#camps

Ces engins utilisés pour refouler ressemblent fortement au #lifeboats utilisés par l’#Australie dans le même but :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/879396#message879399

#modèle_australien

https://i.imgur.com/FpnrseO.png

More images published by @ABoatReport
this morning: a floating deportation camp.

▻https://twitter.com/itamann/status/1265202422177320960?s=03

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Tents at Sea: How Greek Officials Use Rescue Equipment for Illegal Deportations

Back in 2013, Australia introduced strange new machinery in its campaign against unauthorized migration: a dozen bright-orange and windowless life vessels, shaped like missiles. These were equipped with navigational systems, air conditioning, and an engine. Each vessel, asylum seekers said, was given “just enough fuel” to reach Indonesia. When they washed ashore in February 2014, Indonesian locals were initially unsure what they were looking at. It was a piece of new deportation infrastructure, designed to launch migrants intercepted at sea back to where they had come from.

In the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, Greek authorities have put in place comparable deportation machinery. In at least 11 incidents since March 23, migrants have been found drifting in orange, tent-like inflatable life rafts without motors or propellants and that cannot be steered. Members of the Turkish Coast Guard reported these apparitions, but Greek authorities neither explained nor documented them. Images of these life rafts, fluorescent triangular structures afloat between black sea and dark sky, looked strange enough to seem superimposed. Relying on testimony and footage we obtained from multiple sources, including asylum seekers in the area, our investigation verifies this latest show of violence at the Greek-Turkish maritime border.

Far from Australia’s flashier orange vessels from five years back, these are more modest structures. Importantly, the Greek life rafts have appeared in a very different maritime environment: compared to the oceans surrounding Australia, the Aegean Sea is a relatively placid and narrow body of water. Yet like the Australian vessels, these too have been put in place by State authorities, in an organized way, violating fundamental rules of international law. The two sets of deportation craft share visible similarities and are each used in dangerous ways, shedding light on the legal and moral risks that states are now willing to take, just to keep out unwanted populations.

Maximum Deterrence

On Nov. 27, Greek Member of Parliament Kyriakos Velopoulos, leader of the right-wing Greek Solution party, appeared on a popular TV talk show on ERT, a Greek state-owned public broadcaster. He advanced a policy first adopted by the United States in Guantanamo Bay, where Haitian asylum-seekers were detained long before 9/11, and later expanded upon by Australia: open-air detention of asylum seekers on “uninhabited” islands. For those whose applications are rejected, Velopoulos suggested unilateral pushbacks to Turkey: Greek authorities should simply remove arriving migrants from the country and send them back to where they came from. Holding photos of the oblong orange vessels Australia had used, he explained: “This here … is a raft made by the Australian government … with food, actual food, and it never sinks.” An interviewer gasped: “There’s a humanitarian aspect to it!”

The relevant background to Velopoulos’s suggestions goes back to 1990, when the Dublin Convention introduced a system whereby asylum seekers must remain in the first European Union member State they access and have their requests processed there. This created an enormous and unjust burden on states at the “external borders” of the EU, such as Greece.

The latest version of this arrangement, the Dublin III Regulation, was adopted in 2013. In June 2015, the EU further exacerbated the disproportionate role given to Greece in “migration management”: with the announcement of the “hotspot” approach, several Aegean islands became locations for asylum-seeker screening, with departures to the mainland prohibited. By August, the flow of refugees from conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, particularly the Syrian civil war, began to surge, generating a crisis within the EU as Member States argued over how to handle the arrivals.

The influx of migrants generated a legal challenge to the Dublin rules, but the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld them in a 2017 ruling. In the meantime, in 2016, the EU and Turkey issued a joint statement saying Turkey would prevent unauthorized migrants from leaving its territory, in return for as much as 6 billion euros from the EU. Refugees and migrants thus became a bargaining chip that Ankara continuously used in its diplomatic wrangles with Brussels.

Earlier this year, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pressed for Western approval of his military operation against Syrian and Russian forces in northern Syria, he intensified his exploitative bargaining. On Feb. 29, he declared that the country would no longer prevent migrants from reaching Europe.

As thousands of migrants gathered at the Turkish-Greek border, seeking to enter, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned in a tweet, “Once more, do not attempt to enter Greece illegally – you will be turned back.” On March 1, the Greek government issued an emergency decree suspending asylum applications. According to Human Rights Watch, the Greek National Security Council announced that unauthorized migrants would be immediately returned, without registration, “where possible, to their countries of origin or transit,” such as Turkey. As in other countries in the Mediterranean basin, which also resorted to emergency measures, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has provided a convenient pretext for cracking down on migrants.

Adrift on the Aegean

According to a report from the Turkish Coast Guard, the first of at least 11 alleged pushback incidents involving life rafts occurred on March 23. One of the Turkish Coast Guard’s March 23 reports on “irregular migration” stated that the Guard had rescued 31 Syrian asylum seekers found floating in a life raft off the coast of Muğla’s Datça district in the Aegean Sea. The raft in question can clearly be seen in a press release photograph published by the Coast Guard about the incident.

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/24mar20datca.jpg

The refugees contacted the Consolidated Rescue Group, a grassroots organization run by Arabic-speaking volunteers who operate an emergency hotline for migrants in distress. In a statement obtained by the group and forwarded to us, the asylum seekers rescued on March 23 said they landed on the Greek island of Symi on March 22, at approximately 6 am. At certain points, the island is less than 8 km (or 5 miles) from the Turkish shore. The next day, the Greek authorities forced them onto “a small raft that looked like a tent and was orange in color” and left them to drift.

“Up until then, we had no idea that this was what they are going to do,” one of those on board, a construction worker (name withheld for security reasons) from the southeastern outskirts of Damascus, told us in a follow-up interview over WhatsApp.

The Greek Coast Guard had brought them to the main port of Symi and boarded them onto a ship: “They told us they would take us for a Corona test, and then we would be given our belongings back and transferred to Athens,” he said. Instead, after two hours onboard the Greek Coast Guard vessel, the authorities forced them down into a small raft: “They put everyone in … children, women, elderly, and young people. They didn’t leave anyone in the ship,” he said, telling us that they were left to drift “for over three hours,” until they were eventually rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.

He provided us with video footage that he recorded of the group’s arrival on the island of Symi, as well as footage recorded from inside the raft, while awaiting rescue (see below).

The Greek government’s daily public statistics of arrivals contains no record of their arrival on the Greek island or their deportation to Turkey.

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Lesvos-Harbor-March-24.jpeg

A series of similar incidents were reported by the Turkish Coast Guard in the following days. On March 27, the Coast Guard reported rescuing 10 migrants (eight Palestinian, two Egyptian, consisting of 3 men, 2 women and 5 children) in a “life raft” off the coast of Muğla’s Datça district (the Turkish version is written as “Can Salı”). Again, photographs accompanying the Coast Guard’s official press release show people being rescued from a tent-like raft. According to the Turkish Coast Guard’s statements, the migrants had been “pushed back towards Turkish territorial waters by Greek Coast Guard.”

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The next day, on March 28, nine Syrians (4 men, 2 women and 3 children) rescued were reported found in a “life boat” off the coast of Aydın’s Didim district, again with clear photographs of the distinctive tent-like raft accompanying the Guard’s report.

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We interviewed a Kurdish couple from Hasaka, Syria, who were among the group. According to the couple, on the morning of March 27, “around 7 or 8 a.m.,” they arrived on the Greek island of Farmakonisi. Unlike the larger Aegean islands of Chios, Lesvos, Samos, and Kos, where refugees most commonly arrive, Farmakonisi is an uninhabited island and a military base. There are no camps or reception facilities for asylum seekers.

The couple told us they were held by the army in terrible conditions. They described being “treated like animals, … [t]he army took our phones, money, clothes, and documents then threw them into the sea. Around 3 a.m., they took us toward the sea border. Then they made us take a boat shaped like a square tent, 2 meters wide. Then we were rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.”

Again, on March 29, the Turkish Coast Guard reported rescuing 18 migrants (7 men, 4 women and 7 children) at 11:40 p.m. The Coast Guard issued a press release, complete with clear photos of the migrants being rescued from a life raft.

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This is consistent with statements from migrants claiming to have been among those rescued. We interviewed a Syrian man who provided us with photographs of his arrival on Rhodes on March 27. The man told us he arrived with a group of 18 people: seven Palestinians, six Syrians and five Iranians, including children and a pregnant woman. After arriving on Rhodes, the man and the rest of the group were held by the Greek police on the roadside from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.

“The weather was really cold and they did not let us light a fire to warm the women and children who were with us,” he said. The group was then transferred to the port by bus: “They gave us two tents, without anything in them. We were under full surveillance,” he added.

“They [Greek authorities] were suspicious that we had corona, so we wrote a sign that none of us has corona so that we could reassure them, hoping they would treat us in a humane way,” he said. “But this changed nothing.”

The group stayed in the makeshift camp for 2 1/2 days, until the night of March 29. He said that was when “a military van with army officers transferred us to the port and handed us over to the Greek Coast Guard.”

They were on board the Greek Coast Guard boat for about one hour: “Then they switched off the engine of the boat and made us go down, in the middle of the sea, in a rubber boat shaped like a tent.” They were left to drift for what he describes as approximately two hours, when they were intercepted by the Turkish Coast Guard:

When the Turkish Coast Guard found us and took us to the Turkish land, they registered our information and transferred us to the police station. They split us in half. One half was Syrians and Palestinians and the other half is the other nationalities. For us, we were detained for like 15 days and after that we were released without any rights as refugees, such as having a Kimlik [Temporary Protection Identification Document].

Without the proper registration, he explains, he is now hiding from the Turkish authorities as he fears being forcibly returned to Syria, where he fled.

Contravening International Rules

“Shaped like a tent,” as migrants repeatedly describe them, the life rafts the Greek Coast Guard appears to be employing to expel migrants are, in fact, designed for emergency evacuation in the case of shipwreck. They are manufactured not for transportation, but for rescue in case of a boat or ship sinking, to keep survivors afloat and alive until assistance arrives. They are not equipped with an engine or other propellant, cannot be steered, and provide minimal protection from the elements.

As Paul Crowley, a former captain for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in Ireland, explained to us, such life rafts are never to be deployed “for any other reason other than to preserve life if no other option is available. It would contravene any internationally recognized standard to take people from a non-life-threatening location, either land or vessel, and place them in a raft.”

As far as the law goes, these returns risk violating the international standard of non-refoulement. This principle is at the centerpiece of international refugee protection, and prohibits returns of asylum seekers to any place where they may suffer persecution, torture, or inhuman and degrading treatment. The returns also violate Greece’s obligations under human rights law, including the prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, and the right to life (see Articles 3 and 2, respectively, of the European Convention on Human Rights). Inasmuch as these violations constitute a “widespread or systematic attack” directed against a “civilian population,” they may raise concerns under international criminal law. Evidence continues to surface that these days, when it comes to the treatment of migrants, the Greek authorities violate fundamental edicts of international law unabated.

While the use of rescue equipment for deportations appears to be a new development, pushbacks on the Aegean are not. On March 23, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants Felipe González Morales stated that he is “very concerned about the reported pushbacks of asylum seekers and migrants” by Greek authorities at both land and maritime borders. He also referenced recent violence committed by Greek authorities against those seeking to aid migrants in the Aegean Sea area. The Germany-based human-rights monitoring organization Mare Liberum (“The Free Sea”) told us that a more common tactic of the Greek Coast Guard is to remove the engines of migrants’ boats and leave them to drift. Likewise, reports of the Turkish Coast Guard resorting to violence have arisen since Turkey’s implementation of the 2016 deal with the EU. Examples reported to the authors by migrants and NGO workers include driving rings around boats and throwing stones to stop boats from leaving Turkish waters.

Clearly both countries have geostrategic motives for their treatment of migrants related to their fraught relationships with the EU – including aid money and various benefits for their own citizens. Often, it seems like the two countries are playing a violent game of ping-pong across the Aegean with migrant bodies.

An Iraqi refugee whom we interviewed over WhatsApp — we will refer to as “Hatim” for safety reasons — told us that he has been pushed back to Turkey by Greek authorities on three occasions since July 2019. Hatim and his family fled to Turkey in 2014, when ISIS took over their home city of Mosul. They were selected for resettlement in the United States, and had just finished their first interview when Trump’s January 2017 Executive Order interrupted the program. On the night of April 1, 2020, he and his family made four separate attempts to reach the Greek island of Chios. On the last attempt, their rubber dinghy, carrying approximately 40 people, entered Greek territorial waters and was intercepted by the Greek Coast Guard. The Coast Guard confiscated the fuel from their boat and returned them to Turkish waters, leaving them to drift.

The systemic nature of such violations by the Greek authorities was recently highlighted by whistleblowers working under Frontex, the European border enforcement agency. In early March, the crew of a Danish patrol boat participating in “Operation Poseidon,” an EU maritime border patrol mission coordinated by Frontex, revealed that the Hellenic Coast Guard has explicit orders to stop migrant boats from crossing the sea border between Turkey to Greece. The Danish unit had refused to obey a pushback order from Operation Poseidon headquarters. Since then, NGOs Alarmphone and Mare Liberum have documented a series of pushbacks by Greek authorities along the Greece-Turkey border, including in the Aegean, that have become increasingly visible and severe.

Most notably, Greek newspaper EFSYN reported an incident involving 26 migrants whose arrival on Mourtia Beach on the Greek island of Samos April 1 was documented by a resident. The arrival was not reported by the Greek authorities. In fact, government statistics recorded no new arrivals to Samos on that date.

However, photographs taken by the Samos resident (and reproduced in EFSYN’s reporting) show the deflated dinghy and newly arrived migrants heading away from the shore. One member of the group is distinguished by bright red trousers while another carries a red duffle bag. EFSYN published photographs obtained from the Turkish Coast Guard of the same group who had arrived on Mourtia Beach aboard a Turkish Coast Guard boat after their rescue later that day, noting the marked similarities in the appearance, clothing and baggage of the migrants in the two sets of photographs. On the same day, the Turkish Coast Guard reported rescuing 26 migrants (found with a life raft) on the shore near Kuşadası national park, in a location that cannot be reached by land. According to the Turkish Coast Guard, the migrants said they had landed on Samos, were rounded up by the Greek Coast Guard and left to drift in the raft.

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/02Nisan2020kusadasi.jpg

On May 12, EFSYN published a video of a life raft like the ones pictured above (but without the cover) being dragged by a Greek Coast Guard boat off the southeast coast of Samos. The video was originally published by the Turkish Coast Guard on April 29, at which time it announced rescuing 22 people found drifting off the coast of Aydin province, bordering the Greek island of Samos. According to Bellingcat’s recent investigation into the incident, the group of 22 migrants rescued on April 29 (pictured in the video) had, in fact, arrived on Samos the previous day, on April 28.

Most recently, a video surfaced on YouTube appearing to show the Turkish Coast Guard rescuing a group of 30 migrants aboard two life rafts. According to Turkish records and reports, including photographs, the Coast Guard rescued 30 migrants in two life rafts on May 13, consisting of 13 Congolese, eight Syrians, five Bangladeshis and three Palestinian nationals, along with a Lebanese national. The rescue occurred off the coast of the district of Menderes in Turkey’s İzmir province.

