Around 100 migrants and refugees, residing in a reception center in the Greek region of East Attica, on Monday blocked the Athens-Lamia national highway to protest poor living conditions in the center, local media reported.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2018) Around 100 migrants and refugees, residing in a reception center in the Greek region of East Attica, on Monday blocked the Athens-Lamia national highway to protest poor living conditions in the center, local media reported.
According to the Kathimerini newspaper, the refugee reception center located in Malakasa village was affected by a flood caused by heavy rains in the area earlier in the day.
The protests reportedly resulted in traffic disruptions and jams.
Malakasa hotspot's capacity is 1,500 people. According to the UN Refugee Agency's estimates, most of people living there are from Afghanistan.
In early August, the European Commission announced allocation of 37.5 million Euros ($44 million) to Greece for improving reception conditions for migrants arriving in the country, namely, by providing them with food, accommodation and health care.
The total number of refugees and migrants in Greece amounted to over 60,000 as of May 2018, according to the UN Refugee Agency. The country is one of the top ports of entry for migrants fleeing crises in their countries, as they are often trying to reach the EU states via the Mediterranean.
