Limassol authorities mobilise after migrants found living rough

Limassol authorities took action on Tuesday after a group of migrants was found living under the docks of the pier.

Photos circulating in the media showed the young migrants living under the pier, with clothes scattered on the large rocks, but also pieces of clothing hanging from the docks themselves.

Reports said the migrants were from Nigeria and that some of them have not applied for asylum.

Deputy mayor of Limassol Neophytos Charalambous said the municipality was informed on Monday that eight migrants who voluntarily left the Pournara reception centre were staying there.

Expressing his regret that in 2022 people live under such conditions, he told AlphaNews that “as soon as the municipality was informed, a competent official visited the site together with a police officer”. The data from all the migrants was taken and communicated to the relevant state agencies, he said.

The social welfare office was also notified.

The migrants were also accompanied to the Limassol bishopric where they received free food and were told how to receive daily meals.

Charalambous added that the municipality assisted those who had not gone to the welfare office to apply for benefits for rent and living allowance. “We asked the office to call these individuals immediately for an interview to determine whether they were eligible for these benefits,” the deputy mayor said.

He added that Limassol is the only municipality which has set up a centre to provide specialised support services to homeless people since 2019. Under the scheme, the municipality offers psychological support, help to fill in applications as well as other services such as access to sanitary facilities and meals.

The news come three months after President Nicos Anastasiades promised to improve the situation at the Pournara reception centre during a visit to the Kokkinotrimithia facility.

Earlier this year, a group of unaccompanied minors held a protest over living conditions at the centre, while some later left and were sleeping for several nights outdoors in the Nicosia city centre.