Vulnerable refugees facing life on street, NGO warns

Refugees with serious physical or mental health problems face finding themselves in the street as a result of a government decision to end housing and financial support for those whose asylum applications have been approved, Doctors without Borders has warned. 

In a statement on Monday, the aid organization called on the government to halt the eviction of refugees who belong to vulnerable groups and to broaden existing accommodation programs so that those currently on the street can find shelter.

According to the group, at least 30 vulnerable refugees – some with cancer, others who have survived torture and several women in advanced stages of pregnancy – have been evicted or are about to be evicted from state-run or subsidized facilities. 

The head of the group’s mission in Athens, Giorgos Karagiannis, noted that several heavily pregnant refugees are sleeping in the capital’s Victoria Square.