The Greek Government has today carried out the first evictions against dozens of families who have been evicted. A total of 11,200 people are expected to leave by the end of this month. Although the expulsion was already ready for April, only the COVID-19 epidemic delayed the fate of the refugees.

The Government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has limited the right to residence and apartment to one month, coinciding with the new legislature. With the Syriza Government, the period for staying in the supervised residence of the State was six months. However, NGO sources have warned that it is "very difficult" to obtain social aid for refugees in these stays, as those who do not speak Greek find "many obstacles" to "advancing through bureaucracy".

Unprotected

The aid that has been maintained until just over six months ago does not reach all refugees. For example, several members of the Athenian neighborhoods of Victoria and Omonia spend several years unlawfully waiting for a visa. In the meantime, they are in a situation of total marginalization, without the possibility of finding a job, among other things. These include a large number of young people who travel alone without a family and who suffer permanent police persecution.

Mediocre host

The Government will take the evictions on the pretext of accommodating new refugees, according to Interior. "We have been struggling to survive for 10 years (...) Now, when our situation has stabilized, we are again being asked to start from scratch," Abdelkader Rahmoun told AFP. The 44-year-old Syrian, like other families who have fled the Middle East, must leave his home in the port of Piraeus in Athens. "We will also be reduced to the subsidy of EUR 400 per month. If we are thrown out, we can stay on the street”, he said, worried. His Iraqi neighbours have a father in a wheelchair and a daughter with 5 years of functional diversity who cannot eat on her own.