Thirty Syrian and Iraqi asylum seekers were flown out of Greece to Luxembourg on Wednesday, marking the start of refugee relocations from a country that has been at the front line of Europe’s migration crisis.
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The crisis has also put the spotlight on Turkey, the gateway to the Mediterranean for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn Syria and Iraq.
A Greek asylum service official said the group leaving Athens on Wednesday comprised two Iraqi and four Syrian families, with a total of 16 children.
Since the start of the year, more than half a million refugees have reached Greece and majority continued their journey to central and northern Europe unofficially, while hundreds have perished in the Aegean waters.
More than 600,000 people have arrived in Greece so far this year, with most arriving on Lesbos.
In September, after crisis talks marred by bitter disputes over burden-sharing, European Union leaders approved the transfer of about 160,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy. About 86 refugees have so far been relocated from Italy to Sweden and Finland under the program, Reuters reported.
State Secretary for Justice Klaas Dijkhoff said Wednesday the Dutch government recently offered to send interpreters, military police and port police to help tackle the flow of people pouring into Europe.
The event was signalled by a ceremony held at Athens airport, and was attended by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn, Greek Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Ioannis Mouzalas and European Commissioner for Migration Issues Dimitris Avramopoulos. It would also make them prove they have an independent source of income, health insurance and accommodation.
“It’s a drop in the ocean, but we hope the drop will become a stream and then a river of humanity”.
From the beginning of the year until October 29, at least 435 people died, including many children.
They frantically try to rescue a few refugees and migrants, who’s wooden boat capsized near the Greek island of Lesbos.
A man wrapped in a blanket waits along with other migrants and refugees to travel to the Greek islan …
He, together with other senior European officials, said it was no good trying to build barbed wire border fences to keep refugees out because that was against European values.
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For relocation to work, European Union border and asylum experts must work out whether a person has a high probability of being granted refugee status before accepting them into the quota scheme.
