Aid issues raised by Brexit

A PERTH woman who sends aid to refugees in Greece has told of her difficulties in shipping the charitable goods since Brexit.

For the last two years Suzanne Milne has regularly been visiting the former Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos and filling shipping containers full of clothes, toiletries and medical supplies to send.

She has now set up a new collection point at Cash for Clothes in the Ladeside Business Centre, but has been warned she faces “significantly” higher shipping and custom costs now the UK has left the European Union.

Suzanne initially went out to do humanitarian work with the charity Attika Human Support two years ago and is now the charity’s UK co-ordinator.

There are still 8,000 refugees in Lesvos and 16,000 across the Greek islands, including some tourist destinations. There are 35,000 in Athens and 45,000 across the rest of mainland Greece.

Suzanne wants to sent another container of aid to Lesvos in the next couple of months but was told shipping and customs fees could be several thousands of pounds more than she paid before.

She said: “My last container cost £7,000 because I had to purchase the actual container as well as pay for shipping because Greece is in lockdown and there are not enough volunteers there to unload the container. I had to purchase it and leave it there.

“It is also very difficult to find space on ships for containers and the custom charges could be several thousands of pounds as well.”

The UK Government did not respond to a request for comment.

Suzanne Milne.