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New arrivals and those pushed back

Arrivals of refugees from Ukraine to Greece Over 19’000 people from Ukraine have arrived in Greece in mid April 2022. The majority arrived through the Greek-Bulgarian land border but some arrived as well via flights to the airports of Athens and Thessaloniki. The government of Greece is very welcoming to them and has guaranteed reception capacity

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Equal rights for all!

Apparently no evidence foundAfter four months of independent investigation, the Greek National Authority for Transparency has rejected any allegations of illegal push backs of asylum seekers trying to reach the country. The reports of Lighthouse and a wide consortium of European media, who analysed over 600 videos last year, made headlines internationally. They identified masked

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Sad facts from the island and the mainland

Introduction to AthensWith OHF opening in Athens, we would like to give you a short overview of the Greek city: With more than 4000 years of history, Athens is Europe’s oldest capital and the birthplace of democracy. The city is home to around 660’00 people with more than 3 million in the greater urban area. 

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Another winter brings much suffering

Arrivals and Departures in LesvosFrom the 1st till the 23rd January, there have been 116 arrivals via sea to Lesvos. In that same time period, 53 people departed to the mainland. There are currently 2,325 refugees and asylum seekers that still reside on Lesvos. 87% of the 2,325 are living in Moria 2.0. Men account

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Another year in the camp

2021 on Lesvos in a nutshell 2021 started with a stronger attempt from the Greek authorities to censor NGOs and make working with asylum seekers, migrants and refugees more difficult. OHF had to handle this hurdle and re-register in Greece, but luckily thanks to the hard and detailed work of our volunteers in Switzerland and

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Solidarity with all

Not enough food Up to 60% of current residents of Greek refugee camps do not have access to enough food because of a halt to cash assistance for asylum seekers and denial of food support to both rejected asylum seekers and recognized refugees. A law that was passed last year came into effect this month

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No rights, no money, no food

Cover-up documented At the end of September, 25 people from northern Iraq arrived in the village of Vasilitsi on the Greek mainland. But the next day, there was no trace of them. The mayor as well as several local residents documented their arrival and the whole situation. This was reported by the Tagesschau (German News

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One year after the fire

Record number of low arrivalsAccording to the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the number of arrivals to Greece is down 53% in the first eight months of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020. Arrivals to Lesvos are down 75% during this same period. As of 19th September, there are 3,432 refugees and asylum

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Some important news

Afghanistan is facing a new, urgent crisis, and is fearing the consequences of the takeover of the Taliban. As a reaction to that, Greece is strengthening its borders out of fear of a new influx of frightened refugees. Migratory movements into Europe over land and sea are, until now, running as usual.  However, the Evros Land

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The month of July

Covid-19 in Greece and Lesvos Since Monday July 26th, children ages 12-15 are now eligible to be vaccinated in Greece. Around 47% of Greeks are fully vaccinated. 10 out of 11 million Greek nationals have received at least one shot. In July, infection rates were comparable with those from April, just before Greece opened its

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