• EU-Turkey deal ’driving suicide and self-harm’ among refugees trapped in Greek camps

    A deal struck by the European Union to slow refugee boat crossings to Greece is driving rising rates of suicide and self-harm in squalid camps, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned.

    Asylum seekers detained on islands in the Aegean Sea have described people setting themselves on fire, hanging themselves or cutting their wrists, with a third of those on Chios witnessing a suicide.

    New research by HRW found children were among those being driven to desperation in conditions increasing the trauma already suffered in the countries they have fled.

    “The mental impact of years of conflict, exacerbated by harsh conditions on the Greek islands and the uncertainty of inhumane policies, may not be as visible as physical wounds, but is no less life-threatening,” said Emina Ćerimović, a disability rights researcher for the group.

    “The EU and Greece should take immediate action to address this silent crisis and prevent further harm.”

    Dozens of asylum seekers, including children, reported rising anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illnesses as they wait months on end in “horrific conditions” to see whether they will be taken to the Greek mainland or deported to Turkey.

    A 26-year-old Syrian man, who has been detained on Lesbos for more than three months pending deportation, said he has attempted to kill himself.

    Bilal said he was held in a police station for two months, attempting suicide in a cell, before being taken to the notorious Moria camp.

    “All this time [at the police station] I had seen no doctor,” he said. “Then I hurt myself in the police station, and then they brought me here.”

    The camp, now used as a detention centre for asylum seekers to be transferred to Turkey, has seen deadly fires break out and had to be evacuated after tents froze in the winter.

    Migrants being held there told HRW how they were being tormented by the wait to hear their fate, with anxiety compounded by delayed and changed meetings with authorities and a lack of information and interpreters.

    Ahmad, a 20-year-old Syrian, was moved to Lesbos from Chios in May and does not know whether he will be sent back or onwards to Turkey.

    “I’m in a nervous situation,” he said. “Yesterday, an Algerian guy hurt himself [by cutting] … my feelings are dead.”

    Families are among those detained in Moria, including a Kurdish woman from Syria with four children.

    “My hope is dead since they brought me here,” Rabiha Hadji told HRW. “We saw all the terrible miseries in Syria but me and my children haven’t seen a jail [until coming to Greece].”

    Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which provides medical care on Lesbos and the island of Samos, has reported a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and psychosis, and a significant increase in suicide attempts and self-harm this year.

    A representative said poor conditions in camps were a particular risk to former prisoners and torture victims, adding: “For people who have experienced extreme violence in detention back in their countries of origin, a place surrounded by barbed wire, the presence of police, and violent clashes clearly cannot be a proper place for them.”

    Amir, a 26-year-old Iranian asylum seeker who has been detained on Lesbos since April, said conditions in Moria constantly reminded him of prison in Iran.

    “I see the fences and I remember my past,” he said.

    “During the first week I was here, I couldn’t sleep all week … I had nightmares of the torture I’ve been through in the military prison.”

    Almost 13,000 asylum seekers are currently being held on Greek islands, where 9,500 more have arrived so far this year despite the threat of deportation.

    In December, the EU and Greek authorities ended exemptions for vulnerable groups including unaccompanied children, pregnant women, disabled people and torture victims that previously protected them from detention in island camps, despite an appeal from 13 major NGOs.

    The EU is now pressuring Greece to speed up asylum decisions and deportations to Turkey, where 1,200 people had been returned between the EU-Turkey deal coming into force in March 2016 and June.

    HRW warned that while lengthy procedures were worsening refugees’ distress, “length of asylum procedures should not be reduced at the expense of the quality of the process”.

    It has documented cases with a lack of capable interpreters during vital asylum interviews, “serious gaps” in access to information and legal help and authorities prioritising migrants according to nationality.

    The practice most commonly sees Syrians fast-tracked over Afghans, Iraqis, Bangladeshis and countries with low application success rates, fuelling tensions within camps that sometimes spill over into violence.

    “Greek authorities, with EU support, should ensure asylum seekers have meaningful access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure based on individual claims, not nationality,” a spokesperson for HRW said, urging Greece to end the policy of containment on its islands and transfer asylum seekers to the mainland, where children can be enrolled in school and adults can work.

    “The EU and the Greek government should work to restore the dignity and humanity of people seeking protection, not foster conditions that cause psychological harm,” Ms Ćerimović said.

    The report is the latest damning verdict of the EU-Turkey deal, which has seen the main refugee route to Europe switch from the comparatively shorter and safer Aegean Sea to the treacherous passage between Libya and Italy.

    The agreement committed Turkey to accept the return of most asylum seekers who travelled through its territory to Greek islands, in exchange for billions of euros in aid, visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens, and revived negotiations for Turkish accession to the EU.

