BY JULIA MARNIN
Greek officials said on Monday that migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia should seek asylum in Turkey instead of Greece.
Greece’s foreign and migration ministries issued a decree calling Turkey a safe country for asylum seekers from the five nations and said its neighbor is able to review their asylum requests. Many of these migrants reach Greece after departing from Turkey.
Asylum seekers from the five countries specified by Greece should seek protection in Turkey instead because they “are not in any danger…due to their race, religion, citizenship, political beliefs or membership in some particular social group,” according to the decree.
In 2021 alone, more than 3,000 people traveled to Greece from Turkey seeking asylum. The United Nations‘ refugee agency documented 47 percent were from Afghanistan, 15 percent from Syria and nine percent from Somalia.
Source: Newsweek
