“The migration situation in Cyprus has deteriorated significantly over the last three years. Today, we are responding to the appeal of the local government and we are sending modular homes,” said Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in respect of the Polish aid shipment to Cyprus.
“The handover of the modular homes is both a gesture of solidarity with our partner in the European Union and the refugee community in Cyprus, as well as a contribution to the building of an effective, humane and safe European migration policy,” added Deputy Head of Polish Diplomacy Paweł Jabłoński.
An increasing number of refugees have been arriving in Cyprus over the past three years. The bulk of asylum seekers are Syrians fleeing the conflict, as well as migrants from India, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Nigeria and elsewhere. The number of applications processed in 2020 has increased to about 14,000. The percentage of refugees and asylum seekers represents 4% of the population of this small country. Other frontline countries, such as Italy, Spain, Greece and Malta, record this percentage at 1%.
“Poland and Cyprus are friendly countries. They are tried and tested partners, not only bilaterally but also within the European Union, which we joined on the same day. In difficult moments friends must support each other,” stressed Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Polish aid to Cyprus is a response to the request of the Minister of Interior of Cyprus Nicos Nouris. Cyprus needs support to develop temporary housing infrastructure for newly arrived refugees. Thanks to the grant from the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the initiative of the Polish Centre for International Aid (PCPM), 80 modular homes will be transported to Cyprus.
The houses, which are worth almost PLN 700 thousand, will eventually go to a newly-built refugee centre in Limnes in the Larnaka district. They will provide shelter for 240 people and secure the refugees’ basic needs of safety, privacy, and hygiene.
Modular houses – known as Refugee housing units (RHUs) – are used by the UN in refugee camps around the world. They are resistant to changing and harsh weather conditions and do not burn in case of fire. They give refugees a substitute for a normal life under difficult resettlement conditions.
RHU are produced by the social enterprise Better Shelter, a development partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the IKEA Foundation. Components for modular houses are manufactured in Poland, Sweden and China, with final production, assembly and shipping carried out in Gdansk.
Last year, Poland donated 200 modular homes for displaced persons in Syria, 300 for Syrian refugees in Jordan and 156 for refugees in Greece.