Finland to receive 11 underage refugees from gutted Greek camp

Finland has decided to assist Greece by receiving 11 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers from the Moria camp destroyed by fire, said a press release issued by the Ministry of Interior on Friday.

In the spring, the Government decided to receive 175 particularly vulnerable asylum seekers from the Mediterranean region. The reception of 11 underage asylum seekers is part of the implementation of this decision.

Greece has transferred more than 400 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers from the island of Lesbos to the mainland. The children who will be transferred to Finland are part of this group.

“The fire at the Moria camp is a shocking event in already difficult conditions. The Finnish Government decided in February to support the Mediterranean countries. So far, 72 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers have been transferred from Greece to Finland. Our actions have already helped Greece and vulnerable asylum seekers in concrete terms. By receiving these 11 minors, we will continue to provide support and implement the Government’s decision,” said Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo.

Germany, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, has asked the other EU Member States to help with the situation in Greece.

The possible timing of the transfer will be determined later. Upon arrival in Finland, the asylum seekers will spend 14 days in quarantine-like conditions.

A large fire broke out at Greece's largest refugee and migrants camp Moria, on the northeastern Aegean Sea island of Lesvos in the early hours of Wednesday.

The fire swept throughout the overflowing camp which, according to government data, accommodated some 13,000 persons, well above its capacity for 2,757, sending panic-stricken people out on the streets or to the nearby mountains in the middle of the night.

The northeastern Aegean island of Lesvos was declared on Wednesday a state of emergency for four days as the Greek government rushed to provide shelter to thousands of people, after Moria, the largest refugee, migrant camp in Greece, was heavily damaged in a big fire