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On May 15, yet another group of migrants were rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard after being found in these distinctive life rafts. This group of 25 migrants also reported having been repelled by Greek authorities, again with photographic evidence.

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The Tent and the Missile

Australians eventually replaced their orange lifeboats with fishing boats, although the intention was the same – pushing migrants away from Australian shores. But there was something chillingly memorable about that episode. It embodied the often-hypocritical moral stance of liberal democracies regarding strangers in need: a willingness to engage in extreme measures, even violence, to enforce borders, coupled with an emphasis on efficiency and a pretense of safety.

While the Australian deportation vessels appear to have been custom-made and reportedly were purchased for $40,000 AUD each (about $25,000 USD), the Greek life raft “tents” are considerably more modest. They are the kind of equipment a yacht owner might purchase online for around $2,000. Under the 1974 Safety of Life as Sea Convention, maritime vessels are required to have such protective gear available. The Hellenic Coast Guard has now repurposed them for the opposite ends – putting people in danger.

The Greek orange rafts seen in pictures appear to be a model manufactured by a Greek company called LALIZAS, which specialize in rescue equipment. A November 2019 LALIZAS newsletter includes an article entitled “24 hours in a LALIZAS Liferaft: Mission accomplished!” It describes a training in which members of Greece’s Hellenic Rescue Team and Hellenic Air Force carried out a simulated “‘actual’ case of emergency” by relying on a LALIZAS life raft and its food and survival equipment for a full 24 hours (see the story on the LALIZAS website here, and official video of the simulation, here). The life raft in question, code named “MEDUSSA” for the simulation, appears identical to those in many of the images of the tent-like rafts migrants have been rescued from while adrift in the Aegean.

According to the Greek government’s procurement records available online, it purchased the life rafts for the Greek Navy in 2017. Several government ministries appear to have contracts with this company.

The Australian life raft most closely resembles a missile. Its very image conveys the omnipotence of a regional superpower. By using such a machine, Australia effectively said to those attempting unauthorized maritime entry, “We will shoot you away.” To be sure, this missile is not fired at the migrants. It’s as if they become part of its ammunition; shot back at Indonesia’s shores, they are expected to crawl out of the shell once the missile crashes on one of the country’s countless atolls.

Compared to the grandeur of the Australian missile-like object, and its mechanical cruelty, the Greek tent-like raft is a poignant symbol of inhumanity. Set adrift on the Aegean, its disquieting quality emerges from the fact that it becomes a kind of metaphor for the refugee’s condition. Asylum seekers describing it had often used the Arabic word ḵēma (خيمة), which is the tent one would use in a camp (and typically not a home, even if that too is a tent). It echoes the word mūẖym, which means refugee camp. No fuel is rationed to reach a destination, and the expectation appears to be that the life raft will simply drift across the relatively narrow waterway.

The act of putting migrants to sea in inflatable tents is in line with the broader EU contemporary response to the “refugee crisis” – rejection and abandonment. This is, at least, how asylum seekers protesting at Moria camp, on the Greek island of Lesvos, see it: “We have been abandoned here,” said one asylum seeker on April 22.

Like the Australian example, the tent too is an instrument of deterrence: “We will shoot you away” is replaced with a threat of an even more perilous exile on water. This aspect, however, does not make the Greek use of the life rafts any better than the Australian display of technological might. Both are utilized to perform what is almost an act of murder, but ultimately not quite there.

▻https://www.justsecurity.org/70309/tents-at-sea-how-greek-officials-use-rescue-equipment-for-illegal-depo

–-> #camps_flottants #camp_flottant

A terrifying video of a push-back in the Aegean sea; men, women –two of them pregnant- and children abandoned at sea on a liferaft by the greek coast-guards

▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsEHZKGsSE&feature=emb_title

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Le reportage complet du quotidien grec Efimerida tôn Syntaktôn:

Επαναπροώθηση με ελληνική σφραγίδα

Ένα ακόμα περιστατικό παράνομης επαναπροώθησης που σημειώθηκε στις 25 Μαΐου στο Αιγαίο, στη θαλάσσια περιοχή ανοιχτά της Λέσβου, έρχεται στη δημοσιότητα για να επιβεβαιώσει την σύνδεση της χρήσης σχεδιών τύπου liferafts, με τις ελληνικές λιμενικές αρχές.

Όπως είχε αποκαλύψει πρόσφατη έρευνα που δημοσιεύτηκε στον ιστότοπο justsecurity.org από τους δρ. Itamar Mann και Niamh Keady Tabal, και παραθέτει στοιχεία και για παράνομες επαναπροωθήσεις, το Ελληνικό Δημόσιο συνεργάζεται στενά με την ελληνική εταιρεία LALIZAS, σωστικές συσκευές της οποίας προμηθεύτηκε και το Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, σύμφωνα με αρχεία αναρτημένα στη Διαύγεια, το 2017.

Η έρευνα συζητήθηκε διεθνώς και ανάγκασε τον επικεφαλής της Frontex Φαμπρίς Λεγκέρι να παραδεχτεί τις ελληνικές παράνομες επιχειρήσεις επαναπροώθησης.

Το βίντεο που δημοσιοποιεί σήμερα η « Εφ.Συν. » εξετάστηκε από την ερευνητική ομάδα Disinfaux, η οποία συμμετείχε στην έρευνα του justsecurity.org. Στο βίντεο διακρίνεται καθαρά πάνω στη σχεδία η επιγραφή LALIZAS ISO-RAFT. Διακρίνεται επίσης ο σειριακός αριθμός και η ημερομηνία κατασκευής της σχεδίας, βάσει της διαθέσιμης ανάλυσης (ISO 96-50-1, LALIZAS ISO-RAFT, Date of Manufacture 10/2016 Serial Number 161012174). Το προϊόν με αυτά τα χαρακτηριστικά διαφημίζεται στην ιστοσελίδα της εταιρείας.

Σε άλλο απόσπασμα του βίντεο φαίνονται σε κοντινή απόσταση οι άλλες 3 παρόμοιες πλωτές σχεδίες, γεγονός που συνάδει με τα διαθέσιμα στοιχεία για το περιστατικό της 25ης Μαΐου, όπως είχε δημοσιευτεί το ίδιο πρωί, από τη Τουρκική Ακτοφυλακή.

Ελληνικές σχεδίες

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Ανήκε η συγκεκριμένη σχεδία στον επίσημο εξοπλισμό του Πολεμικού Ναυτικού ή άλλων ελληνικών δυνάμεων ; Πώς βρέθηκε καταμεσής του Αιγαίου ως μέσο επαναπροώθησης προς την Τουρκία προσφύγων που είχαν βρεθεί σε κίνδυνο ; Τι αναφέρουν τα πρωτόκολλα διάσωσης για όσους βρίσκονται σε κίνδυνο στη θάλασσα ;

https://www.efsyn.gr/sites/default/files/images/2020/06/lalizas-3-4.jpg

Τα βίντεο τραβήχτηκαν από πρόσφυγα πάνω στη σχεδία την ώρα της επαναπροώθησης. Σε ανάρτησή του στα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης περιγράφει τις δραματικές στιγμές που έζησε αυτός και άλλοι περίπου 70 πρόσφυγες στις 25 Μαΐου, από τη στιγμή που έπεσαν στα χέρια του Λιμενικού μέχρι που τους εγκατέλειψε, και βρέθηκαν να πλέουν αβοήθητοι πάνω σε τέσσερις σχεδίες στη μέση του Αιγαίου. Παρέμειναν εκεί, ανάμεσά τους πέντε παιδιά και δύο έγκυες. Ένας τους είχε καταφέρει να κρύψει το κινητό του τηλέφωνο και κατάφεραν να καλέσουν το τουρκικό Λιμενικό, το οποίο τους εντόπισε.

Η « Εφ.Συν. » επικοινώνησε με τον πρόσφυγα που ανάρτησε το βίντεο. Όπως αναφέρει, σκάφος της ελληνικής ακτοφυλακής έκανε μανούβρες γύρω από τη βάρκα στην οποία αρχικά επέβαιναν οι πρόσφυγες. « Όλοι οι φίλοι μου έκλαιγαν, ούρλιαζαν, ζητούσαν βοήθεια από το λιμενικό. Άντρες που φορούσαν στρατιωτικές στολές, και είχαν όπλα, πήραν τη μηχανή της βάρκας και μας είπαν : "Είμαστε εδώ για να σας βοηθήσουμε, θέλουμε να σας μεταφέρουμε στο καμπ της Μόριας" », λέει χαρακτηριστικά.

https://www.efsyn.gr/sites/default/files/images/2020/06/anartisi-prosfyga.jpg

Τους επιβίβασαν στο σκάφος του λιμενικού και αφού έλεγξαν τη θερμοκρασία τους με θερμόμετρα, τους χτύπησαν και τους αφαίρεσαν τα προσωπικά τους αντικείμενα. « Μας πήραν τα πάντα : χρήματα, τσάντες, τηλέφωνα », λέει. Αφαίρεσαν από το σκάφος του λιμενικού την ελληνική σημαία, τους οδήγησαν μεσοπέλαγα και τους επιβίβασαν σε τέσσερα liferaft. Τους ανάγκασαν να ανέβουν είκοσι άτομα σε κάθε σχεδία, ενώ η -βάσει προδιαγραφών- χωρητικότητά της είναι για 12 άτομα. Η εταιρεία LALIZAS δεν έχει στον κατάλογο της παρόμοιου τύπου liferaft με χωρητικότητα άνω των 12 ατόμων. Επισημαίνει επίσης πως οι τέσσερις τσάντες από τις οποίες έβγαλαν τα πλωτά ήταν χρώματος πορτοκαλί, όπως διαφημίζεται και το προϊόν στο site της LALIZAS.

« Δεν έδωσαν σωσίβια στους ανθρώπους που δεν είχαν, και όταν εγώ ζήτησα από έναν λιμενικό να μου δώσει το τηλέφωνό μου για να επικοινωνήσω τουλάχιστον με την τουρκική ακτοφυλακή μου απάντησε "έλα και πάρ’ το", δείχνοντάς μου τα γεννητικά του όργανα », αναφέρει ο πρόσφυγας, ο οποίος θέλει να κρατήσει την ανωνυμία του.

Τους περικύκλωσαν για 15 περίπου λεπτά και μετά τους εγκατέλειψαν. Ένας από τους επιβαίνοντες κατάφερε να κρύψει το κινητό του τηλέφωνο και έτσι κατάφεραν να καλέσουν την τουρκική ακτοφυλακή η οποία τους μετέφερε σώους στην Φότσα της Σμύρνης.

« Δημοσιοποιώ αυτό το βίντεο για να δείξω στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, την Ύπατη Αρμοστεία και το Ευρωκοινοβούλιο, τα αποτελέσματα των αποφάσεων τους για το προσφυγικό », καταλήγει στην ανάρτησή του. Την ίδια στιγμή, ο Διεθνής Οργανισμός Μετανάστευσης (ΔΟΜ), η Ύπατη Αρμοστεία, και αρκετοί φορείς ζητούν απαντήσεις και τη διεξαγωγή έρευνας για τις καταγγελλόμενες επαναπροωθήσεις και μαζικές απελάσεις προσφύγων και μεταναστών στην Τουρκία.

►https://www.efsyn.gr/ellada/dikaiomata/247726_epanaproothisi-me-elliniki-sfragida

#Norvège

Greece Suspected of Abandoning Refugees at Sea

An investigation by DER SPIEGEL and partners has revealed that the Greek Coast Guard intercepts refugee boats, puts the migrants in life rafts, tows them toward Turkey and then abandons them to their fate. What do German troops in the area know about the practice?

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Europe is just a few kilometers away, recalls Amjad Naim, when the men in masks show up. It’s the morning of May 13 and the Palestinian is sitting in an inflatable boat, having paid migrant smugglers in Turkey for the trip. Naim can already see the Greek coast, and with every second, he is getting closer and closer.

Naim wasn’t alone in the boat. They were a group of at least 26 people and they had almost reached the island of Samos. Naim remembers hearing a helicopter, and then all hell broke loose. For the next several hours, those on board would be afraid for their lives.

The men in the masks approached in a large vessel, says Naim, adding that he remembers seeing the Greek flag and several dinghies. And then, he says, the masked men went on the attack.

They fired shots into the water, he says, snagged the migrants’ inflatable raft with a grappling hook and destroyed the motor, thus stopping the boat. The men then took the migrants on board their vessel, Naim says, adding that he started crying and hid his mobile phone in his underwear.

There are videos that prove that Naim really was on his way to Samos. The images show a young man with closely cropped hair and a smooth-shaven face. The motor of the small inflatable boat hums in the background as Naim smiles into the camera. He is originally from the Gaza Strip in the Palestinian Territories, where he studied law and got married. His wife is waiting for him in the Netherlands. Naim blows a kiss into the camera.

The next images of Naim are shaky — a 55-second clip made by Naim that clearly documents a crime. The footage shows him and the other refugees on two inflatable life rafts. The Greek Coast Guard had put them off of the ship and onto the rafts. The square-shaped platforms are little more than wobbly rubber rafts.

In the video, a Greek Coast Guard ship, 18 meters (59 feet) long, is dragging the rafts back toward Turkey. An additional ship stands by. Water can be seen pouring into Naim’s raft.

Then, as can be seen in the video, the Greek Coast Guard unties the tow rope, leaving the refugees to their fate in the middle of the sea. Sitting in a rubber raft that has no ability to maneuver on its own.

It is possible that Naim’s experience could be an isolated incident. It is conceivable that the Greek sailors simply lost their patience or that that particular ship was crewed by an especially nasty group. But that is not the case. Naim is apparently just one victim among many. There is a system behind the tactics he was exposed to. In a joint investigation with Lighthouse Reports and Report Mainz, DER SPIEGEL has forensically analyzed dozens of videos and compared them with geodata in addition to speaking with numerous eyewitnesses.

▻https://cdnstatic.secure.spiegel.de/SP/2020/26/OPQWeKYm-32438806.mp4

The material shows beyond doubt: In the eastern Aegean, European values are being sacrificed in the name of protecting its external borders.

Masked men, almost certainly Greek border control officials, regularly attack refugee boats in the area. In one case on June 4, the inflatable boat belonging to the masked men can be clearly identified as a Greek patrol boat. It belongs to Greek Coast Guard ship ΛΣ-080.

After the refugee boats are intercepted, the Greeks, apparently, frequently put the migrants in inflatable life rafts, tow them toward Turkey and then leave them to their fates. In most cases, they are dragged ashore after several hours by the Turkish Coast Guard.

The actions taken by the Greeks are a clear breach. It has long been known that Greek Coast Guard personnel delay rescue attempts and perform aggressive maneuvers. Now, though, they are actively putting the lives of migrants at risk and they are using life-saving equipment to put people in danger.

