Syrian refugees in Cyprus struggling to rebuild lives torn by war
2 years, 11 months ago

Syrian refugees in Cyprus struggling to rebuild lives torn by war

Al Jazeera  

Paphos, Cyprus – Mustafa*, his wife and their four children felt a sense of relief last summer as they entered a condominium overlooking the shimmering Mediterranean Sea. But in January, the Cypriot interior ministry implemented a decree that banned asylum seekers from moving to Chloraka, citing demographic changes and “social problems”. I’m not here to break laws.” Government decree Interior ministry spokesman Loizos Michael said Cyprus, a small island on the eastern Mediterranean, has been struggling to implement an integration strategy in the face of skyrocketing numbers of asylum seekers. Meanwhile, the ministry’s spokesperson Michael said many asylum seekers are in fact “economic migrants” who have clogged the application process for the many seeking protection from war and persecution, notably Syrians. Michael, the interior ministry spokesman, said asylum services staff at Pournara “are trying to do their best every single day to handle the issue”.

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History of this topic

UN refugee agency accuses Cyprus government of pushing asylum seekers into a UN buffer zone
4 months, 2 weeks ago

UN refugee agency accuses Cyprus government of pushing asylum seekers into a UN buffer zone

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. UNHCR spokeswoman Emilia Strovolidou said that as many as …

7 EU members say conditions in Syria should be reassessed to allow voluntary refugee returns
7 months ago

7 EU members say conditions in Syria should be reassessed to allow voluntary refugee returns

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The governments of seven European Union member states said Friday the situation in Syria should be re-evaluated to allow for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees back to their homeland. The seven countries said the EU should further boost support for Lebanon to “mitigate the risk of even greater flows from Lebanon to the EU.” “Decisions as …

Cyprus suspends asylum applications for Syrians as arrivals rise
8 months, 1 week ago

Cyprus suspends asylum applications for Syrians as arrivals rise

Al Jazeera  

More than 1,000 people have arrived in Cyprus on boats from Lebanon this month amid deepening tensions in the Middle East. Cyprus has suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians following a sharp increase in arrivals this month, authorities say. Lebanon, coping with a crippling economic crisis since 2019, hosts some 805,000 Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations, …

Cyprus suspends processing of Syrian asylum applications as boatloads of refugees continue arriving
8 months, 1 week ago

Cyprus suspends processing of Syrian asylum applications as boatloads of refugees continue arriving

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus said Saturday it’s suspending processing all asylum applications by Syrian nationals because large numbers of refugees from the war-torn country continue to reach the island nation by boat, primarily from Lebanon. On Monday, Christodoulides and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the European Union to provide financial support to help cash-strapped Lebanon stop migrants …

Cyprus president and Lebanese caretaker premier urge EU financial aid to curb migration from Lebanon
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Cyprus president and Lebanese caretaker premier urge EU financial aid to curb migration from Lebanon

Associated Press  

BEIRUT — The Lebanese caretaker prime minister and the Cypriot president are calling on the European Union to provide financial support to help cash-strapped Lebanon stop migrants from reaching European shores. President Nikos Christodoulides’ visit to Beirut Monday, alongside his country’s interior and foreign ministers and army chief, came after he urged the EU last week to intercede with Lebanese …

Cyprus president and Lebanese caretaker premier urge EU financial aid to curb migration from Lebanon
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Cyprus president and Lebanese caretaker premier urge EU financial aid to curb migration from Lebanon

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Lebanese caretaker prime minister …

Cyprus concerned over spike in arrivals of Syrian refugees from Lebanon
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Cyprus concerned over spike in arrivals of Syrian refugees from Lebanon

Al Jazeera  

Arrivals of Syrian asylum seekers have surged, with more than 350 such arrivals recorded in two days. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday said it was “deeply concerning” that the irregular arrival of Syrian asylum seekers and refugees was consistently rising in recent weeks, with more than 350 such arrivals recorded in two days. Cyprus, the EU’s easternmost state, lies …

Cyprus minister says a proposal to set up safe zones in Syria for refugees to return is advancing
9 months ago

Cyprus minister says a proposal to set up safe zones in Syria for refugees to return is advancing

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — A Cyprus government proposal to enable repatriations of Syrian refugees by designating specific areas within the country as safe zones is “gaining ground” among the island nation’s fellow European Union member states, the Cypriot interior minister said Friday. Minister Constantinos Ioannou said after talks with European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas that it’s the “conviction of several …

Cyprus president wants the European Union to discuss designating Syria safe zones for refugees
10 months, 1 week ago

Cyprus president wants the European Union to discuss designating Syria safe zones for refugees

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The European Union won’t serve its own best interests if it doesn’t consider designating some parts of Syria as safe zones so refugees and migrants can return there, the president of Cyprus said Monday. “I don’t consider not discussing the situation inside Syria as an appropriate option for the European Union,” Christodoulides said after talks with Germany’s …

Refugees were allocated 6% of social housing in 2021
11 months, 1 week ago

Refugees were allocated 6% of social housing in 2021

Dutch News  

Despite claims that refugees with residency permits are being given priority in social housing, they accounted for just 6% of new rent-controlled housing corporation tenants in 2021, according to research by national statistics agency CBS. That year, 169,000 housing corporation homes became available for new tenants and just under 10,000 were allocated to refugee families, the CBS said. In Alkmaar, …

Cyprus minister says his nation leads EU in repatriations and migrant arrivals are down sharply
1 year ago

Cyprus minister says his nation leads EU in repatriations and migrant arrivals are down sharply

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus is the first European Union member country to repatriate more migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected than have arrived in a single year, the east Mediterranean island nation’s interior minister said Thursday. But Ioannou said a deal EU leaders reached on Wednesday on new rules to control migration falls short of Cyprus’ demand for compulsory …

