The refugees living in the open-structure camps in Diavata and Lagadikia experience unbearable conditions and have, therefore, organized protests since the 23rd of May, taking place in the temporary reception center, that is, the former military base “Anagnostopoulou” in Diavata.
Refugee flows, mainly through the land borders in Evros, have grown in the past two months and are expected to grow even more during summer, causing insufferable overcrowding in Northern Greece’s reception centers.
Suffice it to say that Diavata’s capacity is exhausted as it was designed to accommodate 750 people. Currently, 1,900 refugees live there, many of them in tents, exposed to harsh weather conditions.
The situation in Lagadikia is similar as, out of the 680 refugees who live there, only 360 have been registered.
The protests in Diavata follow a number of earlier protests and conflicts in other reception centers, the most significant of which was the mass brawl between refugees in Lagadikia on the 7th of May.
The majority of the newly arrived refuges belong to vulnerable groups (chronically ill, pregnant women, infants and babies) and need medical/maternity care and support.
ARSIS – Association for the Social Support of Youth appeals to the Ministry for Migration Policy to take immediate action and expedite the operation of new temporary reception centers in Northern Greece.
- The awareness campaign is supported by PIER – Protection, Integration and Education for Refugees in Greece, Italy and Austria. http://www.pier-program.com, which is funded by the “Coca Cola Foundation”.
