CEPED-MIGRINTER-IC MIGRATIONS-Balkans

Fil d’actualités Covid19-Migration-Balkans (lucie.bacon@univ-poitiers.fr) relié à CEPED-MIGRINTER-IC MIGRATIONS. Serbie, Bosnie-Herzégovine, République de Macédoine, Monténégro, Croatie, Grèce, Bulgarie, Kosovo, Hongrie, Slovénie

  • AYS Daily Digest 05/05/20

    Releasing first hand testimony and photographic evidence indicating the existence of violent collective expulsions

    Border Violence Monitoring Network, Wave-Thessaloniki and Mobile Info Team have published a press release: Collective Expulsion from Greek Centres on Tuesday:
    “In response to the recent spike in pushbacks from Greece to Turkey, (we) are releasing first hand testimony and photographic evidence indicating the existence of violent collective expulsions. In the space of six weeks, the teams received reports of 194 people removed and pushed back into Turkey from the refugee camp in Diavata and the Drama Paranesti Pre-removal Detention Centre.”
    “In the case of Diavata, respondents report being removed from this accomodation centre by police with the information that they would be issued a document to temporarily regularise their stay (informally known as a “Khartia”). Instead they shared experiences of being beaten, robbed and detained before being driven to the border area where military personnel used boats to return them to Turkey across the Evros river. Meanwhile, another large group was taken from detention in Drama Paranesti and expelled with the same means. Though the pushbacks seem to be a regular occurence from Greece to Turkey, rarely have groups been removed from inner city camps halfway across the territory or at such a scale from inland detention spaces. Within the existing closure of the Greek asylum office and restriction measures due to COVID-19, the repression of asylum seekers and wider transit community looks to have reached a zenith in these cases.”
    The collected evidence comes from cases on 31st March 2020, 16th April 2020, 17th April 2020, 23rd April 2020, and two separate cases on 28th April 2020. Many of the cases involved people being pushed into vans from Diavata camp and driven to the Turkish border to be expelled.

    There are still more reports of recent mysterious pushbacks not yet accounted for. On April 30th, dozens of people saw a small inflatable boat of about 10 to 15 people reach the shore of Chios, when the Greek Navy appeared on site to tow them “away.” Chios MP Andreas Michailidis spoke about the incident:
    “If the suspicions expressed in the reports are confirmed, the Greek government is seriously exposed and fully responsible for the consequences of its practices.”
    Josoor Blog just published an editorial on “Pushed around Europe: The story of a young man who was pushed back more than 15 times.” It’s not an easy read, but if you need to see the bravery in the human spirit right about now, take a look. This young man’s story also evidences the absolutely inhumanity of pushbacks occurring in Europe. They were intolerable and breaking international law before COVID-19, and they continue up until now…

    *

    Residents in northern Greece protest arrival of 300 vulnerable asylum seekers to hotel, transfer oversaw by IOM

    After Tuesday’s Press conference with the General Police Director of the North Aegean, journalist Franziska Grillmeier laid out some excellent points behind the disturbing fact that most of the fines for COVID-19 restrictions were given to refugees:

    “Background: During this time, over 3 big fires broke out in Moria + Vathy, causing hundreds of people to flee for a safe place. Many inhabitants of #Moria were also fined in front of Supermarket, where ppl got basics like flour, oil + diapers that weren’t provided in Camp.
    Additionally: many inhabitants couldn’t charge phone with credit — since they were not allowed to travel to Mytilini anymore to charge. Hence, SMS to communte could rarely be sent. ALSO, people report to be left without information on COVIDー19 regulations for most time.
    While not to forget that up to 19,000 men, children + women are currently trapped in a space made for 2,840 alone in Moria. Women with disabilities, women giving birth, newborn children, elderly men with movement difficulties in olive grove fields + with no future outlook.”

    https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-daily-digest-05-05-20-photographic-evidence-first-hand-testimony-greece-

    #Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Grèce #Camp #Diavata #Paranesti #Expulsions #Expulsionscollectives #turquie #incendie #moria #vathi #transfert #hôtel