UNHCR: Only six of 339 survivors applied for asylum

Only six of the 339 Palestinian and Syrian survivors rescued off the coast of Cyprus, when smugglers abandoned the fishing boat they were sailing to Italy on, have applied for asylum, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) office in Nicosia, noting that the refugees who have applied for asylum have already been transferred to a more appropriate reception facility at the Kofinou village.

According to UNHCR, the unaccompanied minors who have applied have been transferred to a special shelter for unaccompanied and separated children.

Some refugees have already left the refugee camp following the announcement of the Interior Minister that they are free to go, provided they legalise their stay within the next three months. UNHCR notes that those who remain at the camp will need to make a decision within the next 20 days.

UNHCR and partners have been advising the survivors to apply for asylum in Cyprus, as their only viable safe alternative, and has circulated a comprehensive information leaflet at the camp to assist refugees to reach an informed decision.

It explains the rights associated with applying for asylum and the consequences if they don’t apply; the circumstances under which they can join family members in other European countries as well as family reunification in Cyprus.

According to UNHCR, most of them are reluctant to do so out of fear that their application for asylum in Cyprus will remove their reunification prospects with family in other EU member states.