Coronavirus: More than 50 migrants stranded in Greece by pandemic flown to Britain

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Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - A group of 52 refugees and asylum seekers stranded in Greece by the coronavirus pandemic flew to Britain on Monday to be reunited with their families, escaping the continued lockdown of migrant camps in the country.

The group, including 16 unaccompanied children, took off from Athens after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis intervened personally, working with Britain’s interior ministry to make the transfer possible in spite of travel restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. The transfer had been planned for March.

In Greece, restrictions were partly eased on May 4, and on May 10 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the first cautious steps to take his country out of the lockdown.

"Today the lives of the people who are leaving is changing," Greece's deputy migration minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos told reporters at Athens airport. "The coronavirus was an additional procedural challenge but as you can see it was not an obstacle," he said.

Deputy Migration Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos waved the refugees off at Athens airport. Reuters
Deputy Migration Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos waved the refugees off at Athens airport. Reuters

Greece is trying to gradually relocate around 1,600 of the most vulnerable people living in its refugee camps to other countries in coming months.

Some 130 Greek nationals stranded in the UK because of the lockdown will be repatriated on the return flight, Greece’s migration ministry said.

Monday's group were relocated under the Dublin Treaty, an accord facilitating family reunifications if a close relative is already in the country of destination.

The refugees could be seen waving as they boarded the aircraft.

Greece on Sunday announced it was extending the strict lockdown of its migrant camps until May 21.

The draconian measures, designed to prevent potentially devastating outbreaks of the virus in the country’s overcrowded and unsanitary camps, have brought Greece’s already overstretched asylum system to a standstill and left many stranded.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees, fleeing conflict and poverty in countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran have arrived in Greece since 2015 seeking onward travel to other parts of Europe.

An EU-brokered deal with Turkey in March 2016 all but stopped the flow of people across the European Union’s eastern frontier, but a recent surge of violence in Syria’s nine year war led to a sharp increase in the numbers of border crossings into Greece.

Beth Gardiner-Smith, the CEO of refugee charity Safe Passage International, which supported the initiative to reunite the refugee families in the UK, said: "The British and Greek governments have shown real leadership in reuniting these families despite the travel difficulties."

The reunification flight was also supported two members of the British House of Lords, Labour peer Lord Alf Dubs and the Earl of Dundee, a Conservative with responsibility for child refugees at the Council of Europe.

"I hope it is only a start because there are other children across Europe who want to join their family in Britain under the Dublin III family reunion and there are other children who are in the Greek camps who may not have family here but also need to be helped to find safety," Lord Dubs said.

Nepalese Buddhist monks attend their class, respecting social distancing, at a monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal. EPA

A man looks on as migrant laborers returning from other states, many of whom have been walking and hitchhiking travel on the back of a truck as they try to reach their native villages in Prayagraj, India. AP Photo

Protesters opposed to lockdown measures implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) clash with police outside Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia. REUTERS

Pianist Rodrigo Cunha serenades from an open truck the lonely mothers in quarantine as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Sao Paulo, Brazil. REUTERS

Catholic priest Reginaldo Manzotti gives Holy Communion to a woman at a drive-thru system on Mother's Day, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Curitiba, Brazil. REUTERS

People exercice in Madrid during the hours allowed by the government to exercise, amid the national lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease. AFP

Members of a coronavirus testing station stand on the factory premises of the Westfleisch meat processing company in Hamm, western Germany, as all workers of the company have to be tested on the novel coronavirus after a spike in cases at their slaughterhouse. AFP

Members of the congregation wearing protective face masks observe social distancing as they attend a Sunday service at the Berliner Dom cathedral in Berlin. AFP

A manlift crane elevates relatives of elderly residents of Santo Antonio retirement house in Figueira da Foz, to allow them meeting but keeping their social distance, Portugal. AFP

Relatives and friends of a mechanic called Roberto, who died at a hospital with symptoms of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 and did not have a wake before his burial, cry at the Milagro de Dios Cemetery in Managua. AFP

Pastor Abednego T. Kendema offer prayers during a service at his home at Mount Barclay community, a suburb of Monrovia, Liberia. According to reports, the government of Liberia has closed down schools and the major churches have suspended services after the first two cases of COVID-19 were announced in the country. The government ordered the compulsory wearing of face masks and has extended the Stay Home order by two weeks, and proposed to reopen mosques and churches, on 17 May 2020 with restrictions. EPA

A soldier takes the body temperature of residents as they queue for free rice provided by the government for those whose livelihoods are affected by the new coronavirus outbreak, at the Central Jakarta Military District Command, in Jakarta, Indonesia. AP Photo

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Updated: May 11, 2020 05:08 PM

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