Queen Rania of Jordan to Visit Lesvos, Raise Plight of Refugees

Mytilini town, Lesvos. Photo © Koutrolm / Wikimedia Commons

Known for her humanitarian work, Queen Rania of Jordan is next on the list of  international influencers visiting Greece in efforts to raise awareness about the ongoing refugee crisis in the Aegean.

Coming after Pope Francis, who visited Lesvos last week, and before him, superstar and Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon and Chinese visual artist Ai Weiwei, Queen Rania will travel to the island, which has borne the brunt of the refugee crisis for more than a year now, during Orthodox Holy Week next week.

Married to the King of Jordan, Abdullah bin al-Hussein, Queen Rania was invited by international humanitarian group International Rescue Committee and is set to visit the refugee camp in Kara Tepe, currently hosting hundreds of refugees, many of whom are “stuck” in Greece following an EU-Turkey agreement which has led to closed borders.

In the meantime, the European Commission announced today that it has been agreed to grant Greece 83 million euros in immediate financial aid to go towards the improvement of living conditions for refugees there.

Queen Rania has repeatedly highlighted the impact of the refugee crisis on  Jordan’s resources, infrastructure, and schools. Jordan is currently hosting 1.4 million Syrians.