BRATISLAVA, April 20, (WEBNOVINY) — An airplane with 44 Afghan refugees from Iran landed at Kosice Airport in eastern Slovakia on Thursday afternoon. This is the second group of Afghan mothers with children to whom the Slovak Republic provides international protection. The group consists of 26 women and 18 children. The oldest woman is 66 years old and the youngest is a seven-year old girl. Mothers with children have lived recent years as refugees in Tehran and its surroundings. Some families only brought with them large packages with warm blankets and mattresses, which suggests how difficult their life had been. Emilia Kocisova of the Slovak Interior Ministry informed media on Friday that their health condition is good and that there were no health problems during the flight.
After an initial check, the refugees were taken by bus to a refugee facility of the Interior Ministry’s Migration Office in Humenne. The arrival of this group of refugees is based on an agreement concluded between the Slovak government, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration on a humanitarian transfer of refugees in need of international protection.
Pursuant to the agreement, the refugees can stay at the refugee camp in Slovakia for six months, after which they would be resettled to the United States. During this time, the Migration Office will provide comprehensive services to these persons, take care of their accommodation, food, and basic toiletries. Financial costs of their stay are partially covered from the European Refugee Fund. Social care and health care is provided and paid by UNHCR and the transfer, entry and departure medical examinations are provided for by IOM.
The Slovak Republic began to take part in the refugee resettlement process in August 2009, when it welcomed 98 refugees from Palestine. In May 2011, it granted international protection to 24 mothers with 22 children from Afghanistan, in December 2011 it received 40 refugees from Somalia and in January of this year 35 refugees from Egypt.
SITA