Images of migrants on orange life rafts have been appearing for weeks on Facebook and Instagram. NGOs like Aegean Boat Report, Josoor and Alarm Phone have also spoken with refugees and reported their experiences - and since March 23, activists have documented a number of incidents. The Turkish Coast Guard has also published images of the orange life rafts. But Naim’s video is the first to document beyond doubt a Greek Coast Guard vessel towing life rafts toward Turkey and then abandoning the refugees on the open sea.

These so-called pushbacks represent both a violation of international law and of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. Asylum seekers have a right to have their cases heard on an individual basis and countries are not permitted to bring them back against their will to a place where their safety is not guaranteed.

Itamar Mann, a lawyer at the University of Haifa and member of the Global Legal Action Network, believes pushbacks could also have criminal consequences. From a legal perspective, such operations, he says, are a kind of torture, with refugees experiencing inhumane treatment and humiliation.

When contacted, the Greek Coast Guard denied the accusations and claimed that its personnel does not wear masks. They also said they obey all applicable laws. Delays in rescuing the refugees, they said, were due to the Turkish Coast Guard because they only accompany refugee boats if they are traveling in the direction of Greece. The Greek officials, they said, only locate the refugee boats and then inform the Turkish Coast Guard as quickly as possible.

They claimed that they cooperated with the Turkish Coast Guard in the May 13 incident. In their statement, the Greek Coast Guard did not specifically address the video showing the pushback.
Caught in the Middle

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been in office since last July, and since then, he has taken several steps to ensure that fewer refugees arrive in Greece. He had temporarily suspended the right to asylum and shortened the deadline for appeal in asylum cases. Furthermore, during his tenure, border guards on the Maritsa River between Turkey and Greece have apparently used live ammunition against refugees, likely killing at least one. His government has considered blocking refugee boats with barriers at sea.

His government refers to the practices as “active surveillance.” In fact, though, they are abandoning refugees on the high seas.

There is a reason for this new degree of brutality: Since the end of February, Turkish border guards are no longer stopping refugees on their way to Europe. Indeed, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has even arranged for refugees to be bused to the Greek border, where they were pushed back by Greek border guards. Erdogan’s intention is to ratchet up the pressure on the European Union, with Brussels and Ankara currently trying to hammer out a new refugee deal.

The cynical game seen on the banks of the Maritsa River is now being repeated in the Aegean. The Turkish and Greek Coast Guards are pushing refugee boats into the territorial waters of the other, with the migrants themselves getting caught in the middle. In such a situation, those wanting to cross the Aegean need quite a bit of luck.

Omar, a young man from Afghanistan, had lost almost all hope for such luck on the morning of June 4, floating in a boat between the Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast. Omar, whose name has been changed for this story, wasn’t alone: A total of 31 men, women and children were on board.

Turkish and Greek vessels had repeatedly pushed the migrants back. In one video, a dinghy can be seen that doubtlessly belongs to the Greek Coast Guard. Masked men, says Omar, had pushed their motor into the water, which is why to refugees were hanging off the back of the refugee boat and kicking, doing all they can to propel the boat to European soil. The scene was captured on video.

Omar is desperate. He makes a final video, posting it to a refugee group on Facebook. In the video, he speaks into the camera for a good six minutes. “Please help us,” he pleads. “We have a right to live.”

Perhaps it was this video that saved Omar’s life. Activists shared it on Facebook and just a short time later, a Turkish liaison officer on the supply ship Berlin told German soldiers of the vessel in distress. The ship is part of a NATO mission and was located off Lesbos. Using a tender, the Germans took the refugees ashore.

A subsequent press release from the Bundeswehr, as the German military is called, noted that the refugees’ lives had been in danger, which is why the commander intervened. A small boat unable to maneuver on its own: It must have seemed rather strange to the soldiers. The press release made no mention of an attack on the refugee boat.
German Officials Pulled Into the Chaos

The episode shows, though, just how deeply German officials have been pulled into the chaos on the Aegean. It also raises the question as to whether the Germans know of the assaults and of the lifeboats - and whether they tolerate the pushbacks or are perhaps even involved.

Around 600 border guards are helping the Greeks monitor activity on the Aegean, all part of the Frontex operation Poseidon. And the mission hasn’t always been free of conflict. In March, a Danish Frontex crew refused to carry out an illegal pushback.

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Behind closed doors, Frontex may already have admitted that it is aware of the brutal tactics involving the lifeboats. European Parliamentarian Dietmar Köster, a member of European Parliament from the German Social Democrats (SPD), says that Frontex head Fabrice Leggeri confirmed the incidents in a meeting with him. Though Köster is certain of his understanding of that meeting, Frontex says there was a misunderstanding, adding that Frontex headquarters has received no reports about pushbacks.

Luise Amtsberg, a Green Party spokesperson on migration policy, doesn’t believe it. The waters around Samos are not endless, she told Report Mainz and DER SPIEGEL. “Pushbacks cannot take place completely without the knowledge of the other units in the area.”

And there are indications that German officials might know of the pushbacks. In the port of Samos, the German Coast Guard ship Uckermark is anchored. On May 13, on the day that Amjad Naim was on his way to Samos, the Germans identified a refugee boat on their radar, according to information provided by the German Federal Police when contacted.

In all probability, it was Naim’s boat. There is no evidence that there were any other refugee boats heading for Samos on that day. The Greek Coast Guard also confirmed that a ship and a helicopter belonging to the Germans had spotted a boat that day. They say it was in Turkish waters when first seen.

The Germans alerted the Greek Coast Guard by radio, and the Greeks then took charge of the situation, according to a written statement. The statement notes that the Germans were “not involved” in any other measures related to the incident and insists that the Germans have no knowledge of the lifeboat episode.

The German Coast Guard has provided no comment as to why no refugees arrived on Samos that day or what happened to the refugee boat that was spotted. And they apparently aren’t particularly interested, either.

Even if Frontex was not actively involved in the operation, they bear some of the responsibility, says the lawyer Itamar Mann. Frontex, he believes, must draw a line and even withdraw from the mission if need be.

After the Germans apparently saw his boat and after the Greeks abandoned him to his fate on the high seas on May 13, Amjad Naim floated around for several hours. The sky was almost cloudless, and the sun was beating down, as can be seen in the videos. The refugees had nothing to eat or drink.

The lifeboat soon began to spin in circles, Naim says, with some of the passengers becoming nauseous and others fainting. Turkish and Greek ships, he says, simply ignored them. “It was awful,” Naim says.

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It was only after several hours that a Turkish Coast Guard vessel arrived to collect them. Men in white protective equipment helped the refugees off the lifeboat and took their temperatures. Naim then had to remain in quarantine for more than two weeks - in a nasty camp full of filth and mosquitoes, he says.

Naim is now allowed to move freely in Turkey, but still feels trapped. He says: “I can’t go forward and I can’t go back.”

▻https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/videos-and-eyewitness-accounts-greece-apparently-abandoning-refugees-at-sea-

Greece: Investigate Pushbacks, Collective Expulsions
►https://seenthis.net/messages/868362

‘Catastrophe for human rights’ as Greece steps up refugee ‘pushbacks’

Human rights groups condemn practice as evidence reviewed by the Guardian reveals systemic denial of entry to asylum seekers.

At about 1am on 24 August, Ahmed (not his real name) climbed into a rubber dinghy with 29 others and left Turkey’s north-western Çanakkale province. After 30 minutes, he said, they reached Greek waters near Lesbos and a panther boat from the Hellenic coastguard approached.

Eight officers in blue shorts and shirts, some wearing black masks and armed with rifles, forced the group – more than half women and including several minors and six small children – to come aboard at gunpoint. They punctured the dinghy with knives and it sank. “They said they would take us to a camp,” said Ahmed. “The children were happy and started laughing, but I knew they were lying.”

Through the course of the night, Ahmed, a 17-year-old refugee from Eritrea, alleges that Greek officers detained the group, confiscating possessions and denying them access to toilets and drinking water. By morning, they were dispatched into a liferaft in Turkish waters. It was too small, and videos taken by Ahmed, who hid his phone, show some people were forced to swim. The Turkish coastguard confirmed it intercepted the raft at 1:20pm.

The event described by Ahmed, who fled conflict in Eritrea after his father died, was one of seven times that he says he has been pushed back by the Hellenic coastguard. The use of these “pushbacks” has surged since March according to an investigation by the Guardian, and experts say it has become an overt policy of Greece’s rightwing New Democracy government, which came to power last year.

Interviews with five victims of pushbacks, 10 NGOs working across the Aegean Sea including Human Rights Watch, Josoor and the Aegean Boat Report, and a tranche of videos reviewed by the Guardian reveal an organised and systemic practice of denying entry to asylum seekers.

Next week a coalition of charities including Human Rights Watch and the Border Violence Monitoring Network will publish an open letter condemning the practice of pushbacks and calling for the Greek government and the European Commission to take action against those involved. A draft of the letter seen by the Guardian calls for “disciplinary and criminal sanctions” to be brought against those “found to have engaged in such illegal acts”.

International law experts say these activities are in breach of international law including the convention relating to the status of refugees and the European convention on human rights. “What you are seeing is the illegal collective expulsion of refugees from Greek territory,” said Satvinder Juss, a professor of human rights and international refugee law at King’s College London. “It’s a catastrophe for human rights.”

Often pushbacks involve teams of unidentified men in black uniforms who intercept boats of refugees that have arrived in Greek waters and forcibly return them to Turkish waters, either leaving them to drift after engines have been destroyed or in separate liferafts. In some cases, victims have arrived on Greek land before being returned by authorities to the open seas, after actively threatening them with beatings, gunshots and by creating large waves with fast boats. In one case, refugees were left on a tiny island between Greece and Turkey for two days without food before being rescued.

AlarmPhone, an NGO that operates a telephone line and social media network for refugees in distress, said it observed a substantial increase in reports of pushbacks since the pandemic, recording 55 cases between March and August. The Greek Helsinki Monitor said it submitted a report to the supreme court, naval court and military appeals court of Greece claiming nearly 1,400 people were pushed back between March and July, though the true number is believed to be far higher.

Minos Mouzourakis, legal officer at Refugee Support Aegean, is currently working on landmark legal cases at the European court of human rights that date back to 2014, when eight Afghan children and three women died after their vessel sank near the island of Farmakonisi during a reported pushback. “This is a regrettable resurgence of those older tactics,” said Mouzourakis.

In December 2019, Greece said it was predicting up to 100,000 asylum seekers to arrive on its islands from Turkey in 2020. But as of 31 August, there have been 8,860 sea arrivals, according to UNHCR. Stella Nanou, the agency’s Greek representative, acknowledged the “credible accounts” of pushbacks and called on Greece to “guarantee and safeguard the rights of those seeking international protection”.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, has taken several official steps to ensure fewer refugees arrive, temporarily suspending the right to asylum, shortening the deadline for appeal in asylum cases, extending fences along the land border with Turkey and is considering installing floating barriers at sea. But the government has described accusations of illegal pushbacks as “fake news” from unreliable sources.

“Pushbacks are inherently violent, not only physically but mentally,” said Amelia Cooper, advocacy and communications officer for Lesbos Legal Centre, which is documenting pushbacks and providing legal support to survivors. “Survivors are aware that these expulsions, and the abuses that they entail, are constitutive of both the European border and the EU’s political context with Turkey.”

When contacted, the ministry of maritime affairs and insular policy said its operations were in accordance with international law and that the agency has been subject to “systematic targeting by a portion of the mainstream media, NGOs and other social networking platforms, which tend to promote the relevant actions in a single dimensional and fragmentary way”.

But documents seen by the Guardian reveal a German navy supply vessel called the Berlin, which heads Nato’s Standing Maritime Group 2 in the Aegean region, observed a boat with refugees being forced into Turkish sea territory by Greek authorities on 19 June and 15 August. The findings came in response to parliamentary questions by Left party MP Andrej Hunko.

After being detained in Turkey, Ahmed was released and has since slept in a park in the city of İzmir. “I don’t care if I die,” he said. “I don’t have a choice to go back. But I am losing hope.”

▻https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/sep/27/catastrophe-for-human-rights-as-greece-steps-up-refugee-pushbacks

Migrants accuse Greece of pushing them back out to sea

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Shortly after reaching the Greek island of Lesbos, a group of Afghan migrants say, their hopes for a new life in Europe were cut short when Greek authorities rounded them up, mistreated them, shoved them into life rafts and abandoned them at sea.

Associated Press journalists on a Turkish government-organized coast guard ride-along were aboard the patrol boat that picked up the 37 migrants, including 18 children, from two orange life rafts in the Aegean Sea on Sept. 12. Two other media organizations on similar government-organized trips in the same week witnessed similar scenes.

“They took our phones and said a bus will come and take you to the camp,” Omid Hussain Nabizada said in Turkish. “But they took us and put us on a ship. They left us on the water in a very bad way on these boats.”

Turkey, which hosts about 4 million refugees, accuses Greece of large-scale pushbacks — summary deportations without access to asylum procedures, in violation of international law. It also accuses the European Union of turning a blind eye to what it says is a blatant abuse of human rights.

The Turkish coast guard says it rescued over 300 migrants “pushed back by Greek elements to Turkish waters” this month alone. Citing what they say are credible reports, international rights groups have called repeatedly for investigations.

Greece, which lies on the EU’s southeastern border and has borne the brunt of migration flows from Turkey, denies the allegations and in turn accuses Ankara of weaponizing migrants.

In March, Turkey made good on threats to send migrants to Europe, declaring its borders with the EU open. In what appeared to be a government-organized campaign, thousands headed to the Greek border, leading to scenes of chaos and violence. Turkey’s border with EU member Bulgaria was largely unaffected. Greece shut its frontier and controversially suspended asylum applications for a month.

Greece’s coast guard says Turkey’s coast guard frequently escorts migrant smuggling boats toward Greece, and has provided videos to back its claims. It says under a 2016 EU-Turkey deal to stem migration flows, Turkey has an obligation to stop people clandestinely entering Greece.

Greek coast guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Nikolaos Kokkalas said its patrols regularly detect boats and dinghies carrying migrants trying to enter Greece illegally, and “among them many times there are also inflatable rafts such as those described” by the AP.

The life rafts are standard safety equipment on recreational boats, designed to keep passengers safe if they must abandon ship. They generally have no means of propulsion or steering.

“It must be underlined that in most of the cases, the presence of the Turkish coast guard has been observed-ascertained near the dinghies incoming from the Turkish coast, but without it intervening, while in some cases the dinghies are clearly being accompanied by (Turkish coast guard) vessels,” Kokkalas said in a written response to an AP query.

Uneasy neighbors Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads for decades over several territorial issues, and asylum-seekers have found themselves caught up in the geopolitical conflict.

Tension between the two countries rose dramatically this summer over eastern Mediterranean maritime boundaries, leading to fears of war.

Both sides deployed warships as Turkish survey ships prospected for gas in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. EU leaders are to discuss imposing sanctions on Turkey for its actions, in an Oct. 1-2 summit. Turkey has repeated its threat to send migrants into the EU if sanctions are imposed.

