In the children’s camps of Kalathas in the Municipality of Chania, the 32 Egyptians who sent an SOS in the early morning from the boat they were on in the direction of Gavdos were transferred.

A ship located them near the beach of Trypitis, boarded them safely and transported them to the port of Chora Sfakion from where EL.AS transported them by bus to the camp sites.

This is the 5th case of migrants disembarking in Western Crete.

As mentioned by Eleni Zerboudaki in APE-MPE as responsible deputy mayor for social policy “for a month and a half this passage from Egypt to Gavdos has been created. These people are in a very difficult position, they are experiencing all the pieces of the puzzle of a humanitarian crisis, and we as the Municipality of Chania are standing by the person, trying to help as much as we can. Every week in the Kalathas children’s camps in Akrotiri, we host from 23 to 32 refugee-immigrants who stay in the camp for about a week.”

Mrs. Zervoudaki emphasized that it exists concern to the municipality and the authorities because on the one hand, the problems of people who are forced to leave their homeland and are experiencing a humanitarian or economic crisis are understandable, “but on the other hand, there should also be a framework for organization and support from the state’s side for us”. The responsible vice-mayor explained that “it is very difficult for the municipality to deal with the frequent and increased flows both at the health and financial level. We are forced to save money for these cases which is enough for food and other needs of the refugee-immigrants even for the 33,000. Money which every week we have to make available from our own resources. We were assured by the relevant ministry three years ago that they would provide us with financial support to deal with the situation, but to date there has been no movement.”

As Ms. Zerboudaki told APE MPE, there is a very serious and positive cooperation between the Police-Port Police and the services of the Municipality of Chania, “however, this is a matter of people and the spirit of mutual support. What we are asking is for the official state to have an organizational framework and what exactly is done in these cases. The Coast Guard finds that there are no accommodation facilities in Sfakia and Gavdos, so we as a municipality are strengthening our efforts of solidarity and respect for the human tragedies that arrive at our door. But it also needs financial support and an operating framework”.