Greece on Saturday opened two more of its new \u201cclosed\u201d migrant camps that have been criticized by rights groups for their restrictive measures.
\n\u201cA new era is beginning,\u201d Minister of Migration Notis Mitarachi said announcing the opening of the camps on the islands of Leros and Kos.
\n\u201cWe are extricating our islands from the migration problem and its consequences,\u201d he said. \u201cThe images that we all remember from 2015-2019 are now in the past.\u201d
\nGreece was the main point where more than one million asylum seekers \u2014 mainly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans \u2014 entered Europe in 2015 and its islands in the Aegean Sea are the main port of call from people arriving via Turkey in search of a better life in Europe.
\nThe crisis in Afghanistan has prompted fears of a new migration wave.
\nThe \u201cclosed\u201d camps feature barbed wire fencing, surveillance cameras, x-ray scanners and magnetic doors and gates remain closed at night.
\nThey also have many features, like running water, toilets and more security, that were absent from the previous facilities that became infamous for their living conditions. Greece inaugurated the first such camp on the island of Samos in September and plans to open two more, on the islands of Lesbos and Chios.
\nThe EU has committed 276 million euros ($326 million) for the new camps.
\nBut NGOs and aid groups have raised concerns about the new camps\u2019 structure in isolated places and residents\u2019 confinement, saying that the movement of people in the camps should not be restricted.
\nAccording to latest UN estimates, there are currently around 96,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Greece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greece on Saturday opened two more of its new \u201cclosed\u201d migrant camps that have been criticized by rights groups for their restrictive measures. \u201cA new era is beginning,\u201d Minister of Migration Notis Mitarachi said announcing the opening of the camps on the islands of Leros and Kos. \u201cWe are extricating our islands from the migration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-229748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n