ATHENS: Rights organisations on Monday accused Greek authorities of excluding refugees and asylum seekers from food and cash assistance because of tough policies and poor planning.

“Though practises differ from region to region, it is roughly estimated that 60 percent of people living in camps do not receive food in the mainland,” the twenty-six organisations, including the Greek Council of Refugees and the International Rescue Committee, said in a statement.

“Among those left hungry, 25 percent are women (including pregnant women), single-headed families, 40 percent are children, chronic patients, and patients with special medical and nutritional conditions. In some places, food is not even provided to those put in quarantine due to Covid 19,” they added.

And over two weeks after the Greek state took over from the UN refugee agency the task of handing out EU cash assistance to asylum seekers in Greek camps, some 36,000 people have not received their support, the organisations said.

“In an attempt to cover this gap, asylum seekers have been receiving portions of food, reportedly of very poor quality and often not fully cooked,” they added.

Responding to the claims, the migration ministry said “all asylum seekers in camps on the islands and mainland have the right to food” and received three meals daily.

But the ministry noted that this does not include refugees who “must leave” the camps, while migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected “are obliged to leave the country.” The authorities also insisted there was “no delay” in payouts to camp residents, which will be received at the end of October.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2021