Stepped reactions by local residents and office-holders in a municipal district in the extreme northeast border prefecture of Evros greeted a decision by the country’s migration and asylum ministry to expand a temporary shelter for third country nationals who illegally entered the country.
The Evros prefecture borders with Turkey in the Thrace province, and has long been a favorite route for migrant smugglers and people traffickers operating from the Turkish side.
A joint announcement signed by numerous local office-holders, Parliament deputies and Church hierarchs called for the decision to be rescinded, while adding that they favor an upgrade of the current shelter, where conditions are dire.
Moreover, all four Metropolitans in the Thrace province called on the specific ministry not to expand any of the current “hotspots” in the region, given the particular characteristics of the area.