The persistent allegations of pushbacks of migrants are the latest manifestations of these tensions.

Human Rights Watch has accused Greece of summarily returning migrants across land and sea borders with Turkey, citing interviews with asylum-seekers.

Other rights groups and refugee organizations, including the U.N. refugee agency, have repeatedly called on Greece to investigate what they say are credible reports and testimony of such expulsions occurring.

“UNHCR is particularly concerned about the increasing reports, since March 2020, of alleged informal returns by sea of persons who, according to their own attestations or those of third persons, have disembarked on Greek shores and have thereafter been towed back to sea,” the agency said in August.

UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs, reiterating the call for an investigation, said that “with our own eyes on Lesbos, it was quite clear no boats were coming through” recently.

Earlier this month, Greece’s Shipping Minister Giannis Plakiotakis said Greek authorities prevented more than 10,000 people from entering Greece by sea this year. He would not elaborate on how.

Former Migration Minister Ioannis Mouzalas pressed for details from the current minister, Notis Mitarachi, in parliament Sept. 21, saying this appeared to violate Greek and international law. He asked directly whether the government carries out pushbacks.

The four Afghans on the life rafts seen by AP said they reached Lesbos from Turkey’s western Canakkale province on the night of Sept. 11-12, and were caught by Greek law enforcement during daylight.

One of them, Nabizada, said police hit him while forcing him into the raft.

“They didn’t say, ‘there are children, there are families, there are women.’ … People don’t do this to animals. The Greek police did it to us,” said the 22-year-old. He said he left Kabul in 2017 and crossed to Turkey via Iran, aiming for Europe.

Zohra Alizada, 14, said police took their phones and money, put them in the rafts and left. She was traveling with her parents and two siblings after living in Kars, in eastern Turkey, for over four years. She said the migrants called the Turkish coast guard for help.

Her father, Mohammad Reza Alizada, said Greek authorities inflated the rafts “and they threw us like animals inside.”

The AP was not able to independently verify their accounts.

The Turkish coast guard, clad in protective equipment against COVID-19, took them aboard after checking them for fever. Another Turkish coast guard vessel was already in the area when the patrol boat carrying the AP crew arrived.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu raised the allegations against Greece in an August news conference with his German counterpart.

He said Turkey has shown through government and media reports that Greece is pushing back refugees at sea, adding that “there have been numerous articles published.”

“How do sinking boats in the middle of the Aegean Sea or sending them to Turkey by pushbacks fit international rights and universal values?” Cavusoglu said.

Greece denies sinking smuggling boats. Kokkalas noted the Greek coast guard had rescued 3,150 migrants in about 100 incidents this year.

An independent Norway-based watchdog says it has documented at least 50 cases since March of migrants being put into life rafts and left adrift.

“They are not going into these life rafts willingly. They are forced,” said Tommy Olsen of the Aegean Boat Report, which monitors arrivals and rights abuses in the Aegean.

He said his group had no information about the rafts the AP saw, but that it was consistent with similar reports.

“Usually you save people from life rafts,” Olsen said. “You don’t put them on life rafts and leave them.”

▻https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-turkey-aegean-sea-greece-europe-61c54ec57c121026f4891d567f31b

Les vrais crimes, ce sont les refoulements et les violations des droits humains par le gouvernement grec

Lundi, la police grecque a publié un communiqué de presse concernant l’enquête criminelle menée à l’encontre de 33 personnes appartenant à quatre ONG différentes et deux “ressortissants de pays tiers”. A la suite de cette enquête, une procédure pénale a été engagée pour délit de constitution et participation à une organisation criminelle, espionnage, violation des secrets d’Etat et facilitation de l’entrée sur le
territoire (1). Bien que le communiqué de presse ne nomme pas les ONG ou les individus, plusieurs médias ont déclaré qu’Alarm Phone faisait partie des groupes visés (2). Pour l’instant, nous nous abstenons de commenter publiquement l’enquête en cours. Nous voulons plutôt mettre en évidence les véritables crimes qui ont lieu en ce moment-même !

Les refoulements, les violences graves comme les coups, les vols et les coups de feu, la non-assistance, le fait de forcer les réfugié.e.s à monter dans des radeaux de sauvetage et de les laisser dériver en pleine mer. Ces crimes sont perpétrés par des corps qui appartiennent de manière manifeste à l’État grec. Nous ne sommes pas les seul.e.s témoins de cette évolution alarmante. Plusieurs acteurs ont publiquement fait état de ces actions illégales menées par les garde-côtes grecs en mer et les gardes-frontières sur terre : le HCR, le Conseil grec pour les réfugiés, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch et d’autres organisations de défense des droits humains, des ONG et des médias. (3)

Il en va de même pour la situation à Moria, qui est également mentionnée comme étant l’un des secrets d’État dans le communiqué de presse de la police grecque. Ce n’est pas un secret mais un fait public que, avec les fonds et le soutien européens, Moria est devenu le symbole de la politique migratoire de l’UE dont le but est la dissuasion, foulant aux pieds la dignité et les droits humains.

Les violations des droits humains ont atteint un niveau inédit en mer Égée depuis le début du mois de mars. Cette escalade en termes de violations s’est accompagnée d’actes de répression contre les ONG et
toutes sortes de structures de solidarité pour les réfugié.e.s et les migrant.e.s. Il est évident que l’État grec veut éliminer les témoins des crimes contre l’humanité qu’il commet quotidiennement. Il est évident qu’il est gêné par notre activité : rien que cette année, Alarm Phone a été témoin et a documenté de nombreux cas de refoulements et de graves violations des droits humains. (4)

Il faut noter que depuis la création d’Alarm Phone il y a six ans, notre relation avec les garde-côtes helléniques n’a jamais été aussi compliquée qu’elle ne l’est aujourd’hui. Depuis octobre 2014, nous avons
transmis environ 1 975 cas de personnes en détresse aux garde-côtes grecs et à d’autres autorités grecques. À plusieurs reprises, nous avions constaté que les garde-côtes faisaient de leur mieux pour porter secours le plus rapidement possible. Nous avions établi une communication rapide et efficace qui avait conduit à des opérations de sauvetage, ce qui était crucial à une époque où nous recevions jusqu’à
23 appels par jour de bateaux en détresse dans la mer Égée, et ce qui est toujours aussi crucial aujourd’hui.

Au tout début de notre projet, nous nous étions ouvertement adressé.e.s à tous les garde-côtes, leur expliquant le rôle et l’objectif d’Alarm Phone. Dans cette lettre d’octobre 2014, nous avions déclaré “Nous espérons que grâce à notre travail, nous pourrons vous soutenir dans votre tâche quotidienne qui consiste à sauver la vie des migrant.e.s. Dans le même temps, nous dénoncerons vigoureusement tout échec à mener à bien cette mission. Nous espérons que vos institutions accepteront à la fois notre contribution et la responsabilité que nous exigeons, qui est demandée à toutes les institutions publiques”. C’est ce que nous avons fait et continuerons à faire avec détermination.

L’augmentation des violations des humains et des refoulements n’est pas un phénomène isolé, concernant uniquement la route entre la Grèce et la Turquie. A Alarm Phone, nous constatons également une tendance à la multiplication des refoulements illégaux de Malte et de l’Italie vers la Libye et la Tunisie en Méditerranée centrale, ainsi que de l’Espagne vers le Maroc en Méditerranée occidentale.

Nous appelons celles et ceux qui sont solidaires avec les personnes en migration à sensibiliser et à protester contre les crimes contre l’humanité qui sont perpétrés quotidiennement en mer Égée. Chaque
réfugié.e qui est repoussé.e, chaque personne qui est laissée dans un bateau en mauvais état, chaque enfant qui n’est pas secouru dans une situation de détresse est une raison suffisante pour se lever et élever la voix. Nous ne nous laisserons pas réduire au silence !

(1)▻http://www.astynomia.gr/index.php?option=ozo_content&lang=%27..%27&perform=view&id=97610&Itemid=25

(2) par exemple
▻https://vimapress.gr/telos-sti-drasi-evropaikon-mko-pou-diefkolynan-tin-diakinisi-metanaston-ap

(3) Rapport sur les refoulements :
UNHCR :
▻https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2020/6/5ee33a6f4/unhcr-calls-greece-investigate-pushbacks-sea-land-borders-turkey.html

Greek Council of Refugees :
►https://www.gcr.gr/en/news/press-releases-announcements/item/1028-the-new-normality-continuous-push-backs-of-third-country-nationals-on-the-e

Amnesty International :
▻https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur01/2077/2020/en

Human Rights Watch :
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/21/greece-still-denying-migrant-pushbacks

New York Times :
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/world/europe/greece-migrants-abandoning-sea.html

The Guardian :
▻https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/sep/27/catastrophe-for-human-rights-as-greece-steps-up-refugee-pushbacks

CNN :
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/17/europe/greece-migrants-turkey-intl/index.html

(4) Alarm Phone sur les refoulements en mer Egée en 2020 :
https://alarmphone.org/en/2020/03/04/escalating-violence-in-the-aegean-sea/?post_type_release_type=post

https://alarmphone.org/en/2020/05/14/push-backs-the-new-old-routine-in-the-aegean-sea/?post_type_release_type=post

https://alarmphone.org/fr/2020/10/01/les-vrais-crimes-ce-sont-les-refoulements-et-les-violations-des-droits-h

Migrants : Athènes lance une guerre en eaux troubles contre les ONG

Après une enquête policière grecque menée avec de faux exilés infiltrés, des humanitaires opérant à Lesbos sont menacés de graves poursuites pénales. A l’aide d’accusations les assimilant à des passeurs, les autorités tentent de contrer la dénonciation des refoulements secrets de réfugiés vers les côtes turques.

« Ne vous méprenez pas, ils veulent juste nous faire peur, pour nous forcer à nous taire », martèle Aegean Boat Report dans un long post publié en tête de sa page Facebook. Spécialisée dans les sauvetages en mer, l’ONG norvégienne n’a pas tardé à réagir aux accusations formulées la semaine dernière par la police grecque et confirmées ce week-end. Au moins 33 humanitaires (parmi lesquels figurerait une Française), tous membres de quatre ONG internationales opérant sur l’île de Lesbos, seraient menacés de poursuites pénales après une enquête menée pendant trois mois, non seulement par la police, mais aussi par les services de renseignement et le contre-terrorisme grec.Les noms des organisations et des humanitaires concernés n’ont pas été divulgués pour l’instant. Mais de nombreux indices, notamment une perquisition réalisée début septembre sur un bateau amarré à Lesbos, indiquent que les quatre ONG concernées ont toutes en commun de se consacrer au sauvetage en mer des migrants ou réfugiés qui tentent la traversée depuis les côtes turques.
Mère d’Hercule

Ce n’est pas la première fois que le gouvernement grec s’attaque à ceux qui tentent de secourir les naufragés, en les assimilant à des passeurs. Mais cette fois-ci les accusations sont particulièrement graves : les humanitaires ciblés sont non seulement accusés de « violation du code de l’immigration », mais également de « constitution d’organisation criminelle », d’« espionnage » et de « violation de secrets d’Etat ».

Bien plus, ils auraient été piégés, selon les révélations du ministre grec des Migrations, Notis Mitarakis, dimanche, sur la chaîne de télévision Skai. Les charges contre eux auraient ainsi été recueillies lors d’une opération secrète baptisée « Alcmène » (du nom de la mère du héros antique Hercule), qui aurait notamment permis aux services grecs d’envoyer deux faux migrants à Izmir en Turquie puis sur une plage d’où ils auraient contacté par la suite les lanceurs d’alerte des ONG vouées au sauvetage des embarcations en détresse.

En l’absence d’autres éléments concrets, l’ampleur de l’opération qui a monopolisé tant de services, passant même par une infiltration en Turquie alors que les relations entre les deux pays sont actuellement très tendues, révèle surtout combien les autorités grecques sont déterminées à faire la guerre aux humanitaires déployés sur les îles.

A la télévision, le ministre grec l’a d’ailleurs confirmé, accusant le gouvernement précédent d’avoir laissé « les lieux d’accueil des réfugiés sous le contrôle des ONG », alors que la droite conservatrice revenue au pouvoir en juillet 2019, s’est, elle, aussitôt employée à « surveiller le rôle des ONG dans les flux d’immigration clandestine ».

Depuis son élection, le gouvernement du Premier ministre, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, n’a eu de cesse de stigmatiser les ONG régulièrement accusées de profiter de la situation explosive créée sur les îles grecques où les flux de réfugiés venus des côtes turques n’ont jamais réellement cessé, malgré le deal conclu entre l’Europe et la Turquie en mars 2016. Seule différence notable : les candidats à l’asile sont désormais contraints d’attendre sur place l’examen de leurs dossiers, créant un goulot d’étranglement dans des camps insalubres et surpeuplés. Sans les ONG qui remédient aux carences de l’Etat grec et à l’indifférence de l’Europe, la situation serait bien pire. Mais elles sont une cible facile sur laquelle se défoulent mécontents et aigris, alimentés par un discours populiste. Il fait mouche auprès des populations locales des îles de plus en plus exaspérées par ces abcès de misère qui sont venus se greffer durablement dans leur voisinage.
Acteurs dubitatifs

A Lesbos, depuis un an, les humanitaires ont ainsi vu régulièrement leurs voitures vandalisées, des inscriptions hostiles peintes en rouge sur les murs des maisons où ils résident. Les révélations sur « l’opération Alcmène » n’ont fait qu’attiser ce climat d’hostilité notamment sur les réseaux sociaux. Mais à Lesbos, les humanitaires ont également entendu un autre message : la police n’a-t-elle pas affirmé avoir, dans le cadre de son enquête, piraté des conversations sur les applis régulièrement utilisées par les ONG ?

Il n’en fallait pas plus pour déclencher une certaine méfiance, le sentiment d’être surveillé en permanence. Sous couvert d’anonymat, nombreux sont pourtant les acteurs locaux qui restent dubitatifs face aux accusations de l’enquête policière. « On ne peut jamais exclure qu’un humanitaire ait fait une bêtise, en marge de la légalité mais toutes ces révélations ne tombent pas par hasard », estime ainsi l’un d’eux, pointant la coïncidence entre la divulgation de ces accusations et celles qui se multiplient contre le gouvernement lui-même. Et dont les humanitaires impliqués dans le sauvetage en mer seraient devenus les témoins gênants.

Depuis plusieurs mois, Athènes se contente en effet de qualifier de « fake news » l’inquiétante multiplication des refoulements (« push back ») observés notamment par les ONG qui scrutent les eaux séparant la Grèce et la Turquie et dénoncent régulièrement ces refoulements forcés, et secrets, vers les côtes turques. Des pratiques totalement illégales puisqu’elles concernent des candidats à l’asile repérés alors qu’ils se trouvent déjà dans les eaux grecques, voire après avoir accosté sur les îles.
Bateau perquisitionné

« Depuis mars, 7 300 réfugiés ont été victimes de push back orchestrés par les autorités grecques en mer Egée », tweetait jeudi le compte du navire Mare Liberum. Dédié aux sauvetages en mer et affrété par l’ONG allemande Sea-Watch, le Mare Liberum est justement ce bateau perquisitionné le 5 septembre par la police grecque. Laquelle affirme y avoir notamment trouvé des cartes avec des indications topographiques précises et des data concernant le profil et l’origine des candidats à l’exil. A priori, rien de très choquant s’agissant d’une ONG qui se donne pour mission de secourir des naufragés. Mais ces « preuves » seraient venues conforter les accusations selon lesquelles les humanitaires concernés auraient « au moins depuis début juin » contribué à faire passer « près de 3 000 personnes » en Grèce avec la complicité de « réseaux d’immigration clandestine ».

