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An unprecedented family reunion rescue flight is expected to leave Athens, bringing 52 vulnerable migrants, including several minors, to join the family in the UK.
Monday’s flight is the result of intense efforts by refugee families in the UK with the support of campaign group Safe Passage and fellow Alf Dubs. It was organized in collaboration with the United Kingdom and the Greek governments after direct flights between Greece and the United Kingdom were suspended in March.
Family reunification is suspended in much of Europe, as the borders have been closed to stop the spread of Covid-19, but unusual efforts between the Home Office and the Greek government have allowed this flight to continue.
Many of the people on the flight have been living for months in overcrowding and unhealthy refugee camps on the Greek islands.
Ahmed, originally from Syria and now living in the north of England and studying at the university, worked nights for months while studying to get the money to support his younger brother Wahid. After months of waiting while his application was being processed, Wahid was due to leave Samos in late March when his flight was canceled.
Ahmed said to the Guardian: “He was packing when he found out, he was so disappointed. I called everyone I could think of to try to get him on a flight, offered to pay me. She had been renting him a room, but he needed to leave her and she was so worried that she would end up in the terrible camp.
“Other than a few days when I flew to see him on Samos, I haven’t been with him for five years, so we’ll sit down and talk.” He wants to study and he wants to be able to start playing sports once the closing is over. I just want my brother to be safe with me. “
Those on the flight include people from Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan. Safe Passage told the Guardian that many have experienced serious health problems and that they have all been in Greece for several months and, in some cases, years. An 18-year-old boy from Somalia who joins his uncle in the UK has spent months living in the Moria camp in Lesbos, while a stateless boy from Kuwait joins his brother after his lawyer rejected the rejections. of your family reunion claim. .
Families travel on the return leg of a repatriation flight that is taking stranded Greeks home to the UK. Colleagues from both sides of the Lords in the UK worked together to persuade the Home Office to allow the flight to proceed.
Eirini Agapidaki, Greek Special Secretary for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors, said the Guardian Greece Prime Minister and Migration Minister had worked with the UK Home Office as well as with refugee children’s advocate Lord Dubs to ensure that the flight could continue. “It is a great pleasure to announce the reunification of families in the UK during this pandemic,” he said. “Among these people are children who will finally be with their brothers, men and women to finally reunite with their spouses,” he said.
“It is collaborative teamwork that allows us to be effective in times of crown constraints,” he said, “a legacy that we must uphold not only at the national level but also at the EU level.”
Dubs told The Guardian that the transfer of these vulnerable people to the UK was a victory, but that Britain could do more to help stranded children in Greece. “We were very eager for people to get here as soon as possible,” he said, “[so as] These 50 people, including quite a few children, join their families, that’s a great thing and a cause for celebration.
“I hope this is just a start,” he added, “because there are other children who want to join their family in Britain during the Dublin III family reunion and there are other children who are in the Greek camps who may have no family here.” but they also need help finding safety. “
The UK Home Office was criticized last month for refusing to remove unaccompanied minors from overcrowded camps. In April, Germany and Luxembourg welcomed 49 and 12 unaccompanied refugee children, respectively.
Beth Gardiner-Smith, Executive Director of Safe Passage, said: “The governments of the United Kingdom and Greece have shown real leadership in bringing these families together despite travel difficulties and we now urge the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe. to continue these efforts to ensure that no one is left behind. “
