Feature: Refugees' plight on Lesvos worsens as UNHCR, NGOs suspend some operations opposing EU-Turkey deal

Refugees and migrants continued to flow into the Greek island of Lesvos on Wednesday, despite the European Union-Turkey deal which came into effect on March 20 with the aim to stem the influx.

From Tuesday to Wednesday new arrivals have reached 260, while from Sunday a total of 424 people were rescued by the Greek Coast Guard off the island's coasts, according to official statistics.

Anxious and nervous about their future are the refugees stranded in Lesvos, as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) raises its concern regarding the implementation of the deal.

"We still don't have details on the implementation of the deal and how it will affect people arriving," Boris Cheshirkov, UNHCR spokesperson on Lesvos told Xinhua during a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Opposing to mandatory detention, the UN Refugee Agency announced on Tuesday from Geneva that it was suspending some of its activities in Greece and in Lesvos as well. Other NGOs have followed suit for the same reasons.

"We have a principle opposition to administrative detention that can only be a measure of last resort for the shortest amount of time possible. Children and people with specific needs should not be placed in closed environments," he highlighted.

At the suburbs of Mytilene city, Lesvos' capital, the reception center of Moria has turned into a closed facility this week.

"Previously, we were transporting the vast majority of the arrivals from the port to Moria. Now, we have been disengaged from the transportation assistance," Cheshirkov said.

UNHCR will maintain a presence on the island to carry out protection monitoring and ensure that refugee and human rights standards are upheld, as well as in order to provide information on the rights and procedures to seek asylum.

In contrast, Kara Tepe camp which is run by the local municipality, "remains an open facility" with a total of 500 migrants and refugees registered before March 20 seeking asylum, and subscribing to the relocation program.

There, UNHCR continues to be actively involved in protection work, in humanitarian assistance and in some infrastructure development, as they did before.

"We continue to be actively present on the shorelines and the ports, support humanitarian efforts, and lifesaving work," Cheshirkov added.

The island of Lesvos has been at the forefront of the refugee crisis over the past year, with about half of the one million arrivals into Greece since early 2015 recorded on Lesvos.

The Greek state's support mechanism is overstretched and even the partial pull out of UNHCR people and volunteers of NGOs from some activities can be felt. The gap cannot be filled easily, while refugees need all the help they can get from the moment they step on the soil.

Cheshirkov stressed that as UNHCR and other organizations continue to do their best to offer humanitarian aid to refugees, extra priority needs to be given by the Greek State to vulnerable groups like unaccompanied children and women.

Due to closed borders with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and overcrowded facilities across Greece, children cannot be relocated from the islands to safe hospitality centers in the mainland and are at risk of being kept in detention centers for more time than allowed.

At the First Reception Service within Moria center, there are 118 unaccompanied children.

"Among them there are children who have stayed there for more than 20 days who need to be transferred immediately", Nantina Leivaditi from Greek NGO Praksis explained to Xinhua.

Taking into consideration the demographics since September 2015, one out of nine people arriving in Greece was a child. Today is one out of three.

According to the latest figures, women and children are two thirds of the arrivals.

"Ninety-one percent of everyone coming into Greece is from the top 10 refugee producing countries, while most of them are families and children," Cheshirkov pointed out.

"What we need to see happen is reinforcing the asylum service, stepping up in providing adequate conditions in all the facilities and bringing up the reception capacities. But, Greece should not be left to handle the situation alone. We need full EU solution based on solidarity with the act of participation of all EU member states and the full engagement of the EU institutions on the ground throughout Greece, including Lesvos," he stressed. Enditem