UNHCR on Europe's migration crisis
(2 Mar 2016) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Geneva - 2 March 2016 1. Various set ups of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokeswoman Melissa Fleming 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Melissa Fleming, UNHCR spokeswoman: "They (migrants and refugees) are then relocated to a country that is taking part in the quota system. Unfortunately, although a lot of countries signed up to it, there are only 1,500 spots now pledged, and that is not going to make a dent in now the growing numbers of people who desperately need to be placed somewhere. There are people who are legitimately fleeing war and persecution and one cannot expect Greece to take in all of them." 3. Cutaway 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Melissa Fleming, UNHCR spokeswoman: "The backlog of stranded people, there are about 25,000 now, and with the arrivals continuing to the Greek islands at about the rate 1,800 a day, we are seeing a growing, growing population of people that are unable to move and a looming an humanitarian crisis in Greece." 5. Cutaway 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Melissa Fleming, UNHCR spokeswoman: "The Greek government is really steeping up using the army, creating camps and UNHCR is supporting the Greek government and all of the ways that they need. We are providing supplies, tents and blankets and we are also providing advice, or providing with UNICEF spaces where children can go. We are very concerned about families being separated. People are traumatised. There was teargas yesterday and women and children were suffering from it, many of them panicked." 7. Various cutaways 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Melissa Fleming, UNHCR spokeswoman: "I think everybody was taken by surprise. Obviously, the numbers going to just three countries were becoming too high. We been advocating from the beginning an orderly managed solution at the shores of Europe, where people are registered, screened and then distributed along a quota system. The plan was good, it wasn't implemented, and this is the result: Chaos and panic and unilateral actions by individual countries, that has basically just pushed the problem down the line and the end of the line is Greece." 9. Various cutaways 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Melissa Fleming, UNHCR spokeswoman: "You can manage bottlenecks if you prepared for them, but this one happened so suddenly and without, you know, the ability to plan, it was unilateral decisions, sudden decisions, restrictions, closures. People are very confused, very upset, and the Greek government is also doing its best. UNHCR is ramping up but there are a lot of people living in miserable conditions right now and with very little information about what is going to happen with their lives." 11. Various of Fleming 12. Various of UNHCR headquarters STORYLINE: The spokeswoman of UN refugee agency, Melissa Fleming, warned on Wednesday of a humanitarian crisis "looming" in Greece, where about 25,000 migrants and refugees trying to get to Western Europe remain stuck. Speaking from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Fleming also said that other EU countries should step up their efforts to help Greece and other European countries cope with the influx of migrants. She said that the chaos that was created by individual countries coming up with their own solutions to the tackle the migrant crisis should be addressed at the European level. =========================================================== Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
