NEWS

Migrants to be moved from Piraeus to Skaramangas site next week

Migrants to be moved from Piraeus to Skaramangas site next week

More than 3,700 migrants currently living in a makeshift camp in Piraeus are to be transferred to a reception center in Skaramangas next week, taking some of the pressure off the country’s main port and providing more humane living conditions for the migrants.

Army staff worked over the weekend to prepare the facilities for the migrants, setting up prefabricated houses and installing plumbing. The migrants are likely to be transferred to the Skaramangas facility on Thursday morning, according to the Shipping Ministry’s plan.

The facility, currently hosting 1,050 migrants, has the capacity to accommodate around 4,000 people. Last week, a large number of migrants took buses or taxis from other facilities to the Skaramangas site, hoping to secure a place there.

Authorities turned them away, however, indicating that the transfer of migrants there will be carried out subject to the ministry’s plan.

Meanwhile more than 6,000 migrants are living at another camp in Elliniko, at the site of the capital’s old airport, where conditions are said to be squalid. There are too few toilets and most of the migrants sleep on the floor.

The presence of large numbers of migrants of different ethnicities in such close proximity is fueling tensions, with reports of frequent brawls.

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