Chios residents oppose new migrant camp
Residents of the eastern Aegean island of Chios continued on Saturday to protest plans for the creation of a new closed migrant camp, with a motorcade stretching more than 2 kilometers.
The new center, according to Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis, will replace the existing overcrowded structure of VIAL in the village of Chalkios. With some asylum-seekers being transferred to the mainland, the new closed facility in the Tholos region will be smaller, with a capacity of 1,500 people, and will provide security to both residents and migrants
Local reports said residents from Kardamyla, Langada, Sykiada and Vrontados took part in the motorcade to the island’s capital waving black flags.
Protesters are demanding the shutdown of VIAL and the creation of a structure for no more than 500 people, whose purpose will be to identify and register migrants before they are transferred to mainland facilities.