Pourtant, la plupart des ONG impliquées estiment n’avoir rien à se reprocher et refusent de se laisser intimider. « Nous ne resterons pas silencieux », souligne ainsi Alarm Phone dans un communiqué publié jeudi sur son site. L’ONG, qui serait elle aussi visée par l’enquête policière, rappelle également que depuis six ans, son central d’appels a toujours cherché à collaborer avec les gardes-côtes en leur indiquant la position des embarcations à la dérive. Mais ces derniers mois, cette collaboration est devenue « plus compliquée », constate également Alarm Phone qui s’inquiète de la « recrudescence des violations des droits de l’homme en mer Egée ». Face à ces dérives, l’Europe a pour l’instant réagi plutôt mollement. « La présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula von der Leyen, affirme qu’elle n’a pas les moyens d’enquêter. Pourtant, l’équipage d’un navire allemand qui fait partie des forces de l’Otan a admis avoir assisté à trois push back en mer Egée », observe-t-on au Legal Center de Lesbos, une association qui apporte un appui juridique aux réfugiés, et a également publié en juillet un rapport sur ces refoulements forcés.

Dans l’immédiat, le silence de Bruxelles semble encourager Athènes à renforcer sur tous les fronts son offensive contre les humanitaires. La semaine dernière, les autorités locales annonçaient ainsi la fermeture du centre d’accueil de Pikpa, l’un des rares lieux décents pour les réfugiés à Lesbos, géré depuis 2012 par des bénévoles.
Ancien camp militaire

Sur les réseaux sociaux, un mouvement de solidarité s’est aussitôt créé autour du hashtag #SavePikpa. Mais si les autorités persistent, que deviendront la centaine de réfugiés accueillis à Pikpa, souvent des familles considérées comme vulnérables ? Iront-elles rejoindre les sinistrés du camp de Moria, entièrement réduit en cendres dans la nuit du 8 au 9 septembre, et qui tentent désormais de survivre dans un ancien camp militaire, où quelques milliers de tentes ont été installées à la va-vite ? « Trois semaines après l’ouverture de ce nouveau site, il n’y a toujours pas de douche », s’insurge un humanitaire, conscient qu’il faudra de plus en plus d’énergie pour résister à l’hostilité des autorités.

Les tentatives de blocage ne se limitent pas hélas à la Grèce. En mars, le navire Mare Liberum s’était vu privé de son pavillon de navigation par le ministère allemand de la Marine. Une façon un peu radicale de limiter ses opérations de sauvetage. Mais vendredi, l’équipage exultait sur Twitter : la justice allemande venait de lui donner raison contre le ministère, considérant que le retrait du pavillon « était contraire à la réglementation européenne ». Une première victoire, en attendant d’autres batailles.

▻https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2020/10/07/migrants-athenes-lance-une-guerre-en-eaux-troubles-contre-les-ong_1801701

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS DEMAND THAT GREECE INVESTIGATE PUSHBACKS AND VIOLENCE AT ITS BORDERS

Members of Greece’s parliament should urgently establish an inquiry into all allegations of unlawful returns of migrants to Turkey by law enforcement officers and others, 29 human rights and humanitarian aid organizations said in an open letter released today. These returns are carried out mainly through pushbacks and collective expulsions and are often accompanied by violence.

Parliament should exercise its oversight authority to investigate the allegations of these illegal acts by state agents and proxies on Greece’s sea and land borders with Turkey. The parliament’s inquiry should examine whether any illegal acts identified are part of a de facto government policy at odds with international, European, and Greek law.

Over the years, nongovernmental groups and media outlets have consistently reported the unlawful return, including through pushbacks, of groups and individuals from Greece to Turkey by Greek law enforcement officers or unidentified masked men, who appear to be working in tandem with border enforcement officials.

Reports from 2020 recorded multiple incidents in which Greek Coast Guard personnel, sometimes accompanied by armed masked men in dark clothing, unlawfully abandoned migrants – including those who had reached Greek territory. They abandoned the migrants at sea, on inflatable vessels without motors; towed migrant boats to Turkish waters; or intercepted, attacked, and disabled boats carrying migrants.

Nongovernmental organizations and the media have also reported persistent allegations that Greek border guards have engaged in collective expulsions and pushbacks of asylum seekers through the Evros land border with Turkey.

On June 10, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was “closely monitoring” the situation at the Greek border and reported receiving “persistent reports” of migrants being arbitrarily arrested in Greece and pushed back to Turkey. The IOM said that Greece should investigate.

On August 21, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was “deeply concerned by an increasing number of credible reports indicating that men, women, and children may have been informally returned to Turkey immediately after reaching Greek soil or territorial waters in recent months,” and urged Greece to refrain from such practices and to seriously investigate these reports. The agency had released a statement making similar calls on June 12.

On July 6, during a debate at the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on fundamental rights at the Greek border, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said those incidents should be investigated. In its new Pact on Migration and Asylum, presented on September 23, the European Commission recommended to member states to set up an independent monitoring mechanism, amid increased allegations of abuse at the EU’s external borders. But no such system has been instituted.

Confronted during a CNN interview with an August 14 New York Times article documenting pushbacks, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “It has not happened. We’ve been the victims of a significant misinformation campaign,” suggesting instead that Turkey was responsible.

Greek lawmakers should conduct a prompt, effective, transparent, and impartial investigation into allegations that Greek Coast Guard, Greek police, and Greek army personnel, sometimes in close coordination with uniformed masked men, have been involved in acts that not only violate the law but put the lives and safety of displaced people at risk.

Any officer found to have engaged in such illegal acts, as well as their commanding officers and officials who have command responsibility over such forces, should be subject to disciplinary and criminal sanctions, as applicable. The investigation should seek to establish the identity and relationship of the masked men and other unidentified officers to law enforcement and take steps to hold them to account. The investigation should cover events surfaced in 2019 and 2020, the groups said.

The following quotes may be attributed to members of the groups involved:

“Despite government denials, over the years many witnesses and victims have told us about pushbacks from land and sea that put migrants’ lives at risk,” said Eva Cossé, Greece researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Parliament should step up now and do all it can to put an end to this life-threatening practice.”

“The continued failure to address the serious allegations of pushbacks and violence against people on the move at Greece’s borders can no longer be tolerated,” said Adriana Tidona, migration researcher at Amnesty International. “We call on the Greek parliament to exercise its powers in the interest of all those who have been harmed by these actions and to ensure that there is no repetition.”

“Over the years, we have filed a score of complaints about or related to pushbacks at Greece’s borders, including deaths, that Greek prosecutors seem to ignore,” said Panayote Dimitras, spokesperson for the Greek Helsinki Monitor. “Greece needs to act quickly to set up an independent border monitoring mechanism to investigate violations, as proposed by the European Commission, and end these abuses once and for all.”

“The right to seek asylum must be upheld at all times,” said Josie Naughton, chief executive officer of Help Refugees. “The Greek parliament should urgently conduct an inquiry to examine the well-documented and illegal practices of pushbacks and mass expulsion, which endanger the lives of men, women, and children seeking asylum in Greece.”

“We have documented the pushback of more than 1,150 asylum seekers from Greek territory in the past three months alone,” said Natalie Gruber, spokesperson for Josoor. “These are not isolated incidents but systematic violations of national, EU, and international law that the parliament cannot shrug off as fake news anymore.”

“Greek authorities are systematically expelling migrants, including those who have reached Greek territory, and abandoning them in open water,” said Amelia Cooper from Legal Centre Lesvos. “The Greek parliament should not only open an investigation of these events, but must also decree and enforce – immediately – the cessation of illegal collective expulsions at all Greek borders.”

“In order to break with the current failures to hold member states like Greece accountable for their pushbacks and rights violations at borders, the European Commission must step up its efforts and quickly put in place an appropriate monitoring mechanism,” said Marta Welander, executive director at Refugee Rights Europe. “Such efforts must also involve civil society, NGOs, and national human rights institutions to ensure that available evidence is taken seriously and leads to timely investigation and redress.”

“The protection of the borders, of vital importance in itself, can be in compliance with international law and human rights standards,” said Antigone Lyberaki, SolidarityNow’s general manager. “The Greek parliament has both the means and a constitutional obligation to oversee and investigate the alleged infringement of international human rights obligations by the Greek state.”

“As a child protection organization, Tdh Hellas is particularly worried about the fact that among those reported to have been violently expelled across EU borders are children, including babies,” said Melina Spathari of Terre des hommes Hellas. “The Greek government should stop such acts and try instead to address the chronic gaps in the reception and protection system for families and unaccompanied children.”

▻https://legalcentrelesvos.org/2020/10/06/human-rights-groups-demand-that-greece-investigate-pushbacks-and-

On reparle des life rats dans cet article du Monde :
Refoulements en mer Egée : les recensements erronés ou mensongers de #Frontex

En croisant les données de JORA avec des rapports d’associations ou encore des comptes rendus des gardes-côtes turcs, il apparaît que, dans 22 cas au moins, qui représentent 957 migrants, ceux-ci ont été retrouvés dérivant en mer dans des canots de survie gonflables, sans moteur. D’après des photos que Le Monde et ses partenaires ont pu authentifier, ces canots, de couleur orange, correspondraient à des modèles achetés par le ministère de la marine grec, via un financement de la Commission européenne. Ce qui tendrait à prouver que les migrants ont accédé aux eaux grecques avant d’être refoulés illégalement.

▻https://seenthis.net/messages/958454

A Family With Several Small Children Left Drifting in a Life Raft Outside Lesvos

https://aegeanboatreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2xfgnxdrfthj-1536x1152.jpg

Friday night, November 4, a boat carrying approximately 25 people arrived close to #Kalo_Limani, #Lesvos north west.

After arriving people fled to the Woodson in several groups in the surrounding area to hide from Greek authorities, fearing that if they were found they would be illegally returned to Turkey.

Saturday morning at 07.00 Aegean Boat Report was contacted by several groups hiding in the hills around Kalo Limani, they all asked for assistance so that they could be taken to camp and be able to apply for asylum.

They provided documentation on their presence on the island, pictures, videos and location data left no doubt that the groups was on Lesvos.

We tried to provide them with the necessary means, so that they themselves could act, this to try to prevent them from being pushed back. The groups explained that they were part of a bigger group, but the total number of people in the boat they arrived with seemed unclear. From pictures and videos provided we were able to identify approximately 25 people.

Due to the fact that it’s weekend, the newly arrived refugees had problems finding an organization who responded on the phone, even do they were given numbers who usually works, but then mostly only on weekdays.

After 10 hours one of the groups was able to get response, and late on Saturday night, 7 people was located, 3 woman (2 pragment) 3 men and 1 child was eventually found and taken to the quarantine camp in Megala Thermi, Lesvos north.

During the time organizations was not responding, several cars without license plates was observed in the area, and later driving from the area, if there were refugees inside these cars is unknown, but after now knowing that over half the group is missing, it’s highly likely.

Sunday morning, November 6, 3 more people from this group made contact, and was in the afternoon taken to camp in Megala Thermi. A total of 10 people had been found, but as many as 15 more people seemed to be missing from this group.

On Saturday night, November 5, a life raft was found drifting outside Dikili, Turkey carrying 9 people.

From pictures and videos that they had sent while still on Lesvos the previous day, there is no doubt, these 9 people was from the group that arrived the previous day in Kalo Limani, Lesvos north west.

So the question is how did they end up drifting in a Greek manufactured life rafts outside Dikili, Turkey?

By now everyone knows the answer to this, but still Greek authorities continues to deny any involvement, as if these people suddenly had decided to go back, found a life raft and paddled back to Turkey. Not a very plausible explanation but this is what the Greek authorities wants you to believe.

Since March 2020, we have registered 1.807 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea, performed by the Hellenic coast guard, involving 48.083 men, women and children: 636 of these cases was performed by using rescue equipment/life rafts, 16,620 people have so far been left drifting in 986 life rafts in the Aegean Sea

https://i0.wp.com/aegeanboatreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2vcgkm-1024x768.jpg

We understand that organizations working on the islands is working under extremely difficult conditions, and that they are doing their best, in a very difficult situation to try to prevent people from being pushed back after they arrive on the island.

When that is said, we can’t help stressing the fact that to have phones only operational on weekdays within office hours, puts vulnerable people, who usually arrives after dark, also on weekends, in an extremely dangerous situation.

When people arrive it’s usually only a matter of time before they are located by authorities, so time is of the essence. When these vulnerable people are trying to make contact with organizations on the ground for over 10 hours, without getting any response, anyone understand that there is a huge potential for improvements.

When these organizations do not want to cooperate with organizations not working locally on these issues, we must urge them to at least give vulnerable people arriving, who are in grave danger of being beaten, robbed and illegally deported, a way on reaching them, and not only on weekdays within working hours.

We must also add that people on the move are extremely grateful for the assistance these individuals and organizations have provided, and we know that things are more difficult and complicated than it might seem standing on the outside looking in. We try to fend for those who contact us as a last cry for help, when something seems to be not working properly, or at times not at all, it’s our responsibility to point this out. We can’t tell desperate people who contact us that we can’t help them, because we can, and we will.

▻https://aegeanboatreport.com/2022/11/16/a-family-with-several-small-children-left-drifting-in-a-life-raft-
#Lesbos

Another Magic Trick, This Time 104 People “Disappeard”

https://aegeanboatreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG-20221101-WA0008-1536x1152.jpg https://aegeanboatreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Skjermbilde-2022-11-04-093451.png

After hours drifting due to lack of fuel and engine failure, they were finally rescued by a vessel from the Greek coast guard. The Greek coast guard vessel, a Lambro Halmatic 60, started to tow the boat toward Kalamata, over 800 nautical miles away. This is well documented by videos and pictures taken by the refugees while being towed.

https://videos.files.wordpress.com/dSxmzXLa/foinikounta-1_mp4_hd.original.jpg

At this point, in any normal situation, one should assume that the people onboard were safe, and that they would be taken to the nearest port of safety in accordance to international laws and the law of the sea, but the situation in Greece these days is nothing but normal. After being towed for more than 20 hours, they closed in on the port in Foinikounta.

At this point this large vessel carrying 104 people (not 110 as we initially reported), a broken engine and without fuel, magically disappeared.

According to a statement from the Hellenic coast guard’s press office, people onboard cut the rope and ‘eloped’, ‘probably heading for Italy’. This was, of course, not their initial response when asked about this “rescue operation”. At that point, they said there was no incident in this area, a strange answer when asked about a rescue operation that had been going on for more than 20 hours, involving more than 100 people.

