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Roundup: Refugees desperate to reach EU as arrivals in Greece tops 500,000

Xinhua, October 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

With some 8,000 people reaching Aegean islands on October 19 alone, the total number of sea arrivals on Greek soil since the beginning of the year has now surpassed the half a million mark, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday.

Over 27,500 people are currently located on Greek islands, putting pressure on Hellenic reception centres which are struggling to adequately receive and register refugees and migrants.

UNHCR highlighted the importance of implementing adequate reception conditions in Greece and in other parts of Europe if the EU's relocation programme agreed upon in September is to be successful.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming explained that land routes for people seeking to reach Europe were virtually closed, making sea routes the only viable option to reach Europe.

Syrian refugee testimonies show that not only do they see reaching Europe as a way to escape violence, but also as a chance to offer greater education for their children while gaining access to Europe's labour market.

Many saw Germany, Austria or Sweden as their only option, and UNHCR stressed the need to inform refugees of the existence of alternative destinations.

According to Fleming, a typical journey from Syria to Europe took about a week, with the short boat journey from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos usually costing between 1,000 and 2,000 U.S. dollars, with discounts offered by smugglers in light of worsening weather conditions.

Despite costs, the number of daily arrivals into Greece last weekend exceeded those of peak summer days, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) indicated.

According to IOM, 8,900 sea arrivals on Greek soil were reported last Friday, followed by 9,100 on Saturday, and 9,200 on Sunday.

507,825 maritime arrivals have been reported in Greece in 2015, followed by 140,195 arrivals in Italy, 3,007 in Spain and 105 in Malta.

This brings the total amount of sea of arrivals in Europe this year to 651,132, while statistics show that 3,138 individuals have lost their lives in 2015, compared to 3,149 for the whole of last year. Endit