MdM-Greece has been present on the island of Lesvos since 2011, providing support to the population of asylum seekers and new arrivals, even before the huge refugee flows that started in 2015 in Greece. During these years, alongside the main medical services, MdM-Greece was also activated immediately after the fires in Moria and Kara Tepe as well.
INTRODUCTION
As of June 5, the total number of third country arrivals of third country nationals in Greece for 2022, totalled 4,212. Of this number, approximately 2,035 have been recorded as having arrived by sea, while 2,177 refugees have arrived in Greece by land. According to statistics from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the country currently hosts approximately 25,0001 refugees both on the mainland and on the islands, with 8% of them residing on the North Aegean islands. While still hosting a large number of asylum seekers, Greece often fails to protect their rights on many levels, including due to illegal pushbacks of newly arrived refugees in Turkey, as well as the absence of an institutional guardianship policy regarding unaccompanied minors.
Returns under the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration have not taken place since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 measures. It should be noted that the Greek authorities have requested the Turkish authorities to continue returns under the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration.