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                 Migrants Deported from Greece Arrive in Turkey

   by VOA News

   A group of 45 Pakistani migrants have reached Dikili, Turkey, in a
   short journey from the migrant camp where they were staying on the
   Greek island of Lesbos, the second group of migrants to be returned
   under a controversial new European Union deal with Turkey.

   A Turkish ferry brought the migrants to port Friday to be followed
   later in the day by about 80 more migrants. Greek officials say none of
   those sent to Turkey had applied for asylum in the European Union. EU
   officials said Wednesday that all migrants facing deportation would be
   given a chance to apply for asylum, and those who are denied are
   promised five days to appeal.

   As preparations were made for the migrants to leave Lesbos Friday, at
   least two activists were arrested after jumping into the water and
   clinging to the heavy chain connected to the ferry's anchor. The
   activists working to stop the deportations say the migrants cannot be
   assured good treatment in Turkey, which has a poor human rights record.

   Meanwhile, Germany has announced that the number of new asylum
   applications it has received dropped severely from February to March,
   totaling only 20,000 compared to 60,000 a month earlier. Germany has
   led the movement to accommodate a near-unprecedented number of refugees
   flooding in from the east as people try to escape violence and economic
   insecurity in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.

   ''

   On Thursday, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis will make a short
   trip to Lesbos on April 16 to meet with refugees accommodated there.

   The Vatican said the pope accepted the invitation from the leader of
   the Christian Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and
   Greek president Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Bartholomew, as well as
   Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Jerome II will join the pope in
   Lesbos.

   The visit is seen as a symbolic gesture to draw international attention
   to the plight of refugees, most of them trying to escape the war and
   poverty in Syria.

   EU officials on Wednesday pledged there would be "no automatic return"
   for the migrants before they are given a chance to apply for asylum.
   Those deemed ineligible for asylum will have five days to appeal the
   decision.

   Nearly 70 European Asylum Support Office (EASO) staff arrived on the
   island Wednesday to begin handling asylum claim procedures following a
   wave of protests against the deportations, which are happening under
   the terms of a March agreement between the EU and Turkey to address
   Europe's migrant crisis.

   ''

   Activists have been voicing concerns about sending the deportees to
   Turkey; a country with a spotty human rights record.

   The new procedures for handling asylum cases could further slow the
   process of clearing an estimated 3,000 migrants now housed at Moria;
   the largest, overcrowded migrant detention center on Lesbos.

   EU officials say about 1,000 migrants have expressed interest in
   applying for asylum.  Starting Thursday, officials will only be able to
   process up to 50 cases a day.  Greek officials say between 300 and 500
   migrants continue to arrive from Turkey daily.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/greece-sends-second-group-of-migrants
   -to-turkey/3275916.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/greece-sends-second-group-of-migrants-to-turkey/3275916.html