Lesvos to get a migrant reception facility
Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias on Thursday heralded the creation of a reception center for undocumented immigrants on Lesvos as well as a facility for processing asylum claims.
On a visit to the eastern Aegean island, Dendias said an army barracks near the main port of Mytilini would not be fully overhauled until the end of the year but could begin receiving immigrants by the end of August.
“I hope the center will be able to start the first phase of its operation within 50 days,” he said, adding that a growing influx of immigrants from Turkey was “plaguing the island’s main port and creating a bad image for the country abroad.”
The nearby islands of Samos and Chios have reception centers but are unable to accommodate more incoming migrants, according to authorities.
