evacuated briefly yesterday from a registration site when violence flared at a crowded site on
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Funding from the EEA and Norway Grants will be used to set up a new reception centre on the island
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