The following day, when we reported on this case, and it was obvious to everyone that it had in fact had been a rescue operation, their story changed.

When a journalist from Efsyn contacted them asking questions they cooked up an alternative explanation: the people had run away. This was not the brightest explanation but for some reason – maybe desperation or stupidity – the coast guard seemed to believe it was plausible.

I don’t know what is worse, that they were stupid enough to put out such ridiculous explanations, or that they thought people were so stupid that they would believe them.

Let us just say one more time: the boat had no more fuel. Its engine was broken. And the captain – the only one who knew how to drive the boat – had taken off the previous night.

They had willingly been towed for more than 20 hours, almost 70 nautical miles, but when they were nine km from safety of the port in Foinikounta, they magically fixed the engine, produced fuel from sea water, trained a new captain, and ran for Italy…

This is what we wrote on Monday 31 October:

“A boat carrying approximately 104 people, mostly Afghan families, on its way from Turkey to Italy, ended up in disaster in Ionian Sea, inside Greek waters, 80 nautical miles from Kalamata.

The group contacted the Italian coast guard, after giving them their location the group was told to contact Greek coast guard, since they were in Greek waters.

Saturday afternoon, 29 October at 18.00, they connected with Greek rescue services, and around midnight a vessel from the Greek coast guard, a Lambro Halmatic 60 N/Γ SAR-516 arrived at their location.

Shortly after the vessel from the Hellenic coast guard started towing the boat with all passengers onboard, towards Greek mainland, no food or water was provided, even though they asked since they had run out the previous day, and there were many small children onboard.

https://i2.wp.com/aegeanboatreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WhatsApp-Image-2022-11-03-at-11.24.04-1-547x1024.jpeg?strip=info&w=828&ssl=1

The boat was towed for more than 20 hours, people onboard was hungry and thirsty, nothing was provided from the coast guard, no food, no water and no information.

People onboard was very concerned on where the coast guard was towing them, scared that they would be pushed back to Turkey. No information was provided, but from locations received we reassured them that they were being towed towards mainland Greece.

At 20.00 the boat was closing in on the port of Foinikounta, and they told us that the rope had been cut, and that three boats were approaching. Through live location we could follow movement towards land, moving up from the port to the main road and moving west at the roundabout, after 550 metres, the movement stopped.

After this point all connection was lost with the group, from Google Maps we can see a building above the road, what structure this is we do not know. Last location received from the phone was from a small shed down from the road, a place that under no circumstances could house more than 100 people.

People rescued in this area are usually taken to Kalamata, why this group was not taken there and instead taken to port in Foinikounta, we don’t know.

We usually get a bit suspicious when all of a sudden connection is lost, and when we try to get information from the Hellenic Coast Guard, they say they have no information. This could of course only be a coincidence, lack of information sharing within HCG, we will try to follow up on this in the coming days.

Information received from the boat carrying more than 100 people can’t be mistaken. We can clearly see the vessel from HCG towing the boat, new locations received every 30 minutes from the boat shows without any doubt that they were in Greek waters, and they were taken to Foinikounta.

So far HCG haven’t confirmed any rescue operation in this area, and there is no information in Greek press, even do this rescue operation has been ongoing for over 20 hours.”

This was all we knew at this point, and yes we were worried. Several things didn’t add up, so what really happened to this large group of people, men, women and children, who had by all accounts been rescued by the Greek coast guard?

On Tuesday 1 November, the Greek newspaper Efsyn published an article about the disappearance of this boat. In their article they cover many questions related to this case.

https://aegeanboatreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Skjermbilde-2022-11-04-095310.png

One of the stranger things in this case is the movement of the mobile phone sending out live location on WhatsApp to Aegean Boat Report.

This phone sent out location data over one hour after last communication with its owner, and the last thing he said was ‘three boats are here, they cut the rope that connected with our boat’. The time was 20.05(EET) and there have been no more messages sent from this phone since then.

According to the press office of the Hellenic coast guard there was no contact between the coast guard and the people onboard before they allegedly cut the rope and drove off.

So how can we explain that the location signal, sending out relatively accurate location data, moved towards land? We follow the movement over approximately 30 minutes, while the phone moved 9km towards land, someone had to have taken this phone to the port, but who, if not the owner himself?

Let’s just pretend, for argument’s sake, that the geolocation signal sent from the phone was corrupted somehow, bad reception or disturbance of some kind sending out wrong location data. it’s then strange that this corrupted location signal would move through the streets of Foinikounta like it was driving a car, not jumping all over the place but only exactly where the streets were, and ending up in an old shed close to the main road.

We could suggest that someone, not the owner himself, took the phone from the owner, 10km from land, transported the phone to land and hid it in this old shed, but why? Why would anyone do such a thing?

What really happened is actually quite obvious, especially when we have proof that without a doubt shows that the Hellenic coast guard press office deliberately lied to a member of the Greek press, in an futile attempt to cover up crimes committed by the coast guard, on direct orders from the Greek authorities.

The Greek coast guard vessel, a Lambro Halmatic 60, N/Γ SAR-516, which had towed the rescued boat carrying 104 people for more than 20 hours, 70 nautical miles, stopped towing 9km from port in Foinikounta, between the islands of Sapientza and Schiza, at 19.49 on Sunday 31 October.

This location was not an accident. It’s a perfect location, protected by the elements between the islands, hidden from the eyes of the public behind the island of Ag.Marina. From land, people couldn’t see anything, even lights.

This operation was well planned, they had more than 20 hours to set everything in motion, a large coast guard vessel was sent to the area to execute orders from the authorities: remove everyone by all means possible.

From information provided by the refugees, we know that three boats approached them after they had stopped 9km from port in Foinikounta, from pictures taken by the refugees onboard, we can see headlights from the boats approaching in the dark.

At this point masked men entered the boat, people onboard were told they would be transported to port by smaller vessels in groups. The refugees understood what was going to happen, some of the men resisted, and were severely beaten. At this point all hell broke loose. The masked men were screaming and shouting, children were crying out of fear, seeing their parents being beaten by commandos in front of them, threatened at gunpoint. No-one was spared, even elderly women were beaten.

Everyone was forced to give up all their belongings, also money and phones, before they were forced onto the smaller boats, the only thing they had left in life were the clothes on their backs.

Their belongings were taken to port by a boat from the local coast guard, and this is why the phones geolocation data showed the phone moving towards port: the phones were not turned off. The phone we received data from continued to send out information until it was turned off, or destroyed, in a small shed on land.

The group of 104 people, families, men, women and children, was forced onto a larger coast guard vessel, placed outside in the cold in the dark. They were told to shut up and look down, anyone disobeying was immediately beaten with batons.

Close to midnight, the large vessel from the Greek coast guard headed back out to sea, toward Turkey, there was no doubt about what was going to happen. For the next 24 hours these people were held captive on a Greek coast guard vessel, against their will, while they were transported almost 600km towards Turkey.

The vessel stopped several times out at sea during the day, as if waiting for something. They waited so they could carry out their crimes under cover of darkness. Close to midnight, the vessel slowed down and eventually stopped

There had been little activity on the lower deck during the day, but now officers started to inflate life rafts on the side of the boat. They inflated the rafts and removed the orange cover that usually protects people inside them from the elements in the open sea.

Why this was done might have something to do with the fact that the manufacturers name is printed on the outside of the cover, and the manufacturer doesn’t see this as good advertisement.

Lalizas, which manufactures these rafts, is a Greek company from Piraeus, and has a contract to provide the Greek coast guard with rescue equipment.

This could explain why people are left in these rafts without the usual protection from the elements: to protect the reputation of their Greek supplier, not the people whom these rafts was made to protect.

Since March 2020, we have registered 1,742 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea, performed by the Hellenic coast guard, involving 46,443 men, women and children: 615 of these cases was performed by using rescue equipment/life rafts, 16,092 people have so far been left drifting in 952 life rafts in the Aegean Sea, and most of these rafts are found without the protective cover.

In the dark, people were forced to climb down and into these rafts. Those who refused, or were scared, were beaten until they complied, thrown down into the raft, or both.

People were terrified, children screaming, but there was no mercy. Eventually everyone had been forced into the rafts, five in total, and the Greek coast guard vessel left and headed back toward Greek waters. 104 people, families, men, woman and small children, were left helplessly drifting in the dark in five life rafts outside Datça, Turkey.

They had no means to call for help, all their phones had been taken by the Greek coast guard. After several hours, at 04.10, the Turkish coast guard found and rescued 104 people from five life rafts drifting outside Datça, Turkey.

From pictures and videos received while onboard the boat towed towards Greece by the Greek coast guard, compared to pictures and videos from the time they were rescued by Turkish coast guard outside Datça, there is absolutely no doubt: it is the same group.

We later received pictures allegedly showing bruises after people had been beaten by Greek officers onboard the coast guard vessel, or after being thrown down in the rafts.

In most countries in Europe an incident like this would have made a national and international outcry. A huge investigation would have been carried out. Not in Greece.

There is no longer any rule of law in Greece, any investigations into similar incidents, even obvious cases like this, would always have the same outcome: no proof of any wrongdoing whatsoever.

So why has this madness been allowed to continue for years in Greece? Why have Europe and the EU looked the other way, while a European country, an EU member, has systematically, in an industrial scale, violated international law, European law and international human rights?

The Greek government refers to what it is doing as ‘border management’, to protect the European border from ‘invaders’. But invasions are carried out by people with weapons, not by families, men, women and children seeking protection from war and persecution.

The Greek authorities assure everyone that they follow international laws, and are not pushing back refugees in the Aegean Sea, when it’s obvious for anyone to see that they are.

But still, the EU is sitting on its hands, letting this continue, even supporting the Greek government in its crimes.

European values and human rights seem only to apply to European, white Christian people. Must we conclude that the EU feels that the rest are expendable, and have no human value?

Push-backs are happening every single day in the Aegean Sea, and the Greek government will continue this inhuman practice, systematically violating people’s human rights, until Europe once again decides to put human rights on the agenda.

If the EU were serious about the values for which it claims to stand, it would immediately launch infringement proceedings against Greece. The fact that they have done nothing at all, makes it appear that those values mean nothing, and that the laws and rights it claims to promote and protect are only for the white: the rest can be cast to the waves.

And people wonder why refugees takes these extremely dangerous journeys from Turkey to Italy in overcrowded boats, in stead of going to Greece. The result of the Greek war on refugees, blessed and financed by EU, are drowning people, not because they are drowning on their way to Greece, but because they are trying to avoid Greece.

▻https://aegeanboatreport.com/2022/11/04/another-magic-trick-this-time-104-people-magically-disappeard

Traduction en anglais:
Dozens flee to escape violence and detention camps. NGOs protest

A refugee girl extracted from a wagon loaded with clay in which she had hidden in Bosnia - Border Violence Monitoring

They do not flee Covid, but from prison camps and repressive measures put in place under the pretext of protecting public health. They also flee the Visegrad axis, yesterday definitively condemned by the EU Court of Justice, which deemed the “walls” of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, deaf to the calls for redistribution of migrants, non-compliant. The Balkan route has never been easy for the homeless who cross it. The proof came from the Court of Luxembourg, called to decide on the choices of the three member countries found guilty of not accepting refugees from Italy and especially Greece, as established by the program launched in 2015. "Refusing to comply with the temporary mechanism for the relocation of applicants international protection “the Visegrad group has failed” to the obligations under the law of the Union ", wrote the judges.

«The Court has been crystal clear as regards the responsibility of the Member States. Now - announced the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen - we are taking action to draw up the pact on migration that we will present after Easter ».

It will not be easy to make progress. The EU’s plans will also have to deal with the “full powers” of the magyar Viktor Orbán and his emulators in the surrounding areas. The fear of coronavirus is justified, especially in countries that do not have an efficient health service. But the answers are contested by international humanitarian organizations, concerned about the widespread push for authoritarianism.

In Sarajevo, the police have been confining migrants for days to a detention center on the outskirts of the capital. They are blocked along the roads and carried by force. Similar roundiing up will be carried out in the Bihac area on the border with Croatia next week. "Forcing people, many of whom are already vulnerable, to stay in a tent city set up in a hurry in a remote area, without ensuring adequate supplies of water or sanitation and without guaranteeing spaces for self-isolation or access to medical treatment is an inhuman decision that will facilitate the risk of avoidable infections and deaths, "said Massimo Moratti, deputy director of research on Europe at Amnesty International. About 4,100 people are located in temporary reception centers managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), another 3,000 live hidden in hovels and abandoned houses, on the street or in the woods.

There are those who risked dying buried under a pile of soil to escape the raids. Like the 5-year-old girl who hid in the mud heap of a railway wagon loaded with clay found in Harmica, Croatia. Bosnian agents pulled her out still alive just before the convoy set off, also saving the parents and two brothers. Not even the time to give him a drink and they were rejected in Serbia.

Romania remains the Balkan country with the highest number of infections. The last reported 2,460 cases, 252 recovered and 86 reported deaths. In Slovenia there are 841 known cases and at least a hundred of them are doctors and nurses. In North Macedonia there are 354 infections, with 11 deaths, and in Kosovo there are 112 cases, another 120 in Montenegro.

The abuses of the authorities are also aggravated by the fight against time to stop the infection. Border Violence Monitoring lawyers are documenting the treatment of refugees with testimonies and photographic evidence. In fact, the end of winter has reopened the way along the most impervious paths, previously covered with snow. Bruises all over the body, skin bursts, Taser burns, the electric shock gun supplied to agents in Greece and Macedonia. Precisely in Hellenic territory the collection camp in Ritsona, in the north of the country, was placed in quarantine for 14 days after coronavirus positivity cases were confirmed. In the grid there are 3 thousand people, largely willing to continue the crossing to North Macedonia or Albania. But Athens must deal especially with the more than 40 thousand refugees piled up on the islands, with the concern that a Covid-19 outbreak, given now for imminent, would be a catastrophe.

#coronavirus #solidarité #migrants

Voir compile des effets délétères indirects de la pandémie :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/832147

cc @cdb_77 si tu l’as pas déjà référencé je pense que ca t’interessera

#Lesbos #Moria #Grèce #réfugiés #asile #migrations #Jean_Ziegler

ping @thomas_lacroix

Voir compile des effets délétères indirects de la pandémie :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/832147

#coronavirus #solidarité #migrants

Au moment où culminent les craintes qu’une épidémie Covid 19 dans les camps de réfugiés et plus particulièrement au hot-spot de Moria à Lesbos ne pourrait que tourner à une catastrophe humanitaire sans précédent, des jeunes demandeurs d’asile, parlant plusieurs langues, ont organisé une équipe, « #MORIA_AWARENESS_CORONA_TEAM » (#ΜΑCT), pour essayer de faire face à la situation ? MACT explique aux résidents les règles d’hygiène et la nécessité absolue de limiter les contacts avec le monde extérieur, et s’est chargé de régler la circulation à distance de sécurité des réfugiés dans le supermarché le plus proche. La même équipe a construit avec l’aides des organisations solidaires, un atelier de fabrication de masques de protection en tissu.

