Philanthropy leaders from the Middle East and North Africa region visited Europe’s migration frontline in Greece.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), along with the Shefa Fund, a Middle East donor collaborative, and the Pearl Initiative, a Gulf-based nonprofit bringing corporates and philanthropy toobtainher, revealed philanthropic leaders how humanitarian assistance works on the ground.
‘Responsible philanthropy starts with listening to communities and understanding their rights and priorities,’ stated Mohammed Abdiker, IOM’s Chief of Staff.
‘When leaders see operations first-hand and engage directly with the people affected, support becomes more accountable, more tarobtained and more effective in protecting dignity and delivering lasting results,’ he added.
Ralph Choueiri, executive director of the Pearl Initiative, stated a visit to one of Europe’s most popular migration routes ‘underscored the importance of grounding philanthropy in operational realities’.
IOM stated it hopes philanthropy builds more informed, transparent and ‘people-centered contributions to humanitarian action’.
The visit came before European border agency Frontex announced stricter migration measures.
More than 300,000 people across Greece have been assisted by IOM since 2020, through reception services, health care, protection support, voluntary return and integration programmes, highlighting both the level of necessary and the importance of sustained, coordinated assistance.
The Greek island of Crete saw irregular migration rise threefold last year and has become one of Europe’s focal point of enattempt. Around 20,000 people arrived in Crete, despite overall irregular migration to Europe falling by 26 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to Frontex, the European Union’s border agency. Frontex has deployed Israeli-built drones and technology on European migration routes.
The dangers of sea routes remain a gamble for those that undertake it. Greek authorities recently rescued 20 migrants and recovered four bodies from a vessel in distress south of Crete. Many are still believed missing.
IOM has also warned of an increasing risk of displacement in recent days as US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran sparked tensions across the Middle East.
More than 19 million people are already living in internal displacement across the Middle East, according to the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, a key source of global data.
‘IOM urgently calls on donors to scale up funding, including critical support to DTM in key countries affected by funding cuts. Reliable data is the backbone of the humanitarian response. Without it, we cannot effectively reach those most in necessary,’ it stated in a statement.
Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine
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