Greek governor begs for more asylum aid

athens - Approximately 15,000 people on Greek islands are waiting for a government decision on their migration request. The governor of the islands in the eastern part of the Aegean Sea blames the endless official procedure and the shortage of civil servants.

Christiana Kalogirou expressly asks the government in Athens for extra help for the civil servants who work on asylum applications. If there is no assistance, that endless process will never change, she complained Tuesday.

In addition to Greek officials, employees of the European Asylum Authority EASO are also active on the islands. All in all, those employees can only process a few dozen applications per day. At the same time new asylum seekers are added every day, so that the processing time does not become shorter.

On islands such as Lesbos, Leros, Samos, Kos and Chios, the shelter accommodates 5500 people. However, the capacity has long since been extended to 15,000. These people are now in December in shelter facilities that are suitable for summer conditions.