LJUBLJANA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Four Syrian families from Turkey are due to settle down in Maribor, the second largest Slovenian city, within the next few weeks, in what is the first group of refugees to find a new home in Slovenia under an EU resettlement scheme.
According to the Slovenian Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants, the group of 21 people, who enjoy refugee status, will be accommodated at locations secured by the state for the purpose.
The Slovenian government had committed in March 2016 that it will take in a total of 60 refugees from Turkey under the EU resettlement scheme, and also committed to accept 567 asylum seekers under an EU relocation scheme designed to help Italy and Greece cope with the migration crisis.
Of the 567 asylum seekers, 253 have already arrived in the country, according to the previous report by the Slovenian Press Agency STA.
The government office is preparing for the arrival of the four families in cooperation with representatives of the local community, city authorities, NGOs and officials responsible for the families' integration in education, healthcare, social care systems and the labor market.
With 10,000 euros (11,639 U.S. dollars) for each resettled refugee from EU funds, Slovenia has pledged not only to resettle the refugees but also to help them integrate into Slovenian society, according to an earlier report by the Slovenian daily Delo (labor).
Meanwhile, the Slovenian branch of Amnesty International reiterated Thursday Slovenian police were rejecting migrants on the border without duly processing their asylum requests, an unlawful practice known as push-back.
