Barriers wont stop migrants fleeing, says UNHCR as Greece wants floating fence in Aegean

Record ID: 1455663

  • Title: Barriers wont stop migrants fleeing, says UNHCR as Greece wants floating fence in Aegean
  • Date: 30th January 2020
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JANUARY 30, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR SPOKESMAN FOR GREECE BORIS CHESHIRKOV SAYING: "Greece has to have fast procedures to ensure that people are given access to asylum quickly when they need it, and for those that should not stay - they have no legitimate right to stay, they can go back. Then there is the element of solidarity - we have 4
  • Embargoed: 13th February 2020 14:44
  • Keywords: Greece Lesbos barrier migrants unhcr
  • Location: LESBOS AND ATHENS, GREECE/AT SEA
  • City: LESBOS AND ATHENS, GREECE/AT SEA
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA003BYD8OQV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Thursday (January 30) refugees fleeing conflict have a fundamental right to seek asylum and safety and should not be hindered by barriers, after Greece said it wants to install a floating barrier in the Aegean Sea to deter migrants from arriving on its shores.
    "What we have seen across Europe and not only, is in recent years a surge of the number of barriers that are being erected, but yet people are continuing to flee," said UNHCR Spokesman for Greece Boris Cheshirkov.
    The 2.7 kilometre long (1.68 miles) net-like barrier that Greece wants to buy will be set up in the sea off the island of Lesbos, whose Moria migrants camp is operating at six times its capacity. If effective the barrier could reach up to 15 kilometres. It will rise 50 cm above sea level and be visible at night, a government document inviting vendors to submit offers said.
    Cheshirkov said speeding up the asylum process and the returns of those who do no qualify for asylum, a faster transfer of migrants from islands to the mainland and to the rest of Europe, is what Greece needs to deal with the huge numbers in overcrowded camps in the country.
    On Thursday migrants and refugees on Lesbos, mainly women and children, staged a protest over the deteriorating conditions at Moria, asking to be taken off the island.
    "We are not prisoners, we are human," said one protester from Afghanistan.
    In 2012 Greece constructed a fence at the Evros northern land border with Turkey to stop migrants from crossing, drawing criticism from aid organizations.
    Greece served as a gateway to the European Union for more than one million Syrian refugees and other migrants in recent years. While a 2016 agreement with Turkey has sharply reduced arrivals, the country has been witnessing a new spike since August.
    (Production: Vassilis Triandafyllou, Elias Marcou, Deborah Kyvrikosaios)
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