Author: infomigrants.net | 5 April 2019
Arrivals continue on eastern Aegean islands but outlook on funding for housing projects is uncertain.
The future of more than 6,000 migrants staying in temporary housing in Greece is under a cloud with funding programs for several projects up in the air as arrivals of more refugees continue to arrive from Turkey. Several temporary housing projects on the mainland, including Philoxenia which is EU-funded and one of the largest, are coming to an end in the summer - during a time when the numbers of migrant arrivals are expected to increase due to better weather conditions.
Philoxenia, which is implemented by the Greek chapter of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) hosts just over 6,000 asylum seekers in 56 hotels around Greece. But it is scheduled to finish at the end of June, with no solid announcements yet as to what will happen afterwards. "The Philoxenia program was supposed to end on March 31, but it was extended until the end of June, when the main tourist season starts. Right now it's unclear as to whether or not the program will be renewed in some shape or form. We are awaiting further developments," Christina Nikolaidou, the IOM press spokesperson, told Infomigrants.