Refugees go to Cyprus as the EU Slows Down Admissions

The Associated Press visited an improved reception camp near Nicosia, Cyprus, where some refugees have found shelter. In Cameroon, Mbah Damaris Menemah said that her family kicked her out when they found out her secret. Losbians are not welcome in my country,” the 24-year-old told The Associated Press at the Pournara migrant reception center in Cyprus.

“So my family wasn’t too happy about it when they found out…”They cursed at me. Because of that, they turned me down. She told them that she would look for a new life “where I’ll be seen as somebody” if her family and friends could not accept her.

Menemah, like many others, got a student visa for the Turkish Cypriot who broke away and lives north of the ethnically divided island of Cyprus. With the help of people smugglers, she got into the south through a UN-controlled safe zone that was easy to get through.

Cyprus became a member of the European Union in 2004, but only the south, which is home to the internationally recognised government, gets all the benefits of membership. She said she hopes that another EU country will take up her refugee case because Cyprus has told her they won’t.

Menemah was one of 343 migrants living at the center at the time, including 72 children who were living alone. The EU and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have paid for major improvements to the center over the past few years.

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