Voir: ▻https://standbymelesvos.gr/2020/creation-of-corona-awareness-team-in-moria-camp

Reçu de Vicky Skoumbi, via la mailing-list migreurop, le 22.03.2020
#Moria #Lesbos #Grèce

Fears of catastrophe as Greece puts migrant camps into lockdown

Doctors say coronavirus outbreak could be disastrous amid ‘horrific’ conditions.

As the Schengen area closed its external borders last week, in a move designed to replace the closing of member states’ national borders against imported Covid-19 infection, some internal barriers still went up in Europe. The day after the European commission’s announcement, the Greek government introduced a set of measures that would apply to the migrant camps in the Greek islands.

As of Wednesday, the camps have been locked down from 7pm to 7am. In the daytime, only one person is allowed out per family, and the police control their movements. Some camps, on the islands of Leros and Kos, have been closed entirely.

Meanwhile, visits to the camps’ reception centres have been temporarily suspended, except for those who work there, and arrivals are being subjected to compulsory fever screening. The measures only apply to the camps, not to the resident population of the islands.

In the five Greek island “hotspots” that are sheltering about 42,000 people, one case of Covid-19 has been recorded. The affected person is a resident of the island of Lesbos. There have been no cases in the camps so far.

In Greece as a whole, 464 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded and six deaths. The government has banned mass gatherings and is urging Greeks to practise social distancing. Thirteen hospitals on the mainland have been turned over to the treatment of Covid-19.

“The imposition of this restriction of movement on the people of the camps and not for anyone else on the islands is unacceptable and discriminatory,” said Apostolos Veizis, director of the medical operational support unit for Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in Greece. “You are locking children, women and men into severely overcrowded camps where the sanitation and hygiene conditions are horrific.”

The largest camp, Moria on Lesbos, is temporary home to about 20,000 people but was built for just over 6,000. In parts of Moria, there is one water tap for 1,300 people, one toilet for 167 people and one shower for 242 people.

Up to six people may be sleeping in 3 sq metres (32 sq feet), a quarter of the size of an average parking space. “They do not have enough water or soap to regularly wash their hands and they do not have the luxury of being able to self-isolate,” Veizis said.

Over a third of the migrants are children, just under a half of whom are unaccompanied. Their principal countries of origin are Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and their average stay in the camp is between five months and a year.

There are already high levels of health problems among the migrants, due to the unsanitary conditions, and high levels of stress. Veizis calls the situation “a chronic emergency”. “If we had an outbreak in these camps, it would be disastrous,” he said.

The Greek National Public Health Organisation, which is responsible for health in the camps, did not respond to requests for comment. However, a European commission spokesperson, Ciara Bottomley, wrote in an email that the commission was funding the deployment of doctors and other medical staff to the hotspots. “The healthcare response in case of an incident on a hotspot island foresees first treatment at the local island hospital followed by air evacuation to one of the specialised hospitals in the mainland,” she went on.

Those measures appear to apply to local residents only. Since last July, all arrivals to the camps have been excluded from the Greek healthcare system. Three government-funded doctors are conducting vulnerability screening in Moria, but the only medical care is being provided there by NGOs and voluntary groups.

Veizis said MSF had been in contact with the government to discuss case management in the camps as part of the government’s evolving Covid-19 strategy, in case of an outbreak there.

Meanwhile, he fears the new regime will add to the migrants’ stress while fanning tensions between them and local residents. Violence directed at NGOs forced some of them to temporarily suspend operations this month.

The new measures, Veizis says, are just “one more element to pit the people of the islands against the asylum seekers”.

▻https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/21/fears-catastrophe-greece-migrant-camps-lockdown-coronavirus
#confinement

Coronavirus auf Lesbos: Wie junge Geflüchtete gegen die Krise kämpfen

Das neuartige Coronavirus hat Europa fest im Griff. Homeoffice, Ausgangssperren, Grenzschließungen, Hamsterkäufe. Einige Regionen bereiten sich noch auf die Pandemie vor, andere stecken bereits mittendrin.

Wie aber bereitet man sich an einem Ort auf das Virus vor, an dem schon im Normalzustand kaum ein menschenwürdiges Leben möglich ist?

Etwa 20.000 Menschen leben im Camp Moria auf Lesbos. Das Lager für Geflüchtete ist überfüllt, die hygienischen Bedingungen sind katastrophal. Immer wieder kommt es zu Bränden, erst am Montag starb dabei mindestens ein Kind.

Spätestens seit es auf Lesbos den ersten bestätigten Corona-Fall gibt, wächst die Sorge darüber, was passiert, wenn das Virus das Lager erreicht. Das Krankenhaus im nahegelegenen Mytilini wäre mit einem Ausbruch komplett überfordert. Wegen in letzter Zeit aufgetretener Angriffe von Rechtsradikalen haben Hilfsorganisationen im Camp ihre Arbeit reduziert (bento). „Gesundheitsversorgung existiert nicht in Moria“, sagte Apostolos Veizis von „Ärzte ohne Grenzen“ kürzlich dem SPIEGEL.
„Vor allem Informationen verbreiten“

Eine Gruppe junger Geflüchteter will dabei nicht tatenlos zusehen. Mit Unterstützung der Hilfsorganisation „Stand by me Lesvos“ haben sie das „Moria Corona Awareness Team“ gegründet und versuchen, mit den ihnen zu Verfügung stehenden Mitteln die Menschen im Lager über das Virus aufzuklären. Mit dabei sind Vertreterinnen und Vertreter verschiedenster Nationalitäten, die in Moria leben.

A call for support from the Moria Corona Camp Team in Lesvos for solidarity and help. Lesvos is facing a huge crisis....
Posted by Stand by me Lesvos on Thursday, March 12, 2020

Einer von ihnen ist der 19-jährige Masi aus Afghanistan. „Wir wollen vor allem Informationen verbreiten“, sagt er im Telefon-Interview mit bento. Darüber, wie Menschen sich im Camp vor dem Coronavirus schützen könnten. Überall im Camp haben sie handgeschriebene Plakate mit Informationen aufgehängt. Hände waschen, Abstand halten, das Virus ernst nehmen. In vier Sprachen: Farsi, Arabisch, Französisch und Englisch.

„Zusätzlich fahren wir durchs Camp und informieren die Menschen über Megafone, die wir besorgen konnten“, erzählt Masi.
Pragmatisch, nicht verzweifelt

Das Team wurde binnen weniger Tage zusammengetrommelt, immer mehr Menschen schließen sich der Gruppe an. Dass es viel zu tun gibt, merkt man: Mitten im Interview reicht Masi das Telefon weiter, irgendwo wird er gerade gebraucht.

Fereshte, 17, soll übernehmen. „Am Wichtigsten ist, dass wir den Menschen Hoffnung geben, dass wir sie beruhigen“, sagt sie. Ihrer Erfahrung nach funktioniere das im persönlichen Gespräch oder über die Megafone am besten. Die relevanten Informationen hätten sie vorher auf offiziellen Seiten im Internet recherchiert.

Ein großes Problem bei ihrer Arbeit seien im Camp kursierende Gerüchte, die Panik schüren. „Es gab in den letzten Tagen zwei Tote im Camp. Viele erzählten, sie seien an Corona gestorben, aber das stimmt nicht, es waren Herzinfarkte.“

Fereshte klingt pragmatisch. „Die griechischen Behörden machen wenig, also müssen wir selbst anpacken“, sagt sie.
Geflüchtete regeln den Lidl-Einkauf

Immer mehr Geflüchtete beteiligen sich am Corona Awareness Team. „Inzwischen sind wir mehr als 50 Freiwillige. Wir hoffen, das in den nächsten Tagen mindestens noch verdoppeln zu können“, sagt der 30-jährige Apotheker Omid, der ebenfalls mithilft.

Die Aufgaben beschränken sich nicht mehr auf das Verbreiten von Informationen. Mit Hilfe von Hilfsorganisationen hat das Team eine kleine Fabrik aus dem Boden gestampft, in der Geflüchtete Atemschutzmasken nähen.

Auch im knapp fünf Kilometer vom Camp entfernten Lidl ist das Corona Awareness Team mittlerweile im Einsatz. In Absprache mit der Geschäftsleitung habe man einen Dienst organisiert, der den Einlass in den Markt regelt, damit nicht zu viele Menschen gleichzeitig auf engem Raum einkaufen. „Wir rufen die Leute auch dazu auf, in der Schlange vor dem Markt Abstand zu halten“, erzählt Omid.

Auch die lokalen Griechinnen und Griechen, die im Lidl einkaufen, fänden diese Maßnahme gut. „Sie sind sehr freundlich und freuen sich darüber, dass wir etwas tun“, sagt Omid. Er erzählt, dass sie hoffen, eine ähnliche Aufsicht auch an der Nahrungsausgabestelle im Camp etablieren zu können.
Forderungen nach Evakuierung

Wie hart das Virus Moria treffen würde, ist schwer abzusehen. Zwar leben laut dem Leiter des Camps Dimitris Vafeas nur 178 Menschen in Moria, die über 65 Jahre alt sind und damit aufgrund des Alters zur Risikogruppe gehören. Durch die schlechten hygienischen Bedingungen und die mangelhafte medizinische Versorgung sind aber auch viele jüngere Menschen stark geschwächt.

Deshalb häufen sich angesichts der Coronakrise die internationalen Forderungen, Moria endlich zu evakuieren. "Ärzte ohne Grenzen“ warnt: „Die entsetzlichen Lebensbedingungen in den überfüllten Hotspots auf den Inseln sind ein idealer Nährboden für COVID-19.“

Der SPD-Bundestagsabgeordnete Lars Castelluci fordert, dass die Geflüchteten aufs griechische Festland gebracht werden. Ähnlich äußerte sich Grünen-Parteichefin Annalena Baerbock.

Under dem Motto #LeaveNoOneBehind haben Menschen aus Politik, Kultur und Zivilgesellschaft eine Petition für den Schutz der Geflüchteten gestartet. Zu den Erstunterzeichnerinnen und -unterzeichnern gehören unter anderem die Influencerin Louisa Dellert, der Moderator Joko Winterscheidt und der Musiker Henning May. Mehr als 20.000 Menschen haben die Petition bisher unterschrieben. „Das Virus unterscheidet nicht nach Hautfarbe, Religion oder Geschlecht. Corona betrifft uns alle“, heißt es da. Wer jetzt nicht handle, mache sich mitschuldig für die Katastrophe, die den Menschen in Not drohe.

https://www.bento.de/images/c7a1e4fb-832f-4487-a2c1-d1b74fa3df32_w900_fpx43.44_fpy50.jpg

Auch Omid wünscht sich Hilfe und Solidarität: „An die europäischen Staaten: Bitte kommt und steht an unserer Seite. Wir tun, was wir können. Aber wir brauchen mehr.“

▻https://www.bento.de/politik/coronavirus-auf-lesbos-wie-junge-gefluechtete-gegen-die-krise-kaempfen-a-0fd09

Coronavirus : des eurodéputés appellent à évacuer les migrants les plus vulnérables des camps grecs

La commission des libertés civiles du Parlement européen a appelé lundi à l’évacuation d’urgence par l’UE des migrants les plus vulnérables au coronavirus des camps surpeuplés en Grèce, mettant en garde contre le « risque de nombreux décès ».

La commission des libertés civiles du Parlement européen a appelé lundi à l’évacuation d’urgence par l’UE des migrants les plus vulnérables au coronavirus des camps surpeuplés en Grèce, mettant en garde contre le « risque de nombreux décès ».

Dans une lettre adressée au commissaire européen chargé de la gestion des crises, Janez Lenarcic, le président de la commission parlementaire LIBE, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, a alerté sur la situation des 42.000 demandeurs d’asile entassés sur les îles grecques, où il n’y a « aucune possibilité de distanciation sociale » et où « l’équipement médical nécessaire n’est pas disponible ».

« C’est une urgence et l’UE doit réagir en conséquence avec un plan d’action qui devrait au moins inclure une évacuation préventive de la population à haut risque, notamment les plus de 60 ans et les personnes souffrant de problèmes respiratoires, de diabète ou d’autres maladies qui augmentent le risque de symptômes sévères », écrit-il au nom de la commission LIBE qui rassemble tous les partis.

« Si l’UE échoue à agir immédiatement, la situation sur les îles grecques deviendra ingérable, avec le risque de nombreux décès », avertit-il.

Les eurodéputés demandent aussi pour les demandeurs d’asile un effort coordonné accru de la part des systèmes de santé des Etats membres, et davantage d’aide financière pour augmenter les capacités d’hospitalisation et de soins intensifs.

Alors que sept pays de l’UE se sont engagés à la mi-mars à accueillir quelque 1.600 enfants des îles grecques, ces eurodéputés appellent « à continuer » d’agir pour leur « relocalisation rapide ».

Deux cas de coronavirus ont été diagnostiqués sur l’île de Lesbos mais pour l’heure, aucun n’a été détecté dans les camps grecs.

Afin d’éviter une propagation de l’épidémie, Athènes a imposé de strictes restrictions à la liberté de mouvement des migrants sur les îles égéennes. Les visites dans les camps sont également réduites au minimum.

▻https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/fil-dactualites/230320/coronavirus-des-eurodeputes-appellent-evacuer-les-migrants-les-plus-vulner

Europe must act to stop coronavirus outbreak in Lesbos, say MEPs

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across Europe, refugees and migrants living in overcrowded camps remain extremely vulnerable.

On the island of Lesbos, one suspected coronavirus case would be enough to raise concerns in the Moria camp. Human rights organisations are concerned asylum seekers won’t have access to resources needed to prevent and then treat the outbreak.

“It will be a very difficult situation if the virus comes to Moria or any other overcrowded reception centres or hotspots on the Greek islands,” admits Ylva Johansson, Commissioner Home Affairs.

“That’s why it is necessary to take a lot of measures right now … So far, there is no detected virus in the camps.”

NGOs have raised concerns over asylum procedures being frozen. According to the Commissioner for Home Affairs, processing applications must not be stopped.

“People arriving at the borders still have the right to apply for asylum and cannot be sent away without their claim being assessed,” explains Professor Philippe De Bruycker, Institute for European Studies, Université Libre de Bruxelles. “This does not mean that nothing can be done regarding the protection of health: People requiring asylum maybe tested to see if they are sick or not, and if they are it can be applied measures such as quarantine, or even detention or restrictions of movement within the territory of the states.”

Restrictions on travel and social distancing measures means delays in the asylum process are inevitable.

“A lot of member states are making the decision that the interviews with asylum seekers should not take place right now because they would like to limit the social interaction,” says Commissioner Johansson. “So there will be delays in the processes of asylum, but I think that member states are taking measures to deal with the risk of the virus being spread.”

MEPs have called for an “immediate European response” to avoid a humanitarian crisis spiralling into a public health crisis. NGOs warn there is little chance of not getting infected living in such conditions.

