Samos to protest slow pace of vulnerable migrant, refugee transfers

The municipal authority of Eastern Samos, home to the island’s capital, has called on residents to gather at the main port on Tuesday afternoon to protest the slow pace of transfers of vulnerable migrants and refugees from the eastern Aegean island to more suitable facilities on the mainland.

The 4 p.m. rally was called following an emergency meeting of the municipal council on Monday to discuss the continued presence of two navy ships at the island’s port that were dispatched by the government to help relocate hundreds of vulnerable migrants and refugees staying in makeshift shelters outside the official identification and reception center.

In an announcement, the municipal authority conceded that bad weather in the Aegean over recent days has prevented the ships from sailing but called on the government to organize the immediate transfer of these people to “facilities that will ensure humane living conditions” and allow them to complete their asylum applications.

In a related development meanwhile, the regional governor of the Northern Aegean, Kostas Moutzouris, has called an emergency meeting of island mayors on Tuesday to discuss the migrant/refugee crisis. He also invited the region’s ruling New Democracy lawmakers to attend.