EU to Offer € 2,000 to Every Migrant to Return Home Voluntarily

The European Union (EU) has said that it will pay € 2,000 s to any migrant in refugee camps in Greece who wishes to return to his country voluntarily.

The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Elva Johansson, announced the plan in Athens, the capital city of Greece. She said that the plan had been done in agreement with the Greek government.

She added that the financial offer is temporary for one month only, and is intended for immigrants who arrived before January.

She indicated that there are 5 thousand immigrants who can benefit from this offer if they return to their countries voluntarily.

Hundreds of migrants and refugees had arrived by boats via sea to the nearby Greek islands from Turkey.

The camps on those islands have about 42,000 asylum seekers, although they are designed to accommodate nearly 6 thousand people.

Stephen Albright, head of the Médecins sans frontières (MSF) mission in Greece, said that men, women, and children are living in appalling conditions in these overcrowded centers with very little access to services such as toilets, shower rooms, and electricity.

He added that the organization’s teams working in the clinic at Moriah camp receive 70 children every day, including children with chronic diseases, and we cannot provide them with appropriate care.

Johansson said that seven member states of the European Union have agreed to accommodate at least 1,600 unaccompanied children because they are the most vulnerable people.

These camps accommodate a large number of Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country, in addition to other immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and West Africa.

Aid organizations see Syria as a dangerous country for migrants to return, while Pakistan is a safe state.

Greece has temporarily suspended consideration of asylum applications, in a move that has been condemned by international aid organizations.

A spokesman for "Oxfam" Florian Oil said that all European governments have avoided taking responsibility in the migration crisis, not just Greece.

He added that the situation has become very bad since 2016 when Turkey signed an agreement with the European Union to limit the large influx of refugees into Europe.

The latest rise in numbers came after Turkey announced it would not prevent immigrants from heading towards Europe.

Turkey, which hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees, accuses the European Union of not providing enough help.