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The serious health problems with serious infectious diseases that have been identified in migrant accommodation centres and the risk of transmission of these diseases to Cypriot society, was the most important issue discussed in the Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee on Migration.
Serious diseases, according to allegations, such as AIDS, Hepatitis B and C and syphilis have been identified in migrant centres with MPs expressing grave concern about the possibility of these diseases being transmitted to the native population.
The Committee also heard other complaints about the Solia area, which, according to local officials, has been overrun by irregular migrants and asylum seekers.
According to data provided within the Commission by the Director General of the Ministry of Health, in 2021 11,181 migrants were examined in Pournara and 109 cases of AIDS, 373 cases of hepatitis B, 52 cases of hepatitis C, 53 cases of syphilis and 11 cases with active tuberculosis were detected.
He also reported that in 2022 to date, 9 thousand migrants have been examined in Purnara and detected 76 cases of AIDS, 317 cases of hepatitis B, 36 cases of hepatitis C, 31 cases of syphilis and 20 cases of active tuberculosis.
The Chairman of the Committee and ELAM MP Linos Papagiannis, speaking after the meeting said that the first thing that has been established is that there is no proper understanding on the issue of migration by the relevant ministries, of which there are six, and added that he asked those responsible to understand that in a government there should be a political line. "Today Cyprus is facing at unprecedented levels a problem that has become a real invasion, as Turkey has instrumentalized the migration issue to such an extent and we still hear from the most official lips that we are obliged to follow European directives and agreements," he said. Papagiannis then referred to the problem of serious communicable diseases that have appeared in the community and added that as far as the financial aspect of health in migration is concerned,
"we have exceeded 1 million euros in vaccines and tests in less than 12 months and if we add to this amount any emergencies either from Pournara or with the daily cases in hospitals, the amounts are staggering," he said.
The ELAM MP then referred to the presence of the UNHCR for the first time in the Commission, which confirms that what is reported by political forces and parties that "supposedly", as he said, "should have been opposition", the line and the problem starts from the management of Europe and what is being transferred to the Republic of Cyprus.
On the other hand, he added, there is no excuse from the way the government decided to manage the migration issue for so many years and expressed hope that the government would realize that the Ministry of Labor is not a separate entity from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Interior. "They represent a government that has so far failed to solve the problem," he said."
DIKO MP Zacharias Koulias said the important issue in relation to communicable diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis B, C, syphilis and tuberculosis became apparent today. "We are in the early stages as these diseases in the long run will have an imprint on the indigenous population and it has already been reported to the Commission that there is trafficking and the risk of transmission of these diseases is immediate and obvious," he said.
Koulias said that many of the migrants work in food delivery services
, and therefore the state should make provision that those working in this sector should have a health certificate. He said that according to the Ministry of Health, many of these foreigners are uncooperative and when diagnosed with illnesses they do not come back for re-examination and despite being carriers of serious diseases.
Koulias welcomed the attitude of the Ministry of Health and the state, who take care of children born in Cyprus to migrant parents when they have serious health problems, providing the same care as citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.
Apart from the issue of communicable diseases being carried in the community, DPA MP Alekos Tryfonides[/B] addressed complaints that have been heard within the Committee about migrants in Cyprus.
Referring to the area of Solia, he said that at this time the area is "bogged down" by the presence of informal migrants and asylum seekers. He said there are complaints that asylum seekers are renting a house to 3 people and 20 and 30 people are staying in it.
[/P]Mr. Tryfonidis conveyed a complaint from the community leader of Kakopetria, who is the owner of a legal Betting Agency. Specifically, he said, the community leader found in a bank receipt of an asylum seeker, that the applicant had 65 thousand euros in his account.
The most serious complaint conveyed by Mr. Tryfonidis concerned a man who, while in a supermarket in the Solia area, allegedly showed his genitals to schoolgirls. "At the moment in the Solia area, children and schoolgirls cannot go out and take a walk, and they cannot use the sports fields and other areas because they are being used by the asylum seekers who have flooded the area," he said.
Tryfonidis said there is a serious need at the Morphou Police Directorate for reinforcement to deal with all these issues with the Deputy Chief of Police pledging to convey the message for immediate reinforcement.
Source: KYPE
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