Migrant flows putting pressure on Crete
Government alarmed by spike in arrivals, with 300 on the island at the weekend alone
The recent spike in migrant flows to the southern shores of Crete is becoming an increasing source of concern for the government, which expects an intervention from the European Commission.
Migratory flows to Crete have taken an upswing in recent days, with some 300 arriving over the weekend, while in the last three months it is estimated that around 1,500 people came by sea from Egypt to Gavdos island, south of Crete. The majority of the migrants are Egyptian men while a small percentage have claimed to be citizens of Bangladesh and Pakistan. The arrivals concern the whole southern part of the island from the prefecture of Hania but also Iraklio beaches since the boats are located in the sea area from Palaiochora to Agia Galini and Matala.
“Of course we are concerned. However, we will address the issue in cooperation with Europe,” said Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairidis in remarks to Kathimerini.
Kairidis said that the increased arrivals to Crete and Gavdos have come via new migration routes, starting in Egypt and stopping on the way on the Libyan coast, since the beginning of the year.
He said he raised the issue at the last two meetings of EU migration ministers, with Athens expecting an intervention by the Commission in the coming period so that an agreement can be signed with Egypt.
The minister is expected to go to the island to talk to local authorities in order to jointly decide how to deal with the situation, ahead of the tourist season that is about to start.
“We are waiting for the minister and we will be in consultation so that we have the best possible result,” the regional governor of Crete, Stavros Arnaoutakis, told Kathimerini, describing the situation as very worrying “as people keep arriving, the number of which will increase as the weather improves.”
Ministry sources said that, more often than not, boats that start from the port of Tobruk, Libya enter Greek territorial waters after a two-day journey and then send out an SOS signal as the boats are ominously frail before the occupants, who do not have food or life-saving equipment, with them are rescued by the Hellenic Coast Guard.
Crete has no organized infrastructure of the Migration Ministry for the accommodation of migrants, so those who arrive are taken to parts of the city where makeshift accommodation is created.
