Cyprus overwhelmed as number of refugee arrivals surges

The "worst may be yet to come," authorities on the Mediterranean island have warned.

Transcript

00:00Refugee reception and accommodation centers in Cyprus are full.

00:05Around 25,500 asylum seekers hope that authorities will grant them refugee status.

00:11In the last two months, dozens of boats have arrived at the island's coast.

00:15They come from Lebanon and mostly carry Syrians.

00:20We left the war in Syria. We came here to secure our livelihood and future.

00:25There is no future in Syria.

00:28Many young people left their families and came here to live.

00:32I left them and came here to secure my livelihood

00:36and provide them with accommodation to leave Syria.

00:39Life in Syria is very difficult.

00:41The latest developments have alarmed authorities who are struggling to manage

00:45the large and unexpected number of refugee arrivals and the worst may be yet to come.

00:50The latest arrivals from Lebanon and Syria are very large.

00:56That's why we are in trouble.

00:58If Lebanon doesn't manage to settle down, then we will have a huge problem.

01:10As a state, we are very small.

01:12And our government cannot serve large numbers.

01:17We are not many. We are few.

01:19And we are limited in how much we can serve and help.

01:34The issue of refugees, at least in Cyprus,

01:37is very high in the minds of our citizens.

01:40But also as a criterion for the choices they will make in the upcoming elections.

01:46We and other states in the EU see that there are specific areas in Syria

01:52that can be characterized as safe.

01:55The EU itself must show active solidarity, active support for Cyprus.

02:01We believe, however, that through this package,

02:04which will be presented in Lebanon on May 2,

02:07we will be in a position, but mainly Lebanon,

02:10to maintain the refugee routes to Cyprus.

02:14At the moment, 7% of the country's population are refugees and immigrants.

02:19Nikos Christodoulidis claims that it is now a matter of national security.

02:24Lefkosia asks Brussels and its European partners to show more solidarity.

02:30From the Pornara reception center for Euronews, Apostolos Taikos.