The final signatures between the Organisation for Development of Heraklion and the UN, Amnesty International representatives will be put to paper, in the very near future, according to the side of the Cretan representatives, Mr. Kokosalis and Mr. Mavrogiannis. This last detail, will then unlock the issue of Crete receiving the first of the refugee families that will be accommodated here.
Approximately 125 homes are needed and are being sourced, to accommodate the 700 people expected here. Representatives from Crete are in Athens for meetings in the responsible Ministries, on the subject.
The imminent arrival of the refugees, who will be spread around the Island, means that authorities and bodies involved are now synchronising their activities, in preparation.
The largest number of people will be put up in homes in Heraklion and then proportionately, in Chania, Rethymnon and Lasithi. According to the plan, in each home, at least six people will find a safe refuge, for a fixed period of time.
On the other hand, a new guideline by which, the 28 member Countries of the E.U. will have the option to send refugees applying for asylum in their Countries, back to Greece. This announcement has caused a headache for the Greek government, who now has to prepare for the possible influx of refugees, back into Greece, from within the E.U.
This guideline is basically a renewal of the Dublin agreement, which had been suspended, due to the large numbers of refugees who were entering Europe via Greece in the early days of the migrant crisis. In this way Greece will not only be able to foresee the gradual emptying of the refugee camps around the Country – as the relocation agreement has never been imposed effectively – but, could now see exactly the opposite happening, with numbers of the refugees trapped here, growing dramatically. The number of refugees and migrants who entered Europe via Greece, with destination other northern European Countries, since 2015 is approaching 1 million.
The new guideline is in operation as of last Wednesday and excludes vulnerable individuals, such as unaccompanied children. All those who have already applied for asylum before 15th March 2017 in other Countries, will keep their right to asylum there.