    Talks have since broken down over a series of rows over European nations banning Turkish referendum rallies, support for Kurdish groups in Syria and concerns over the crackdown following an attempted coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    Research by Save the Children previously found the deal had dramatically reduced the number of refugees journeying over the Aegean Sea to Greece but had given people smugglers “a firmer grip on a hugely profitable business”.

    A study by Harvard University found girls as young as four had been raped in an Athens refugee camp, while asylum seekers elsewhere in the country were selling sex to raise money to be smuggled out.

    But Europol hailed “success” against people smuggling after setting up the European Migrant Smuggling Centre, identifying 17,500 suspected smugglers in 2016, intercepting messages, seizing documents and destroying boats.

    More than 100,000 migrants have arrived in Europe so far this year by sea, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, Bangladesh and Syria, with 2,300 dying in the attempt.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-latest-asylum-seekers-greece-camps-lesbos-suicide-self

    #suicide #accord_UE-Turquie #réfugiés #asile #migrations #Grèce #camps_de_réfugiés #piège #îles #Chios #PTSD #santé_mentale #Lesbos #Lesvos #prostitution #enfants #viols #mineurs #Moria #hotspots
    cc @i_s_

    • EU/Greece: Asylum Seekers’ Silent Mental Health Crisis

      In research conducted in May and June 2017 on the island of Lesbos, Human Rights Watch documented the deteriorating mental health of asylum seekers and migrants – including incidents of self-harm, suicide attempts, aggression, anxiety, and depression – caused by the Greek policy of “containing” them on islands, often in horrifying conditions, to facilitate speedy processing and return to Turkey.

      https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/12/eu/greece-asylum-seekers-silent-mental-health-crisis

    • Greece : A dramatic deterioration for asylum seekers on Lesbos

      The report, A dramatic deterioration for asylum seekers on Lesbos – based on MSF medical data and the testimonies of patients – describes the recent drastic cuts in providing health care on the island, along with reductions in legal aid, and the closure of shelters and other essential services.

      http://www.msf.org/en/article/greece-dramatic-deterioration-asylum-seekers-lesbos
      #santé #rapport #santé_mentale #statistiques #chiffres #vulnérabilité

      Dans le rapport :


      http://www.msf.org/sites/msf.org/files/msf_lesbos_vulnerability_report1.pdf

    • Moria, il laboratorio della brutale intolleranza anti-migrante

      L’estate, si sa, le retate si accelerano, la repressione va avanti in silenzio. Ma Moria, sull’isola di Lesbo, costituisce forse un punto di non ritorno: il palesamento della brutalità anti-profughi, cristallizzata da mesi negli hotspot, nei campi e sui confini, ora dilagante e impunita. Calais, Ventimiglia, Moria. Non è nuovo che il campo greco dove sono intrappolati, persino da più di un anno, richiedenti asilo, vada in fiamme per la giusta ribellione di persone parcheggiate in container, tra sterpaglie, senza cure né accesso ai legali. A queste persone in fuga, l’Europa riserva, infatti, detenzione infinita e sistematica in attesa del rimpatrio in Turchia, in base all’accordo UE-Turchia, o verso i rispettivi Paesi di origine.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.it/amp/flore-murardyovanovitch/lisola-di-moria-e-il-laboratorio-della-brutale-intolleranza-an_a_2305

    • Lesvos: urla dal silenzio. Detenzione arbitraria e respingimenti illegali. Gli accordi con gli stati di transito cancellano il diritto alla vita.

      I sistemi di controllo delle frontiere si sono dimostrati in tensione sempre più forte con i doveri di soccorso e assistenza, come è apparso più evidente nelle isole greche di fronte alla costa turca e nelle acque antistanti la Tripolitania. Nell’opinione pubblica, soprattutto per effetto della campagna diffamatoria nei confronti delle ONG, portata avanti dagli organi di informazione più seguiti, si è quasi annullata la distinzione tra scafisti, intermediari, trafficanti ed organizzazioni non governative indipendenti (o presunte tali) che praticano attività di soccorso in mare e di assistenza a terra. Attività che andrebbero tutelate, e non attaccate, per difendere i diritti fondamentali della persona, a partire dal diritto alla vita.

      http://www.a-dif.org/2017/08/01/lesvos-urla-dal-silenzio-detenzione-arbitraria-e-respingimenti-illegali-gli-a

    • Trapped. Asylum Seekers in Greece

      Emina Ćerimović and photographer Zalmaï investigate the mental health crisis facing asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos.

      The psychological impact of conflict, exacerbated by harsh conditions, uncertainty and inhumane policies, is not as visible as physical injury. But it’s just as life-threatening.

      https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/interactive/2017/12/21/trapped

    • Les femmes et les enfants réfugiés sont davantage exposés aux agressions sexuelles dans le climat de tensions et de surpopulation régnant dans les centres d’accueil des îles grecques

      Le HCR, l’Agence des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés, est très préoccupé par les déclarations de certains demandeurs d’asile dénonçant harcèlement et violences sexuels dans les centres d’accueil situés sur les îles grecques qui ne respectent pas les normes d’accueil requises. Le HCR se félicite toutefois des mesures prises par le gouvernement en vue de régler la question de la surpopulation et des conditions de vie désastreuses dans ces centres.

