Republished from ThePressProject.
The 236 refugees, including many children, who arrived in Kythira when the three sailboats carrying them ran aground on the island's coast, are in a desperate situation. The state apparatus has not yet been activated to collect and care for the refugees, with the result that volunteer tourists and locals have set up a makeshift camp to temporarily accommodate them.
The municipal authorities have been absent for two days, resulting in volunteers taking matters into their own hands and setting up a makeshift shelter for refugees with the help of residents and tourists.
The volunteers set up the site in a location where an organized campsite had operated three years earlier. The volunteers cleaned up the site, built the firebreaks, and are taking turns on fire watch.
Within a few hours, a group of volunteers (locals and people vacationing in Kythira) set up a decent space to accommodate the refugees. We cleaned the space, took the necessary fire safety measures, and secured water, medicine, and food.#Kythira pic.twitter.com/FcCJ2NSQiq
— adplacitum (@adplacitum) August 18, 2022
As reported by the website kythera.news, «there was no organized plan to deal with such incidents, even though this is not the first time we have faced such situations in Kythira.».
The report refers to chaotic conditions, with officials claiming they are not responsible, arguing that the municipality is understaffed and does not have the funds to feed the refugees for as long as they remain in Kythira. The local website also reports that it remains unknown when the competent Ministry of Migration and Asylum will transfer them from Kythira to a Reception and Identification Center.
