Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
47 refugee children land in Germany
BERLIN — A group of 47 unaccompanied children evacuated from refugee camps in Greece landed in Germany on Saturday, German officials said.
The Interior Ministry said the minors landed in Hanover on a flight from Athens. They were all tested for the coronavirus before departure and will remain in two-week quarantine before moving on to other German states.
Germany’s interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said the evacuation was “the result of months of preparation and intense talks with our European partners” and expressed hope that other countries would also begin taking in refugee children soon.
The children come from Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea. Four are girls and there are several siblings among the group. Some of them have families waiting for them in Germany.
They were previously housed in refugee camps on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios that have been criticized as unsuitable for children by human rights activists.
“The Greek government has been trying to sensitize other EU countries to [the plight] of the young children, who have fled war and persecution, to find new families and start a new life. I’m glad this program is finally being implemented,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotsakis told reporters at the Athens airport, where he met the departing children, alongside the German ambassador to Greece, Ernst Reichel.
Mitsotakis added that he hoped more than 1,500 minors would be relocated over the next months.
Germany pledged last month to take in at least 350 children living in Greek refugee camps as part of a European effort, but the plan has stalled in some countries because of the pandemic.
“Greece will continue to treat all … that arrive in our country with great sensitivity. But, at the same time, it has the obligation to guard and protect its borders. We have proven, as a country, that we can do both,” Mitsotakis said.