Aghia Varvara residents oppose construction of migrant unit
Residents of Aghia Varvaras, western Athens, gathered on Wednesday to protest plans to expand the Western Attica General Hospital, which deals with chronic illnesses, so it could house a reception center for migrants.
As bulldozers arrived to begin work, Aghia Varvara Mayor Giorgos Kaplanis accused the government of secretly trying to build a “concentration camp” next to the hospital.
The Public Order Ministry denied this.
“We will not create a holding center like the ones in Amygdaleza [photo] and Corinth but a more open hosting facility for vulnerable groups of migrants, such as one-parent families,” the ministry said in a statement.
