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Executive Summary for January 31st

We review the latest issues related to refugees, including three deaths in a Greek island camp, a U.N. statement on the number refugees impacted by the U.S. executive order and a U.K. parliamentary report on dire housing conditions for asylum seekers.

Published on Jan. 31, 2017 Read time Approx. 2 minutes

Three Dead in Greek Island Refugee Camp

There have been three deaths in one week at the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos. The fatalities on the Greek island, where many migrants are still in tents, came after a cold snap.

A post-mortem could not be conducted on Lesbos, officials said, so tissue samples have been sent for a toxicology test in Athens.

Unconfirmed reports suggested the men died after inhaling plastic fumes from fires they had lit to keep warm.

At least two of the three victims were in the same tent, according to activists at Moria. A fourth man from the same section of the camp has been taken to a hospital where he is in a critical condition.

U.N. Says 20,000 Refugees Blocked by U.S. Resettlement Halt

The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates that there are 20,000 refugees who would have been resettled in the U.S. were it not for the administration’s four-month suspension of its resettlement program.

Over 800 refugees were set to travel to the U.S. this week, UNHCR said. A U.S. Homeland Security official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that 872 refugees would receive waivers to enter the country this week as they were already “in transit.”

“Refugees are anxious, confused and heartbroken at this suspension in what is already a lengthy process,” a UNHCR statement said.

British Lawmakers Call Housing for Asylum Seekers a ‘Disgrace’

MPs in the U.K. have branded accommodation provided to asylum seekers in the country a “disgrace.”

The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee report found that some asylum seekers were given accommodation with broken beds and dirty carpets, and children were living in places infested with vermin and bed bugs, or put in shared accommodation with strangers.

“No one should be living in conditions like that,” said committee chair Yvette Cooper.

The committee’s report said growing delays in asylum applications meant that the three government contractors were providing housing to more asylum seekers than originally envisaged.

Some 40,000 people applied for asylum in Britain in the year up to September 2016, far fewer than some other European nations like Germany, Italy and Sweden.

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