METAdrasi expresses deepest grief over last Saturday’s incident, which resulted in the death of a boy in Moria’s hotspot.
Currently, about 650 unaccompanied minors live under unacceptable conditions in Moria hotspot and hundreds more in other hotspots on the islands and at the Reception and Identification Center in Orestiada. METAdrasi has repeatedly underlined the imperative need for the modification of the Operational Guidelines of the Shelters for unaccompanied children, having already submitted, since 2018 – together with other organizations – a specific proposal. It is of the utmost necessity that appropriate accommodation facilities are created in the mainland, using the European funds allocated to the Greek state for this purpose.
METAdrasi’s team of authorized representatives/guardians for unaccompanied minors continues to support them in the field, by struggling daily, under adverse conditions, ending in handling a triple number of children than the provisioned one.
Nevertheless, an explosive and dangerous situation has been developed for the unaccompanied children on the islands, caused by their prolonged stay in inappropriate conditions, the increase in the number of arrivals, noticed during the last period and mainly by the delay in family reunification procedures, of a significant number of children, in other countries of the European Union.
