The first war refugees to be resettled from Turkey under the European migrant relocation plan arrived in Estonia. One family is to live in Rakvere while the other will be settled in Viljandi.
The Estonian Ministry of the Interior announced that one of the two familes to arrive from Turkey spans three generations, consisting of a husband and wife, their preschool-aged child and the husband’s pension-aged parents. The husband has run a store while his wife studied humanities. The man’s father had likewise run a number of stores while his mother has experience working in agriculture.
The other six-member family consists of a mother, father and four children. The father has worked in construction while the mother has stayed at home, caring for their children.
All war refugees relocated to Estonia have undergone extensive background checks preceding their arrival in the country.
Experts from the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), the Internal Security Service (KaPo) and the Ministry of Social Affairs conducted interviews with all persons to be relocated to Estonia before their relocation. Among other topics, Estonia, the rights and obligations of persons receiving international protection, as well as local customs were discussed with the potential asylum seekers.
To date, Estonia has relocated a total of 47 war refugees from Greece and Turkey under the European migrant relocation plan.
As of Aug. 21, the EU has relocated a total of 3,977 war refugees, including 3,016 from Greece and 961 from Italy. Another 1,085 people have been relocated from Turkey on the basis of an agreement reached between Turkey and the EU.
