Mitarachi: Two refugee facilities in Mytilene to shut down by end of the year

Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi on Thursday announced that two hosting facilities for migrants and refugees on Lesvos are to be shut down. The two facilities are the one operated by the Mytilene municipality at Kara Tepe, which will shut down on December 31, and one housed in the PIKPA facilities south of the town of Mytilene, which will shut down on October 31 and be handed back to the labour ministry to operate as a children's summer camp.

At the same time, the municipality of Mytilene will be responsible for finding an area to build a new reception and identification centre for migrants and refugees with the capacity to house up to 2,500 people.

The municipality of Mytilene, in an announcement, noted that consent for the creation of a new hotspot depends on the government committing to the rapid decongestion of the migrant population on the island. It also demanded the creation of a new hotspot based on a specific timetable, the shutting down of all the other hosting facilities on the island as well as an end to the hosting of migrants and refugees in houses in Mytilene, as the migration minister announced in his statements.

"After this five-year ordeal with migration, the state ought to immediately push forward all the necessary procedures to hand over all the migrant and refugees hosting facilities to the citizens of Mytilene, simultaneous to their restoration and development as facilities for sports and other social uses".