Right of asylum

Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in Turkey have a monthly expenditure of 2,061 Turkish liras (roughly $344), according to a recent study by the confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş).

Türk-İş's research on the Syrian asylum seekers and irregular migrants currently residing in Turkey have revealed their economic situation and living expenses in the country.

Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Giorgos Koumoutsakos and the executive director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Nina Gregori, on Tuesday signed an agreement paving the way for the agency to acquire a branch in Greece as part of its efforts to bolster support for the country as it struggles to manage rising numbers of refugees and migrants.

The tension surrounding the migrant/refugee crisis is such that any sense of moderation appears almost suspect and spurious. The reason is that everyone involved (local communities, organizations, politicians etc) is either afraid or worried - and very much so.

The number of migrants entering Europe from Turkey rose significantly last year as people fleeing strife in Syria and Afghanistan flooded into the country and then set out for Greece, the head of the European Union's border agency said Friday.

Margaritis Schinas, vice president of the European Commission responsible for promoting the European way of life, on Thursday told Greece's Parliament that the bloc is planning a new migration and asylum agreement for the first quarter of 2020 that would take a "holistic" approach to the migration problem and oblige all member-states to pull their weight.

Cyprus intercepted a vessel carrying 101 Syrians off its coast on Tuesday, police said, one of the largest arrivals of refugees from the neighboring country in recent months.

The Syrians were loaded at sea onto a coastguard vessel and from there led to a harbour in the south-east of the island.

At least 12 people died on Jan. 11 when a boat loaded with asylum-seekers sank in the Ionian Sea, the Greek coastguard said.

"So far 12 bodies have been recovered. The search and rescue operation continues," the coastguard said.

Greece's new asylum law, which goes into effect on January 1, will facilitate the return of more people to Turkey under the terms of the 2016 EU-Turkey deal designed to curb migration across the Aegean, officials say.

In Myanmar, a revival of the decades-long repression of the Rohingya has displaced hundreds of thousands. Add to that extreme poverty and climate-related pressures — in Africa's Sahel region and elsewhere — and it is little wonder why the number of displaced people has been rising fast.

Most Greek adolescents are in favor of equal opportunities for migrants, according to a survey carried out by the University Mental Health Research Institute last year and whose results were made public on Wednesday on the occasion of International Migrants Day.