      En 2017, le HCR a reçu des informations émanant de 622 survivants de violences sexuelles et de genre sur les îles grecques de la mer Egée, dont 28% ont été subies après leur arrivée en Grèce. Les formes les plus courantes de violences dénoncées par les femmes concernaient des comportements incorrects, du harcèlement sexuel et des tentatives d’agression sexuelle.

      La situation est particulièrement inquiétante dans les centres d’accueil et d’identification de Moria (#Lesbos) et de #Vathy (#Samos) où des milliers de réfugiés continuent d’être abrités dans des hébergements inadéquats sans sécurité suffisante. Quelque 5 500 personnes séjournent dans ces centres, soit le double de la capacité prévue. Les informations faisant état de harcèlement sexuel sont particulièrement nombreuses à #Moria.

      http://www.unhcr.org/fr/news/briefing/2018/2/5a81a898a/femmes-enfants-refugies-davantage-exposes-agressions-sexuelles-climat-tension

    • Exclusive: Violence breaks out between residents of refugee camp and police on Greek island of #Samos

      Police clashed with residents from a refugee camp on the Greek island of Samos on Saturday morning, an NGO has told Euronews.

      The refugees and asylum seekers were staging a protest march about living conditions in the camp but had their route blocked by police at around 7.30 am local time, a member of the NGO said.

      “There were no more than 60 to 70 people there, they were one-on-one with police,” they added.

      Police fired warning shots and used tear gas and “beat up” some of those demonstrating, according to the NGO.

      One refugee sent an image to Euronews that showed his back with two marks across it (pictured in the main image of this article).

      “Things in Samos aren’t working well, that’s why we went on the march,” he said.

      “I saw police charge at the protesters,” Jerome Fourcade, an independent photo journalist based in Samos, told Euronews.

      Around 10 NGO workers were taken in by police at the scene of the clashes at 8.30am and held for a number of hours: “They said they were verifying our ID cards,” one said.

      Fourcade was also detained by police when he tried to photograph those demonstrating.

      Authorities asked to look at his photographs, but he refused arguing that he had not been arrested so they did not have the right.

      He was released around 10.30 am once all the residents had returned to the refugee camp.

      Overcrowding is a serious issue in the Samos camp, which is designed to host a maximum of around 650 people, while there are roughly 4,000 people living there and in the “jungle” surrounding it.

      Most people have no direct access to sanitation and live in flimsy tents or shelters they built themselves, the NGO worker said.

      “They are surrounded by pests — barely a day goes by when I’m not sent a photo of someone who has found a snake in their tent or been bitten by a scorpion or a rat,” they added.

      “The camp is overflowing with garbage, it’s 26 degrees today, so it’s festering ... these are extremely inhumane conditions.”

      Police clashed with residents from a refugee camp on the Greek island of Samos on Saturday morning, an NGO has told Euronews.

      The refugees and asylum seekers were staging a protest march about living conditions in the camp but had their route blocked by police at around 7.30 am local time, a member of the NGO said.

      “There were no more than 60 to 70 people there, they were one-on-one with police,” they added.
      Police stand in front of refugees and asylum seekers from Samos camp

      Police fired warning shots and used tear gas and “beat up” some of those demonstrating, according to the NGO.

      One refugee sent an image to Euronews that showed his back with two marks across it (pictured in the main image of this article).

      “Things in Samos aren’t working well, that’s why we went on the march,” he said.

      “I saw police charge at the protesters,” Jerome Fourcade, an independent photo journalist based in Samos, told Euronews.

      Around 10 NGO workers were taken in by police at the scene of the clashes at 8.30am and held for a number of hours: “They said they were verifying our ID cards,” one said.

      Fourcade was also detained by police when he tried to photograph those demonstrating.

      Authorities asked to look at his photographs, but he refused arguing that he had not been arrested so they did not have the right.

      He was released around 10.30 am once all the residents had returned to the refugee camp.
      Police stand in front of refugees and asylum seekers from Samos camp

      Overcrowding is a serious issue in the Samos camp, which is designed to host a maximum of around 650 people, while there are roughly 4,000 people living there and in the “jungle” surrounding it.

      READ MORE: Refugees on Samos live in “a huge camp of lost souls”

      Most people have no direct access to sanitation and live in flimsy tents or shelters they built themselves, the NGO worker said.

      “They are surrounded by pests — barely a day goes by when I’m not sent a photo of someone who has found a snake in their tent or been bitten by a scorpion or a rat,” they added.

