More than 130 Iraqi asylum seekers who were being housed in overcrowded camps in Greece have left the European country voluntarily on a charter flight bound for Iraq, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2020) More than 130 Iraqi asylum seekers who were being housed in overcrowded camps in Greece have left the European country voluntarily on a charter flight bound for Iraq, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.
According to the organization, the flight left Athens with 134 people on board on Thursday, bound first for Baghdad and then the city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
"This initiative is an important step towards resuming operations amid COVID-19 and providing migrants with an option to return in safety and dignity," Gianluca Rocco, IOM Greece's chief of mission, said in a press release.
The voluntary return program is available to asylum seekers who arrived on one of five Aegean islands before December 31, 2019. The program, which is being coordinated by the Greek government, the IOM, and the European Commission, sees asylum seekers receive up to 2,000 Euros ($2,351) if they choose to leave Greece.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, roughly 30,700 asylum seekers are currently residing on the Greek Aegean islands as of July 28.
