Child migrant arrivals in Greece quadruple this year, Save the Children reports

Girls pose for a photograph at the old Vathy camp, waiting to be transferred to the new Samos RIC, the first of five new ‘closed’ migrant camps, on the island of Samos, Greece, on September 20, 2021 [LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP via Getty Images]

International NGO, Save the Children, reports that child migrant arrivals in Greece have quadrupled this year.

According to the report, more than 6,400 migrant children entered Greece this year, more than four times the number over the same period in 2023.

Analysis of monthly figures from UNHCR suggest that, between January and June this year, about 5,580 migrant children arrived by sea to Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, while about 830 arrived by land – a combined 400 per cent increase compared to the 1,280 migrant children who arrived in the first half of 2023.

Fileri Kyriaki, a lawyer with the Greek Council for Refugees—a Save the Children local partner said children travelling to Greece often experience agony and fear, knowing that they could die on their journey.

“There are no safe and legal channels to migration. The children have to risk their lives,” she said.

READ: Tunisia urges Europe to increase assistance to tackle migration crisis

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.