Patra governor in favor of migrant detention center
Western Greece Regional Governor Apostolos Katsifaras on Monday made a motion in favor of the construction of a migrant detention center in the port of Patra, during a meeting of local authority officials on tackling the city’s rising population of undocumented migrants.
According to Skai, Katsifaras proposed the construction of detention center either on land or at sea where undocumented migrants can be held while undergoing processing, adding that he would like to see a separate facility for women and children.
“Events are surpassing us,» said Katsifaras, «and their dynamic is creating a new set of circumstances which must be dealt with.”
The meeting comes after a series of violent clashes in Patra in late May, where a group from the far-right party Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) attacked an unused textile factory that is being used as a temporary shelter by many of the city’s undocumented migrants during a protest by local residents.
Patra is transit point for thousands of illegal immigrants hoping to make their way further west into Europe by boarding passenger ferries undetected.
