AYS Daily Digest 29/04/2020
Moria Residents Protest Conditions in Camp
Early Wednesday morning, a group of Moria residents protested in front of the gates of the camp. The protest is part of a series of weekly demonstrations against the conditions in the camps, which have always been unsanitary but now become even more potentially deadly in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic. The organizers and participants are international — last week the demonstration was made up mostly of Afghan residents, while this week it was mostly residents from Africa who turned out.
People are protesting against unsanitary conditions in the camp and overcrowding that could easily be solved if the rest of the European Union did its duty and accepted asylum seekers.
The Greek government is claiming that 400 asylum seekers will be relocated from Moria to the mainland next Sunday, at a ceremony that will even be attended by Notis Mitarakis, the Minister for Asylum and Immigration. Residents and media are not trusting this announcement, because last weekend a different planned transport for 1500 people was cancelled. Even if several hundred “lucky” people are allowed to leave Moria, the camp will still be thousands over capacity and the conditions for those who remain will still be terrible.
Instead of improving conditions in the camps or addressing the concerns of residents when they rightfully pointed out how deadly an outbreak would be, Mitarakis said on Wednesday that there are no cases so far in island hotspots and implied that the government’s response should be praised because … they carry out daily checks. Never mind that most residents of island camps don’t have access to running water, basic hygienic supplies, or enough space to social distance properly! 130 people who were detained on beach camps in the North of Lesvos and were finally transferred to Moria recently don’t even have any kind of shelter within the camp. In an interview with Mission Lifeline, a mother stuck in Moria talks about the dangerous, unhygienic conditions her and her children are forced to live in.
There are many examples of International organizations and NGOs are trying to help, such as by donating medical equipment to the hospital on Lesvos, but it is not enough.
Even if the Greek government is ignoring the protests of people in Moria, we must not! Something must be done to fix the situation in island camps.
Government Uses COVID-19 As an Excuse to Deport, Another Crack Down on People on the Move
Following yesterday’s report by AYS of a potential illegal pushback from Diavata camp, Greek news broke the story that another group of 30 people “disappeared” from Samos. Witnesses from the village of Drakakia saw a group of people land on the island’s shore. The group later came in the village and as is customary, asked residents to notify the police. A vehicle arrived to pick them up but their arrival was never registered and the police are denying the incident occurred.
Aegean Boat Report published video footage of another incident where a boat was captured by the Turkish Coast Guard. However, the Greek Coast Guard was at the ready to push back the boat if it crossed into Greek waters, showing that despite the pandemic, the government is continuing its illegal border violence campaign. Either people are pushed back in the sea and left to drown or if they are able to reach land, they are pushed back without being registered or allowed to apply for asylum.
In the same statement where he talked about coronavirus, Minister Mitarakis claimed that there have been no arrivals in April. This is clearly untrue — people are still arriving in Greece, the Greek government is just pushing them back, breaking international law by refusing to register them, and lying to the media.
Journalists, NGOs, and people on the move have already exposed the Greek government’s illegal pushbacks, which are often done in unsafe liferafts that have a high risk of capsizing at sea. To deport people during a pandemic, when international travel is mostly banned and most countries have stopped repatriations, is even more dangerous and immoral.
In addition to illegal deportations, the Greek government is using emergency coronavirus response measures as an excuse to target the most vulnerable, including people on the move. Mitarakis said the government might deny asylum to people found violating coronavirus emergency measures. While a Greek citizen flouting government regulations will only have to pay a fine, a non-citizen could lose their entire future and be deported to an unsafe country for the same violation. It’s also much harder for asylum seekers living in crowded camps to follow government regulations about social distancing in the first place. In addition to penalties being harsher for people on the move than for Greeks, police are targeting the most vulnerable with tickets and fines. 81 homeless asylum seekers in Thessaloniki reported being fined for leaving their home — which they don’t even have. The police specifically target the homeless by waiting outside a camp people use to shower and distributing tickets. If the government actually cared about stopping the spread, they would find homes or at least temporary housing for these people. The only outcome of their current actions is abuse of power.
SLOVENIA
Slovenia To Accept Unaccompanied Minors
Slovenia has finally agreed to step up and accept unaccompanied minors from Greece — but they will only accept four children. They also said that the children must be younger than ten — because eleven-year-olds are dangerous and do not deserve a safe home. The children are expected to arrive at the end of May.
While Slovenia is a small country, to accept less than five children and to publicize that fact is absurd. Luxembourg, which has about a quarter of Slovenia’s population, has taken three times as many children (which is still low, considering the thousands that are held in Greek camps).
▻https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/protests-in-moria-camp-again-12638f897e6f
#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Grèce #Moria #Lesbos #Protestation #Manifestation #Transfert #Camp #Diavata #Samos #Drakakia #Slovénie #Mineursnonaccompagnés