AYS Daily Digest 27/4/20
GREECE
A move to Moria
A month after arriving and after having lived on beaches and tents in three places on the north of Lesvos, 127 people have been transferred to the Moria refugee camp. Their asylum process can only now begin formally, but this begs a question — what must someone’s reality be when a move to the infamous Moria is a step forward….?
Not even the minimum
“Government negligence endangers human lives” is in the title of the report by Human Rights Watch regarding the current conditions imposed on everyone by the presence of Covid-19, requiring knowledge of the rights and possibilities of protection of those whose freedom of movement and choice has been even more limited.
“It is clear that Greece does not comply with the minimum measures of prevention and protection against coronavirus in the structures of the islands,” said the organization’s researcher, Belkis Ville.
Despite the constant meetings and announcements by government officials, no measures are being taken to protect vulnerable groups, not in Kranidi with 150 cases of corona disease, nor for transfers from the KYT (Reception and Identification Centers) of the islands of the Eastern Aegean. No substantive protection measures have been implemented until last night, not even for the refugees living at the hotel in Kranidi, and even for those who are in the high risk category, it is reported.
It seems that at the most recent meeting at the Ministry of Health, the existing measures were confirmed, thus no improvement is being made a priority in any of the spheres, including health. The previously announced move, promised to the Commissioner Johansson, of unaccompanied minors from the islands that was to take place right after Easter has not yet begun, and there’s no telling when and if it will happen in full capacity.
After the fires
Europe Must Act has sent out an open letter to the EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson, stating, among other things, that:
These fires were often caused by fights amongst camp residents. The tensions, and the fires caused by them, are the cumulative effects of subhuman conditions on hotspot island camps and the additional stress created by Covid-19 quarantine measures taken by authorities.
One tragedy after another. These events highlight how inherently flawed Europe’s current policy on migration and asylum is. Risking human lives is irresponsible governance at the highest level,
and calling on the Commissioner to work with the Greek authorities and Member States to evacuate asylum seekers and refugees from the islands to Europe, and demanding a statement from the EU Commission on this emergency situation on the Aegean Islands. Find the entire letter here.
No public scrutiny over racism and hate
The 55-year-old man who shot at refugees in Moria was released on parole, the Greek media reported, and according to sources on site, fascist groups at the court of Mytilene attacked journalists, throwing stones at them. The Greek police allegedly aggressively removed the journalists, not even trying to stop the attacks, but preventing any reporting on them.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
A group of activists who started Transbalkanska solidarnost invite people to join their protest against IOM’s “non-action” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by calling people to actively reach out to them during 48 hours, starting on 27 April.
Conditions in the camps run by IOM in BiH during the COVID-19 pandemic resemble those in concentration camps:
_violence against people in the camps is on the rise,
_food is constantly insufficient and not nutritious enough while even more reduced and worse in quality,
_hygienic conditions are concerning,
_healthcare remains at a bare minimum,
_people are denied the freedom to move and leave the camps for an indefinite period.
Transbalkan Solidarity contends that:
_Soap is not a luxury!
_Trash is not food!
_A camp is not a living space!
_A tent is not a house!
▻https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-daily-digest-27-4-20-another-political-interference-in-the-freedoms-of-a
#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Grèce #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Moria #Plage #Lesbos #Kranidi