The European Commission will give Greece 209 million euros ($245 million) in new emergency aid to help refugees stranded in the country rent homes and pay for basics with a cash card, the Commission said on Thursday.
About 62,000 refugees and migrants, mainly Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis headed to northern Europe, have been stranded in Greece since European countries closed their borders in March last year. Most live in overcrowded camps marred by violence.
The scheme, announced with UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, will provide 22,000 rented homes in cities and towns on mainland Greece and some 2,000 places on Greek islands.
It will increase the number of refugees living in rented apartments in Greece to as many as 30,000 by the end of 2017, the Commission said.
“Our new funding is a game changer on how we deliver aid to improve people’s lives,” said Christos Stylianides, the EU’s commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management.
“The aim of these new projects is to get refugees out of the camps and into everyday accommodation and help them have more secure and normal lives,” he said.
Part of the aid will provide refugees with a card with a set monthly cash allocation to help them pay for basic needs such as food, medicine and public transportation.
Thursday’s funding more than doubles the EU’s emergency support to Greece to a total of 401 million euros.
Meanwhile, according to international NGO Doctors of the World
Depression, self -harm and suicidal attempts by #Refugeesgr before and after #EUTurkeyDeal Data from #Moria #hotspot on #Lesvos pic.twitter.com/aybovxcskn
— Stathis Poularakis (@SPoularakis) July 26, 2017
The official total number of refugees and migrants across Greece is 62,407 people – 10,631 of them are on the islands (27. July 2017)
PS not even €210 million…
