Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairidis paid a visit on Monday to the island of Gavdos, the southernmost part of Greece, as part of a two-day visit to Crete.
Kairidis met with Gavdos Mayor Lilian Stefanaki and members of the town council. Gavdos is being enforced with staff ot the Port Authority personnel and financially by the Ministry, he said, and the government stands by every local community, particularly to those living at border towns.
Earlier in the day, Kairidis paid a visit to the town hall of Chania, NW Crete, with Mayor Panagiotis Simandirakis and the city council. There the minister presented the government’s strategy that includes support and collaboration with Egypt, strengthening the Port Authority, quick turnarounds of those who are not eligible for asylum, and the support of every local community that faces pressure from migration flows.
Coordinator for Returns
The migration minister said that a National Coordinator for Returns would be appointed within the week, in coordination with the Citizen Protection Ministry and the change of the legislative framework within April. The aim is for the Migration & Asylum Ministry to be able to also support municipalities that do not have migration facilities in order to allow for flexibility when a particular city faces migrant flow pressure, as happened recently in Gavdos, Kantanos-Selinos and Chania.
“The migration challenge is not a temporary phenomenon, but is persistent, so we need presence of mind, communication and long-term planning,” he said. He also clarified that “the government’s aim, above and beyond, all, is to continually embed the sense of citizens have of being safe.”
Crete, he said, is the top priority. “Until recently, it did not face migration flows, and our goal is to continue this trend. We are here to help the local community. There is funding and means. Crete will not be left to fend for itself, and much more so Gavdos, which is a very small island with few permanent residents,” he noted.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
