Nearly 17,000 immigrants in Greece have returned to their countries of origin in the last three years through the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), it was reported on Friday.
Specifically, 16,954 people from 83 nations, mostly from Pakistan, Iraq, Georgia, Algeria and Afghanistan took part in the project between June 2016 and August of this year.
Of these, 2,120 were minors, 12,017 men and 2,817 women, according to IOM. The initiative is aimed at third-country nationals considered economic migrants who do not wish to stay in Greece, asylum seekers who withdrew their petition and those who were denied it.
About 4,270 people received reintegration assistance through this programme.
Since 2015, when more than one million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe, Greece, along with Italy, became the main gateway to the European continent, welcoming thousands of people, most of whom are fleeing hunger and conflict in their countries of origin.
According to data from the Greek government, more than 16,000 people are stranded in the nation, mostly in migrant camps on the islands.
SOURCE: Prensa Latina
