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European effort to help refugee minors: more children arrive in Germany from Greece
press release 24 July 2020
This morning, eighteen children with medical needs arrived at Kassel Airport in the German state of Hesse, along with their close relatives. With the agreement of the Federal Government, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer has decided to admit from Greece a total of 243 children in need of medical treatment as part of an EU initiative.
Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer: "As far as migration policy is concerned, humanitarian action is closely linked to maintaining order. Having restored balance to our migration policy, we are now able to admit 243 children in need of treatment, and to do so with broad public support. At the same time, we are showing solidarity with Greece. Solidarity with countries at the EU’s external borders is essential in view of the difficult path towards a common European asylum policy."
A total of 83 people arrived at Kassel Airport, including 54 from Afghanistan, eight from Iraq, seven from Syria, eight from the Palestinian territories and six from Somalia. Among the total of 18 families, 18 children are in need of medical treatment (eight of them below the age of seven, nine of them aged between 7 and 13, and one of them aged 15). The children are accompanied by 32 adults and 33 siblings (13 of them below the age of seven, 12 of them aged between 7 and 13, and eight of them aged between 14 and 17). The families range in size from two to eight people. Among the 83 people are two single-parent families and two unaccompanied siblings
The 83 refugees will be allocated among nine German states (Lower Saxony, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia, Bremen, Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg and Berlin), based on an allocation scheme agreed upon by the Federal Government and all the state governments. The allocation takes into account criteria such as family ties and specific medical needs. The allocation takes into account criteria such as family ties and specific medical needs.
