UN concern at Lesvos center
A spokesperson for the Geneva-based United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) yesterday expressed serious concern about hundreds of immigrants living in cramped conditions in a reception center on the Aegean island of Lesvos, describing the situation as «unacceptable.» Speaking from Geneva following a briefing by UNHCR staff in Greece, spokesman Andrej Mahecic said the conditions at the Pagani center were «shocking.» «One room houses over 150 women and 50 babies, many suffering from illnesses related to the cramped and unsanitary conditions of the center,» Mahecic said. «The situation. .. is indicative of broader problems relating to irregular migration and Greece’s asylum system,» he added. Authorities have told the UNHCR that all unaccompanied minors at the center will be transfered to special facilities by the end of the month and some have already been moved, Mahecic said.
