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GENEVA / UNHCR GREECE REFUGEES
STORY: GENEVA / UNHCR GREECE REFUGEES
TRT: 2:04
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 1 OCTOBER 2019, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations, Geneva
2. Wide shot, journalists and podium with speakers, Room III
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Throssell, Spokesperson for Europe and Americas at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“Sea arrivals in September, mostly of Afghan and Syrian families, increased to 10,258 - the highest monthly level since 2016 – worsening conditions on the islands which now host 30,000 asylum-seekers.”
4. Med shot, podium with speakers, Room III
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Throssell, Spokesperson for Europe and Americas at UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“What we have seen over the summer months, so specifically July, August and now September is a distinct spike in the number of arrivals. So August had been the highest month to date and now September, so the kind of weekly arrivals you are having is averaging around 2,000, varying, but in the week we refer to, of the 29 September, we saw 3,164 arrivals.”
6. Wide shot, journalists, Room III
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Throssell, Spokesperson for Europe and Americas at UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“But urgent steps are needed and we urge the Greek authorities to fast-track plans to transfer over 5,000 asylum-seekers already authorized to continue their asylum procedure on the mainland."
8. Med shot, journalist checking her phone, Room III
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Throssell, Spokesperson for Europe and Americas at UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“Conditions are really, really difficult on many on the islands; in Moria for example, you had this fire at the weekend, there were riots, there is a very tense situation in Moria.”
10. Med shot, journalists on their phones, Room III
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Throssell, Spokesperson for Europe and Americas at UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“This spike has added to, has worsened what were already extremely difficult conditions on the Greek islands in the reception centres, which is why we are underscoring it is so important that urgent measures are taken now to get people who can be transferred off the islands to the mainland.”
12. Wide shot, journalists listening and writing, Room III
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Throssell, Spokesperson for Europe and Americas at UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“The Greek Government has said that alleviating pressure on the islands and protecting unaccompanied children are priorities, which we welcome.”
14. Med shot, journalist looking at laptops screen, Room III
15. Med shot, TV camera operator, journalists to rear, Room III
16. Med shot, journalists listening, Room III
17. Close up, journalist typing on laptop, Room III
A spike in the number of refugees reaching reception centres on the Greek islands that are already “dangerously overcrowded” prompted the UN Refugee Agency on Tuesday to renew its call for the authorities to move thousands of asylum-seekers to the mainland.
The appeal to Athens comes as UNHCR reported that sea arrivals in September to the Aegean islands rose to 10,258 in September - the highest monthly level since 2016.
UNHCR spokesperson Liz Throssell told journalists in Geneva that this risked “worsening conditions on the islands which now host 30,000 asylum-seekers.”
She said, “conditions are really, really difficult on many of the islands,” noting that a woman had died in a shelter blaze at Moria centre on Lesvos on Sunday. She added, “there were riots, there is a very tense situation.”
According to UNHCR, the situation on Lesvos, Samos and Kos is “critical”.
On Lesvos, the official reception centre, Moria, is at five times capacity with 12,600 people, the agency warned, while at a nearby informal settlement, more than 100 people share a single toilet.
On Samos, the Vathy facility houses 5,500 people – eight times over capacity – and on Kos, some 3,000 people live in a space meant for just 700.
While the number of arrivals has increased over the summer months, at around 2,000 a week, they rose to more than 3,000 in the last week of September.
Most of those seeking shelter are from Afghanistan and Syria, along with Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR said.
Throssell said, “what we have seen over the summer months, so specifically July, August and now September is a distinct spike in the number of arrivals,” adding that “so August had been the highest month to date and now September, so the kind of weekly arrivals you are having is averaging around 2,000, varying, but in the week we refer to, of the 29 September, we saw 3,164 arrivals.”
Highlighting the need for “urgent steps” from the Greek authorities, Throssell appealed to them to “fast-track” the transfer of more than 5,000 asylum-seekers who already have permission to continue their asylum procedure on the mainland.
Previous comments by the Greek Government about wanting to alleviate pressure on the islands and protect unaccompanied children were welcome, the UNHCR official added, noting that more than 4,400 children are unaccompanied on the islands and only one in four are staying in an age-appropriate shelter.
She said, “this spike has added to, has worsened what were already extremely difficult conditions on the Greek islands in the reception centres,” adding that “which is why we are underscoring it is so important that urgent measures are taken now to get people who can be transferred off the islands to the mainland.”
In its appeal, UNHCR maintained that Greece has received the majority of arrivals crossing the Mediterranean region this year - 45,600 of 77,400. This is more than Spain, Italy, Malta and Cyprus combined, it said.
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