Filenews 29 May 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
Paphos welcomed, at the end of March, the first irregular migrants, who were transferred to a closed structure that was created for the first time in the province. It is a closed accommodation facility for underage migrants, who were transferred to Paphos from Pournara, after many days of processes and confrontations between people from various regions of Cyprus where these people would eventually end up. The municipality of Pafos appeared from the outset positive to this perspective, putting the humanitarian aspect first. Almost two months since then, however, the climate in Paphos has changed: The authorities appear clearly troubled by the result of this move, while in the local community things are even more "problematic": Residents and ordinary citizens in general, talk about a pernicious move that already has a serious negative impact on the residents of the area where the closed structure operates, but also in the image of Pafos.
The closed structure for minors operates, by agreement, in an apartment complex on the central tourist avenue Tombs of the Kings in Kato Paphos. A total of 150 migrants have been transferred and are living there, with the age aspect of these people being another sticking point, since many strongly question the 'age' of many of those transferred there.
The intention of the state authorities from the beginning was the operation of this area in Kato Pafos as a controlled closed structure that would accommodate the 150 unaccompanied children who were transferred from "Pournara". A wide-ranging meeting was held in the area for this purpose with representatives of police departments, as well as government departments and services, which have daily friction with these individuals. There was training of officials who are in charge of unaccompanied children, since in the closed facility they say that there is also a kind of school for the learning of Greek and for the acquisition of various skills by unaccompanied children.
In general, the officials point out, this facility was not designed to be a closed prison for unaccompanied children, but to have controlled entry and exit and especially on their way out to be accompanied by competent officials.
From intentions to deeds, reality has once again proved to be very different. Just two days after the transfer of the first of the 150 unaccompanied minors, the first incidents between residents were recorded, the first strong protests of residents for the nuisance and the feeling of insecurity caused in the area by the concentration of these people, but also the first strong complaints of the foreigners themselves about living conditions that refer to a prison and not to an educational residence, as they argued, to the point that some of them were asking for their return to "Pournara".
The underlying turmoil peaked on Friday, May 13, with serious incidents. According to the Police, two groups of minors came into a scuffle inside the area and outside the hotel area where they are staying. Members of the Pafos Police Department and the Mechanized Direct Action Unit went to the scene and after the intervention of the Police, a further escalation of the situation was prevented. Five people were slightly injured in the incidents, two of whom were taken to Paphos Hospital and then discharged.
The spokesman of the Pafos Police Department, Michalis Nikolaou, said that the cause of the incidents seems to have been the confrontation between those involved while they were playing football.
The images of street battles for hours in one of the most touristic and crowded parts of Pafos caused strong reactions, this time among residents and businessmen. Owners of recreation centres in the area told "F" that the situation, even in times when there are no significant incidents between the occupants of the structure, is very bad for the wider area.
"We are one of the most touristic spots in Paphos and we are still amazed at the rationale of the decision taken," they said. "It's not a matter of racism, xenophobia or whatever, it's pure logic. In a place with hundreds of businesses that all have to do with tourism, with a tourist traffic that after two years of paralysis, is now soaring, placing 150 unaccompanied foreigners without even giving them anything to do to be employed, seems an unthinkable decision.
Apart from the shopkeepers, residents of the area are complaining against the state authorities, but also against the Municipality of Pafos. Many residents described as incomprehensible the ease with which the Municipality rushed to say yes to the operation of the closed structure, while other tourist areas acted in a way that reached the limits of xenophobia. "I don't know what we wanted to show on this issue, but the bottom line is that first they brought us the bomb and now the municipal leaders are yelling at the state to take it back," said a woman who lives very close to the closed structure.
Foreigners 40% of residents in Paphos
The mayor of Pafos, Phaedon Phaedonos, puts his finger on the sore spot and rings an alarm bell, as from the recently completed population census and based on the data of the year 2021, 38% of the population of the Pafos district are non-Cypriots, while based on what emerges in the last six months, the percentage has risen to 40%. "At the moment, 60% Cypriots and 40% non-Cypriots live in Paphos", he stressed. "However, this 40% includes Expatriate Greek Pontians,r some other Europeans or those from third countries who have been living in Paphos for thirty to forty years, have learned the Greek language and have been integrated. The fact is, however, that Pafos cannot afford to absorb and integrate other foreigners, since it has reached its limits and the big loser is the education of the country".
Meeting now at the Presidential asks the mayor
The Mayor of Pafos, Phaedonas Phaedonos, in his intervention, raises a broader issue of the management of migration by the state, requesting a meeting at the Presidential Palace under the President of the Republic. Phaedonas Phaedonos called on the Government to implement effective policies for the management of this issue, noting that the issue of migratory flows and thousands of refugees will continue and will exist for the next 20 years, in his opinion. Government, Ministers, parties, but also the President of the Republic himself should take the issue very seriously and regardless of the xenophobic issue, he stressed.
The mayor of Pafos also responded to the increased pressures and reactions of the ordinary people of the city for the attitude of the local Authority on the issue of the creation of the closed structure. When asked personally if the city of Paphos is able to accept these unaccompanied children, he responded positively, he said, pointing out that he thought they were young children who were found in war zones.
He admitted, however, that after the transfer of the 150 unaccompanied children to the building complex in Paphos, things seem to be very different from the original design: "It does not appear that these children are under the responsibility of social workers or are being educated and there does not seem to be any attempt to educate them in the Greek language," he said. "It is a fact that as a municipality we receive continuous complaints from the residents from the 8th day of the installation of unaccompanied minors. The relevant ministers must assume their responsibilities."
Mr. Phaedonos raises, on the occasion of the malfunctioning of the closed structure for minors, a broader issue of management and treatment of migration in the Pafos district.
On some issues, I have given credit to the Ministry of Education, but on this issue it failed, remarked the mayor of Pafos, referring to the "unbridled trade unionism of the OMC": "Any programs they try to bring, raise issues of rights, trade unions, hours and days of teaching, with the result that 12% of students do not speak Greek, but are in the classrooms of primary schools. There are classes where 70%-80% of the children attending cannot count up to ten in Greek.
We are sending out a distress signal on the issue as Paphos, we cannot withstand any more flows and there needs to be central planning."
SOS from Chloraka
Having the misfortune to be the community in which for the first time on a pancyprian level the phenomena of the over-concentration of immigrants were recorded to such an intense and serious extent, the community of Chlorakas was one of the first to take a position on the issue of the transfer of immigrants to the province and the creation of closed structures in Paphos as well. Nikolas Liasidis says that with the current situation as it is formed in the migration issue, the only solution is the immediate creation of closed structures for the mass settlement of migrants in old abandoned camps of the National Guard, located in mountainous areas. "The model of closed structures is also being applied by other countries", he points out. "All delinquents and those prone to illegality should also be driven to a separate closed structure. Deportations back to their countries or relocations to major economies such as Germany and France or to Gulf Arab countries in need of labour should be arranged where possible."
