Spain reach 155 refugees from Lebanon – The Associated Press

July 26, 2016, 9:32 Madrid, July 26 (PL) A group of 155 Syrian refugees arrived in Spain from Lebanon, bringing to 470 the number of asylum seekers hosted by this country since the end of 2015, the Ministry of Interior.

 This is the third contingent of immigrants of that nationality from Beirut that reaches Madrid in nearly a month, following the 61 people who arrived on 28 and 29 June in the resettlement program.

The 155 applicants for international protection -36 men, 37 women and 82 menores- live in shelters of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) located in almost twenty Spanish cities.

of the 470 asylum seekers received so far, 197 did so via relocation, from Greece and Italy, and 273 via resettlement from neighboring countries such as Turkey and Lebanon, the source said.

According to the department of the Interior, Spanish host system and integration ensures accommodation, food, legal and psychological assistance, social care and counseling and support to public school, health and social centers.

in these centers also seeks learning language and basic social skills, counseling and mediation for vocational training and reemployment, as well as cultural activities and economic aid.

in all, Spain has pledged to assist about 18,000 refugees into two years (until 2017), of which about 16 billion should come from Italy and Greece and thousand 400 from neighboring nations.

Recently, Oxfam Intermón criticized the 586 migrants who come to this Iberian nation to this month account for only three percent of the committed.

also warned of the need to promote safer roads, leave the agreement of the European Union (EU) and Turkey and act on the war in Syria , one of the causes, he said, the displacement of people.

in a statement, the director of Oxfam Intermon, José María Vera, reported that the figure of 586 is still ridiculous.

for this NGO, is an insufficient amount considering that last year a million refugees and migrants entered the old continent.

on the occasion of World refugee Day on 20 June, more than 40 cities in Spain were the scene of demonstrations to demand a change of direction in European policies on migration and asylum.

Europe has an obligation to provide safe passage, protection, shelter and asylum to people fleeing war, they said in a statement the General Union of Workers and Workers’ Commissions.

the two major unions labeled illegal and shameful agreement signed in March between the EU and Turkey.

mem / edu