Cyprus prepares for a potential migrant influx due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war
1 year, 1 month ago

Cyprus prepares for a potential migrant influx due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus is doubling the existing 1,153-person capacity of its main migrant reception camp as the island nation prepares for potentially a large influx of people if the crisis in neighboring Israel and Gaza escalates, authorities said Monday. The Pournara reception camp — on the outskirts of the capital Nicosia — will see an increase in staffing to …

Cyprus braces for refugee arrivals amid Lebanon war fears
1 year, 1 month ago

Cyprus braces for refugee arrivals amid Lebanon war fears

Al Jazeera  

Officials in Cyprus say Beirut’s possible involvement in the Israel-Hamas war has made Lebanon lag in migration management. Cyprus has received 458 Syrian refugees from Lebanon in a week, Cypriot authorities have said, as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to spread into a wider regional conflict. He said that Lebanon’s possible involvement in Israel’s war in Gaza and the generally worsening …

Cyprus calls on the EU to rethink Syrian safe zones for eventually repatriating Syrian migrants
1 year, 3 months ago

Cyprus calls on the EU to rethink Syrian safe zones for eventually repatriating Syrian migrants

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus has formally called on the European Union to re-evaluate which areas of Syria can be declared safe and free from armed conflict so that Syrian migrants can eventually be repatriated there, Cypriot authorities said Friday. Ethnically divided Cyprus, with a population of nearly a million in the southern, internationally recognized part where migrants seek asylum, says …

Cyprus is sending Syrian migrants back to Lebanon. The UN is concerned but Cypriots say it’s lawful
1 year, 4 months ago

Cyprus is sending Syrian migrants back to Lebanon. The UN is concerned but Cypriots say it’s lawful

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The United Nations refugee agency said Friday it was “extremely concerned” over the return of more than 100 Syrian nationals from Cyprus to Lebanon without being screened to determine whether they need legal protection and who may be deported back to their war-wracked homeland. “Under these circumstances, we believe that they don’t face any danger and their …

EU agency says asylum numbers up, could strain facilities
2 years, 1 month ago

EU agency says asylum numbers up, could strain facilities

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — The number of people applying for international protection in Europe has reached highs not seen since well over 1 million people sought refuge on the continent seven years ago and could place strain on national asylum systems, a European Union agency said Wednesday. About 84,500 people applied for asylum in August in the 27 EU member countries plus …

Refugee numbers top 10,600 in Q3, led by Syrians and Afghans
2 years, 1 month ago

Refugee numbers top 10,600 in Q3, led by Syrians and Afghans

Dutch News  

Over 10,600 people made a first request for asylum status in the Netherlands in the third quarter of this year, according to figures from the immigration service IND. The largest group – 4,600 – came from Syria, followed by nearly 1,000 people from Afghanistan and 935 from Turkey, national statistics agency CBS said, citing figures sourced from the IND. More …

Cyprus arrests 5 after 2 boats sink, 37 migrants saved
2 years, 3 months ago

Cyprus arrests 5 after 2 boats sink, 37 migrants saved

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus police have arrested five Syrians on suspicion of people trafficking after a police patrol boat plucked them and 32 of their countrymen from the sea when their rickety boats sank close to the island’s southeastern tip. Police say the five men aged 46-53 face numerous charges including helping third-country citizens to illegally enter Cyprus for financial …

Mediterranean nations criticize EU solidarity on migrants
2 years, 6 months ago

Mediterranean nations criticize EU solidarity on migrants

Associated Press  

ROME — Five European Union nations on the Mediterranean who fear possible waves of refugees driven by hunger out of Africa called Saturday for an end to the EU’s “voluntary” solidarity on migrants and a better way to redistribute the burden of caring for them. The Interior ministers from Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Spain wrapped up two days of …

Cyprus streamlines migrant returns with EU help
2 years, 10 months ago

Cyprus streamlines migrant returns with EU help

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The European Union and it’s border agency Frontex have helped Cyprus streamline procedures to return migrants who have had their asylum applications rejected amid soaring numbers of arrivals, the country’s interior minister said Tuesday. Minister Nicos Nouris told reporters after talks with Beate Gminder, who heads the European Commission’s Migration Management Task Force, that Cyprus saw 1,335 …

Vatican takes in 12 migrants as pope denounces indifference
3 years ago

Vatican takes in 12 migrants as pope denounces indifference

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Pope Francis on Friday denounced the “culture of indifference” that the West shows migrants as the Vatican confirmed that at least a dozen asylum-seekers would be transferred from Cyprus to Italy in a gesture of solidarity with European countries that have received a disproportionate share of would-be refugees. The Vatican didn’t immediately respond when asked about the …

Cyprus wants EU support for migrant crackdown as flows rise
3 years, 1 month ago

Cyprus wants EU support for migrant crackdown as flows rise

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus said Wednesday it will seek European Union approval to stop processing asylum claims from migrants illegally entering the east Mediterranean island nation. Government spokesman Marios Pelekanos said a surge of new migrant arrivals is fueling serious crime, taxing state coffers and altering the country’s demographics. Pelekanos said authorities would also press the EU to relocate a …

Refugee number rise sharply in Q3 as more Syrians and Afghans apply for asylum
3 years, 1 month ago

Refugee number rise sharply in Q3 as more Syrians and Afghans apply for asylum

Dutch News  

A total of 8,845 people made a first application for asylum in the Netherlands in the third quarter of this year, 2.5 times the second quarter total and the highest number since the end of 2015. The rise in the number of new refugees is causing major problems at the country’s refugee centres, where a shortage of beds has led …

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