Chios residents mobilize against new migrant center
Residents of the island of Chios plan to hold a protest rally on Wednesday against the creation of a closed controlled structure in the area of Akra to house asylum seekers.
The plans for the next structure were announced last week by Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis to the chagrin of locals from the villages of Sykiada, Langada and Vrontadou, whose councils have issued resolutions against its creation.
Mitarakis said the structure will replace the VIAL reception and identification center that has been operating since 2016 and currently houses 2,340 people while its capacity is 1,040 people. He stressed there will be further decongestion until the new structure is operational.
Local residents plan to escalate mobilizations until Saturday, when they intend to travel en masse to Hora, the capital. They say migrants should only be registered on Chios and then transferred to the mainland.
