Fifty unaccompanied children have been transferred yesterday from Pournara to accommodation in Paphos and the transfer of the rest is expected to be completed in the next few days, the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Anastasia Anthousi said today.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference on the decisions of the Council of Ministers on the low-income pensioners, when asked about this, Ms Anthousi said that the first 50 minors have been transferred to Paphos since yesterday, with all relevant services on the ground to provide the necessary services to the children and ensure their health and safety. "All the relevant services are there, so are the institutions, the Medical Services, the Police for the security issues," he said, adding that in the coming days "just to see the smooth functioning of the shelter, the rest of the children will be transferred. We have decided with the Social Welfare Services that the children will be transferred in two more phases, with the aim of completing their transfer in the next few days."
According to the information received so far, everything is going well, while there is constant communication with the volunteers and the PDOED, which has already expressed its willingness to help by offering educational activities for the children. "Everyone is there and the social partners and the relevant services are there to make the procedures to complete the evaluation of the minors," the Deputy Minister pointed out.
Regarding the remaining unaccompanied children, Ms Anthousi said that those for whom the evaluation process is completed will be transferred gradually, while for the rest there is consultation with the Minister of Interior and the Asylum Service, so that the procedures can be accelerated in Pournara as well.
Finally, the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare expressed concern about the ongoing migratory flows, which she said will create a problem. This one, she said, was a transitional solution. The increased migratory flows, she concluded, "will create a problem for us because the structures are not there and that is why we are running to do the planning for when the procedures are completed, in which structures we will move them out into the community."
(NG/SX)
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