Greece to shut down overcrowded refugee camps on islands
(VOVWORLD) - Greece will shut down overcrowded refugee camps on islands facing Turkey and replace them with new closed facilities with a capacity of at least 5,000 people each.
 Migrants from Moria Camp fill water bottles next to a pile of garbage on the island of Lesbos on October 2, 2019 (Photo: REUTERS) |
The three centers to be closed are on the islands of Chios, Samos, and Lesbos in the Greek Aegean islands.
More than 32,000 people currently live in miserable conditions in camps designed to hold no more than 6,200.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees called the current situation at reception centers "urgent". Migrants on Lebos island exceeded 12,000 at facilities designed to hold only 2,400.
To ease the burden on the refugee camps, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced last month that Greece will bring some 20,000 migrants from the island to the mainland by the end of this year.