One of Greece's most problematic migrant camps at Souda on the island of Chios is finally closing down, but more headaches are ahead for local authorities after a new spike in refugee arrivals in recent days
The unofficial "open" camp at Souda was set up two years ago in response to the overwhelming numbers of migrants arriving on boats from war-torn countries in the Middle East. But after several months of protesting from locals as well as the speeding up of asylum processes and transfers of people to other facilities in the Aegean region, there are just 290 people left staying at the camp ahead of its imminent closure.
Despite an upsurge in new arrivals of migrants on Chios and neighboring islands, Chios Deputy Mayor George Karamanis says that Souda will not accept any more people. "We have stopped accepting people in Souda, regardless of whether there are problems at the Vial detention center; we insist on our decision and it is up to the government now to solve any future issues... The relatively small number of people left can be moved to Athens, but the majority of them will probably have to be moved to a pre-departure center elsewhere."
Such a facility is expected to be set up on Chios in the coming weeks - albeit small, but issues over its location have delayed its creation.The closure of Souda signals a symbolic landmark for Chios' local population. Living conditions quickly became extremely difficult due to overcrowding and there were regular violent clashes between rival ethnic groups of migrants and police.
While the locals on the island have shown great solidarity during the crisis, they are also keen to return to some semblance of "normality" after a tough two years. However, a sudden surge in the numbers of undocumented migrants arriving from neighboring Turkey over the weekend up to Monday has stirred tensions again.
Officials reported 256 arrivals on Chios out of a total of 643 migrants and refugees across the Aegean islands from Saturday to Monday. Over 12,000 migrants have crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece so far this year. Although this is a significant drop when compared to more than 160,000 people during the same period in 2016, authorities at the various migrant camps are still struggling with a backlog of asylum applications and overcrowding.