The situation
As of today, more than 950,000 people are being reported to have crossed to Europe in 2015. The main migratory entry point remains Greece, with almost 800,000 arrivals registered.
Demographically, we can still see a majority presence of males among the migrants on the move (57%), but we encounter more families, which is translated into an increasing number of children (27%) and women (16%). Recent changes on border policy controls developed by nations such as Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which are limiting the entry into their territories to nationalities (Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis) are still in place and have led to changes in the previous patterns of the countries of origin.
On the Western Balkans migratory route, 91% of the migrants come from these three nationalities (Syria 59%, Afghanistan 24%, Iraq 8%).1 Other countries of origin represented in Greece are Pakistan, Somalia, Morocco and Bangladesh, among others.With the approaching winter, many countries along the migratory route are typically exposed to severe weather conditions with temperatures below zero on the Celsius scale. Strong winds and worsening sea conditions are being reported in Greece, which explains a temporary decrease in arrivals during the last days.
Also, while the recent agreements between the EU Governments and Turkey focused on improving living conditions for refugees in Turkish territories while aiming at the control of the migratory flow, the flow of migrants, although reduced in numbers, stays steady.
As projected by UNHCR and other humanitarian actors, even if in decreasing numbers, the migratory flow still continues in spite of worsening weather conditions or border restrictions.Currently, an average of 2,000 to 2,500 people are arriving in Greece on daily basis, especially in the Greek island of Lesvos. Arrivals in islands such as Kos, Chios, Samos or Leros have substantially decreased.
The situation in Greece remains a major concern for us. Last week, the Greek authorities evacuated the transit camps in Idomeni which held a serious backlog of migrants that had not been allowed to continue into the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia due to their countries of origin as mentioned above. Over 3,000 people have been sheltered in Athens, where the Greek Government is leading on this response to accommodate migrants in the Taekwondo Stadium. The Hellenic Red Cross, like other humanitarian actors, is providing assistance to the population in those facilities. However, tensions remain vivid due to the uncertainty of the situation for the migrants. The results of these border restriction policies are making migrants look for alternative routes, which include Bulgaria and Albania (the latter leading towards Italy).
Meanwhile, the migrants coming from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are keeping on the move through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and continue the so called Western Balkans route towards Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria to reach the main countries of destination such as Germany, Finland or Sweden.