      “The camp is overflowing with garbage, it’s 26 degrees today, so it’s festering ... these are extremely inhumane conditions.”
      Valerie Gauriat
      Inside Samos refugee campValerie Gauriat
      Valerie Gauriat
      Inside Samos refugee campValerie Gauriat

      This is not the first time the inhabitants of the camp have demonstrated, with three peaceful protests taking place in January along with another that turned violent, although “nothing as bad as this,” according to the NGO.

      Saturday marked the first time police used tear gas on the asylum seekers and refugees, it said.

      A police spokesman for the North Aegean islands told Euronews that a group of 100 migrants attempted to march into the city to protest about living conditions in and around the camp.

      “They were stopped by the police and there was some tension,” he added. The spokesperson is based in Lesbos and said he did not know anything about the use of tear gas or the police detentions.

      The clashes came a day before Greeks were set to vote in both the European Parliamentary elections and the first round of the municipal elections, when mayors and regional governors are appointed.

      https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/25/exclusive-violence-breaks-out-between-residents-of-refugee-camp-and-police

    • MSF: 3 migrant children attempted suicide, 17 had injured themselves

      Children are the real victims of the Migration policy, many of them are not in position to comply with the harsh realities. According to a press release by Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Greece, in the summer months of July and August, three children attempted suicide and 17 had injured themselves. Ten of a total of 73 children referred to MSF were under the age of six, the youngest being just two.

      Vulnerable people trapped in islands pay for inhumane policies of EU-Turkey Agreement. About 24,000 men, women and children seeking protection in Europe are trapped in tragic living conditions on Greek islands, while Greek and Greek European authorities have deliberately abandoned them, the MSF said in the press release:

      The devastating crisis that affects the health of thousands of vulnerable people is the result of a problematic reception system, lack of protection mechanisms and inadequate service provision. This shows that the European Union’s policy of restricting and deterring migration management has failed.

      For over four years, Doctors Without Borders has been working in several Greek islands, but today humanitarian and medical intervention is largely a matter for voluntary organizations that replace state responsibilities. Today, Doctors Without Borders has once again been forced to scale up its activities: hundreds of medical sessions are held daily in Lesvos, Samos and Chios, while in coordination with other voluntary and non-governmental organizations Doctors Without Borders is increasing for the immigrant population and distribute basic essentials on a regular basis.

      “The situation in the Greek islands is not new. The overcrowding in refugee camps is a crisis caused by European policies and has had a huge negative impact on men, women and children for years, ”says Vassilis Stravaridis, Director General of Médecins Sans Frontières. “More than 3 years have passed since the EU-Turkey Agreement and should we consider that the Greek and European authorities are using this embarrassing failure to host refugees as a means of deterring new arrivals to Europe?”

      As arrivals from the sea have reached their highest point since 2016, Doctors Without Borders pediatric mental health teams in Lesbos have seen child referrals double in July compared to previous months. In July and August, 73 children were referred to our teams: three had attempted suicide and 17 had committed suicide. Ten of the 73 children were under the age of six, the youngest being just two.

      “More and more of these kids stop playing, see nightmares, are afraid to get out of their tent and start retiring from life,” says Kathryn Bruback, a mental health officer in Lesvos. “Some of them just stop talking. With overcrowding, violence and lack of security in the camp increasing, the situation for children is getting worse day by day. In order to prevent permanent damage, these children must leave the Moria camp immediately. “

      At the Doctors Without Borders pediatric clinic we have nearly 100 children with complex or chronic health problems, including young children with severe heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy and war injuries. They are all waiting to move to the mainland to access the specialized care they need.

      In the camp in Vathi, Samos, the situation is unbearable, according to Doctors Without Borders, where 5,000 people crowd into a place designed for 650. Most live in the “jungle”, an area outside the camp. The lack of protection and basic services raises the risk of people being subjected to new psychological trauma, with reports of incidents of harassment, sexual assault and other forms of violence increasing.

      The Greek government recently transferred nearly 1,500 vulnerable people from Lesvos. However, Doctors Without Borders believes that moving people to scenes in the mainland is not a safe or effective solution to the chronic overcrowding and its effects on human health. At least 2,500 people who are officially identified as vulnerable remain in Lesvos despite being entitled to move to a safe place for specialized care. This number does not include thousands of possibly others who have not yet been identified as vulnerable.

      Doctors Without Borders appeals to the Greek Government, the European Union and the Member States to assume their responsibilities and put an end to this unacceptable and devastating crisis, and in particular demand:

      Immediately remove children and vulnerable people from the islands and transport them to safe and appropriate accommodation in mainland Greece and / or other European countries.
      Immediately increase the number of medical staff in reception centers so that people can receive physical and mental health care.

      https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2019/09/13/msf-migrants-children-suicides