Immediate was the response of the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, to the placement of Vice Mayor of Athens, George Heimonas, to remove rent subsidy for the recognized refugees.

“My decision to modify asylum beneficiaries and the funds to be transferred to vocational training and Greek learning programs is non -negotiable. But I expected that I would find some NGOs and definitely the “businessmen” who manage real estate for this reason. Eventually the first to be annoyed is the Deputy Mayor Mr. Heimonas and the Municipal Authority of Athens.“, Thanos Plevris wrote in X and continued:

“To make it clear one and good: Efficient and acceptable integration program is to provide asylum beneficiaries to work and live where there is work and not the rent subsidy in the neighborhoods of Athens with the money of Greeks and Europeans. Athens has taken on a disproportionate migration. The Mayor of Athens Mr. Doukas has to take a clear position. Is it with the Athenians and those who really seek work or acts as a real estate broker?‘

Earlier, the Deputy Mayor of Social Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees Thanassis Winter was placed as follows:

“With strong reflection, but also with many questions, we have welcomed the recent statements by the Minister of Immigration and Asylum Mr. Plevris on the abolition of rental subsidy for recognized refugees through the Helios+accession program.

Mr. Plevris, altering the real memory, “the foreigners come and take us the jobs” ” ” ” come in and take our houses ”, attempts to cultivate the voters of his party the impression that the housing crisis is being held. But the reality is different. According to data from the International Organization of Migration itself (implemented by the program), rental subsidies that have been disbursed in the Attica District is only 165. In addition, for the granting of the housing allowance to those who have a recognized refugee regime, at least five years are required in the country. It is, therefore, impossible to find the minister’s claim that people who arrive today demanding refuge from war zones are burdened by Greek and European taxpayers.

Would we, finally, answer us by Mr. Plevris: he thinks the solution to immigration is to extrude these people to live in dozens of illegal rented houses or sleep on the street? We find it extremely dangerous and politically irresponsible to play with the thymic society, which fights daily with precision, especially on the issue of housing. The lack of affordable roof policies cannot be loaded into the familiar ” scapegoat ” of immigrants and refugees, paving the way for racist speech and – even worse – to racist practices“