►https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/24/europe-must-act-to-stop-coronavirus-outbreak-in-lesbos-say-meps

Αυτοψία του « Ν » στο λιμανάκι της Πέτρας

Βρίσκονται εκεί 56 μετανάστες, από το Αφγανιστάν και το Κογκό, ανάμεσά τους και πολλά παιδιά.

https://cdn.stonisi.gr/repository/2019/petra-metanastes27.3-39.jpg

Παραπλεύρως του λιμανιού της Πέτρας βρίσκονται από την περασμένη Δευτέρα ως και σήμερα 56 συνολικά μετανάστες, στην πλειοψηφία τους από το Αγφανιστάν και 6 από το Κογκό.

Πρόκειται για νεοαφιχθέντες στη Λέσβο, που βγήκαν με βάρκα από τα τουρκικά παράλια στην περιοχή του Γαβαθά. Ανάμεσα τους βρίσκονται αρκετές γυναίκες και παιδιά. Σύμφωνα με το νέο νομοθετικό πλαίσιο, κανείς τους δεν έχει δικαίωμα κατάθεσης αιτήματος για χορήγηση ασύλου, παραμένοντας ουσιαστικά στην παραλία, όπου έχουν δημιουργήσει κάποιες πρόχειρες κατασκευές μαζί με κάποιες σκηνές, αφού οι αρχές τους έχουν βάλει σε καραντίνα για 14 ημέρες, λόγω της πανδημίας του κορονοϊού.

https://cdn.stonisi.gr/repository/2019/petra-metanastes27.3-7.jpg https://cdn.stonisi.gr/repository/2019/petra-metanastes27.3-27.jpg https://cdn.stonisi.gr/repository/2019/petra-metanastes27.3-5.jpg

▻https://www.stonisi.gr/post/8007/aytopsia-toy-n-sto-limanaki-ths-petras-pics-video

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Commentaire de Vicky Skoumbi, reçu via la mailing-list Migreurop, le 29.03.2020 :

Regardez dans quelles conditions de ‘confinement’ sont obligés de vivre 56 réfugiés, originaires la plupart d’Afghanistan et 6 du Congo, dont plusieurs femmes et enfants à Petra de Lesbos. Ils sont arrivés lundi dernier près du port de Petra, au nord de Lesbos. Le nouveau cadre législatif leur interdit l’accès à la procédure d’asile et les autorités les obligent de rester en quarantaine sur place ( !!!) pendant 14 jours dans des abris de fortune que vous voyez au milieu de nulle part. C’est une pratique systématique depuis deux semaines à Lesbos : les nouveaux arrivants ne peuvent plus accéder à Moria et la seule « alternative » adoptée par les autorités est de les maintenir sur place à l’endroit même où ils ont débarqués sans aucune infrastructure d’accueil, jusqu’à leur transfert aux centres de détention fermés comme le camp sinistre de Klidi au nord de la Grèce voir

Le Courrier | La #promiscuité dans les foyers alarme
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/837115

#Suisse

Greece quarantines Ritsona migrant camp after finding 20 corona cases

►https://seenthis.net/messages/838008
#Athènes #Grèce

Les camps de migrants, une bombe sanitaire à l’heure de la pandémie

A l’heure où l’on demande à chacun·e d’entre nous de respecter scrupuleusement les mesures de distanciation sociale afin d’endiguer l’expansion du COVID-19, la Grèce préconise l’enfermement collectif de milliers de personnes migrantes sur ses îles comme mesure de lutte contre l’extension de la pandémie dans le pays. Pourtant, si on souhaite préserver la santé d’un maximum de personnes, ces camps de premier enregistrement et de tri des personnes migrantes (hotspots) devraient être évacués de toute urgence et leur résident.e.s accueilli.e.s dans des hébergements où la distanciation sociale est possible et où les mesures d’hygiène de base et les soins de santé sont accessibles. Préserver la santé des exilé.e.s, c’est préserver notre santé à tous et toutes.

Les appels qui demandent l’évacuation des milliers de personnes résidant dans les hotspots en Grèce fusent [1] à mesure que les témoignages terribles se multiplient. Pétition d’ONG, de médecins et de collectifs citoyens mais aussi indignation d’eurodéputés et de la commissaire aux Droits de l’Homme du Conseil de l’Europe au sujet de la dangerosité sanitaire des centres de détention. Pourtant, rien n’y fait. Actuellement, la Grèce, quand elle n’empêche pas complètement les entrées et sorties de ses hotspots, déplace des centaines de personnes depuis ces lieux de détention pour les emmener sur d’autres îles ou dans des centres fermés sur le continent éloignés de tout, comme dans le no man’s land de Klidi au nord du pays. Pas d’accès correct aux services de base (eau, nourriture, logement, mesures d’hygiène et soins de santé), pas de recours possible à un avocat, peu d’accès aux informations et possibilités de communication vers l’extérieur. Médecins Sans Frontières estime la population des cinq camps insulaires en Grèce à 42 000 personnes, alors que la capacité totale de ces derniers est de 6 000 personnes.
Déni d’accueil, déni d’asile

S’ajoute à cette situation de non accès aux mesures sanitaires préconisées par l’OMS e en temps de coronavirus (la distanciation sociale, lavage des mains réguliers, etc.), l’impossibilité temporaire de demander l’asile en Grèce et dans nombre d’Etats européens. En Belgique, l’Office des étrangers a fermé ses bureaux, ce qui empêche la prise en charge des nouveaux arrivants dans son réseau d’accueil coordonné par Fedasil. Le CGRA a, lui, suspendu ses auditions en présentiel.

L’UE propose aux Etats membres des mesures qui ne sont pas à la hauteur des enjeux humanitaires de ces centres de détention. A la mi-mars, face à la situation de crise à la frontière gréco-turque, elle avait proposé aux Etats membres de relocaliser minimum 1 600 mineurs non accompagnés et de participer à la mise en œuvre de 5 000 retours dits volontaires. Depuis, ces propositions dérisoires face à l’ampleur du problème ont été bloquées avec l’arrivée du coronavirus. Actuellement, pour désengorger les camps, elle suggère à la Grèce de déplacer les personnes les plus vulnérables sur le continent (en Grèce) ou dans d’autres îles.
Le COVID-19 n’a pas de frontières

Il est difficile d’avoir des informations fiables sur la situation des hotspots italiens, les « jungles » informelles aux frontières ou sur les camps surpeuplés situés au-delà des frontières européennes et qui accueillent 80 % des personnes actuellement déplacées. Ces derniers jours, des premiers cas ont été détectée dans le hotspot de Lesbos et Moria, un autre dans les camps de fortune en Syrie et d’autres dans les villes proches du plus grand camp de réfugiés au monde, le camp de Cox’s Bazar au Bangladesh. En Libye, les personnes migrantes craignent la contagion au sein des centres où elles croupissent.

Alors que l’UE se tait, l’ONU, via la voix du Haut-commissariat aux réfugiés, appelle les États à ne pas fermer les voies vers l’asile, mais à adopter des tests de dépistage et le placement en quarantaine des réfugié.e.s si un risque sanitaire est identifié lors du passage des frontières. Elle suspend cependant les programmes de réinstallation. Les Nations Unies ont lancé également un nouveau fonds d’urgence pour contrer l’impact du coronavirus dans les pays en développement, en Afrique notamment, afin de s’assurer que les personnes les plus vulnérables (y compris les personnes exilées) ne soient pas abandonnées à leur sort dans la lutte contre le coronavirus.

Face à l’abandon, certains résident.e.s des camps en Grèce ont pris les choses en main. A Moria, des personnes migrantes réunies au sein de la Team Humanity ont commencé à coudre leurs propres masques. Et dans le camp de Vathy à Samos, des enfants ont réalisé des affiches éducatives sur le lavage des mains et l’hygiène [2].
Bombe sanitaire comme héritage de l’externalisation

La pandémie du COVID-19 révèle une nouvelle fois l’impact des politiques inadéquates et violentes mises en place vis-à-vis des personnes migrantes, qu’elles soient en demande de protection internationale ou pas.

Résultats de cette mise à l’écart des personnes migrantes ? Des camps d’exilé.es surpeuplés devenus insalubres dans les pays du Sud, faute de véritables mécanismes permanent et solidaire d’accueil en Europe ; l’émergence de routes et campements informels aux frontières, faute de voies légales et sûres de migrations. Ces camps surpeuplés sont de véritables bombes à retardement sanitaires. Ils sont l’héritage de politiques migratoires européennes de mise à l’écart des personnes migrantes vers le continent. Croire que la préservation de la santé de certain.e.s se fera au détriment de celles des autres est cependant une erreur criminelle. La pandémie nous concerne tous et toutes et c’est en ne laissant personne de côté que nous en viendrons à bout. A court terme, à l’image du Portugal qui a annoncé samedi 28 mars la régularisation temporaire de plusieurs personnes migrantes, des solutions rapides et efficaces sont possibles. A long terme, cela implique un changement de politiques migratoires dont les objectifs centraux doivent être un accueil solidaire et des voies légales et sûres de migrations.

L’impasse dans laquelle l’Europe s’est enfermée, en basant ses politiques sur la répression, l’externalisation des frontières et le refus de la solidarité entre Etats membres, se retourne aujourd’hui contre elle-même, aggravant le risque sanitaire au détriment de sa propre population. Cette alerte devrait créer l’opportunité de refonder les politiques migratoires, sur une approche solidaire, la seule qui puisse permettre de sortir l’Union européenne de l’ornière.

►https://www.cncd.be/covid-19-coronavirus-camps-refugies-migrants-bombe-sanitaire-europe-grece-pande

signalé ici aussi :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/838434

Chronique d’un désastre annoncé : l’enfermement criminel des réfugiés en Grèce

La situation des demandeurs d’asile retenus dans les îles grecques est catastrophique d’un point de vue sanitaire. On n’ose à peine imaginer ce qu’il pourrait s’y passer si l’épidémie de Covid-19 s’y déclarait.

Par ces temps si troubles, où l’immunité grégaire obtenue par la vaccination généralisée est détournée en immunisation de troupeau résultante de l’exposition de tous et toutes au Covid-19 – ce qui ne manquera pas d’entraîner l’élimination des plus vulnérables –,

par ces temps de détresse où les médecins en Italie, en Espagne et même en France sont sommés de faire le tri entre ceux à qui ils donneront une chance d’être sauvés et les autres qu’on laissera mourir,

par ces temps si obscurs où les demandeurs d’asile aux frontières de l’Europe sont traités comme des ennemis à repousser et, si besoin, à abattre, tandis que ceux qui réussissent à passer en Grèce sont traités comme des criminels de droit commun, étant condamnés à des peines de prison ferme,

il y a une partie de la population qui est condamnée à la contagion généralisée : en premier lieu, les réfugiés et les migrants vivant partout en Europe et surtout en Grèce dans des conditions sanitaires déplorables dans des « hotspots », ou bien détenus dans de centres de rétention administrative (CRA), puis les sans-abri et enfin les personnes incarcérées. Pour l’instant, aucune mesure de vraie protection sanitaire n’est prévue pour ces trois catégories. Les plus exposés parmi eux sont les réfugiés vivant dans les hotspots, centres dits de réception et d’identification, à Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Cos et Leros. Ces camps fonctionnent actuellement cinq, sept voire onze fois au-dessus de leur capacité d’accueil. Dans les îles grecques, 37 000 personnes sont actuellement enfermées dans des conditions abjectes dans des hotspots prévus pour accueillir 6 000 personnes au grand maximum. Les demandeurs d’asile sont obligés d’y vivre dans une très grande promiscuité et dans des conditions sanitaires qui suscitaient déjà l’effroi bien avant l’épidémie de coronavirus. Dans la jungle de l’oliveraie, extension « hors les murs » du hotspot de Moria, à Lesbos, il y a des quartiers où il n’existe qu’un seul robinet d’eau pour 1 500 personnes, ce qui rend le respect de règles d’hygiène absolument impossible.
Conditions sordides

Or la seule réponse envisagée par le gouvernement grec est de transformer Moria en un centre fermé, en restreignant drastiquement les déplacements de réfugiés. Les rares fois où un effort est fait pour la « décongestion » du camp, celle-ci est effectuée au compte-gouttes. Mise à part l’installation d’un conteneur médical par les autorités régionales à l’entrée du camp, aucun renforcement du dispositif sanitaire avec des effectifs médicaux suffisant pour traiter les 20 000 habitants actuels de Moria n’est prévu. Au contraire, le gouvernement Mitsotákis mise sur la peur d’une épidémie dans les camps pour imposer aux sociétés locales la création de centres fermés, censés garantir la sécurité, non pas tant de leurs résidents mais des riverains. Ou bien le coronavirus, ou bien les centres fermés de détention, avait déclaré sans détours il y a une dizaine de jours le ministre de la Migration, Notis Mitarachi. Quant à ceux qui sont arrivés après le 1er mars, lorsqu’ils ne sont pas condamnés à des peines de quatre ans de prison ferme pour entrée illégale dans le territoire ils sont détenus dans des conditions sordides en vue d’une expulsion plus qu’improbable vers leur pays d’origine ou d’un renvoi forcé vers la Turquie, « Etat tiers supposé sûr ». Pendant une dizaine de jours, 450 nouveaux arrivants ont été séquestrés dans des conditions inimaginables dans un navire militaire, où ils ont été obligés de vivre littéralement les uns sur les autres, sans même qu’on ne leur fournisse du savon pour se laver les mains.

Une telle exposition à des conditions insalubres de personnes fragilisées par des voyages longs et éprouvants pourrait-elle être mise sur le compte de la simple impréparation ? Ces conditions sont presque aussi inhumaines dans les centres fermés de Malakassa et de Serrès, où les nouveaux arrivants sont détenus. Pour les 1 300 détenus de Malakassa, en Attique, l’accès à l’eau courante se limite à quelques heures par jour, tandis que la dernière distribution de produits d’hygiène remonte à deux semaines. A Serrès, l’accès à l’eau se limite à deux heures par jour, tandis que la seule visite médicale a été faite par un médecin qui n’a examiné que quelques enfants.
Scénario terrifiant

De telles conditions de détention ne laissent pas de doute sur la stratégie du gouvernement : cette population ne doit pas être protégée mais exposée. La stratégie d’enfermement et de refoulement qui a été jusqu’alors la politique migratoire de l’Europe se révèle à présent être une véritable « thanato-politique ». Aux refoulements illégaux et de plus en plus violents à la frontière (voir ici et ici) s’est ajoutée par temps de pandémie l’exposition des populations entières à des conditions si insalubres qu’elles mettent en danger leur santé et ne manquerons pas de conduire inévitablement à l’élimination physique d’une partie considérable d’entre eux. Sommes-nous face à un scénario terrifiant d’élimination de populations superflues ? Cette question ne saurait être contournée.

Pourrions-nous fermer les yeux devant ces crimes de masses qui se préparent en silence et dont les conditions sont mises en place déjà à Moria (Lesbos), à Vathy (Samos), à Malakassa en Attique, au centre fermé, à Klidi ? Ce dernier, destiné à ceux qui sont arrivés en Grèce après le 1er mars (date de la suspension de la procédure d’asile) est un véritable camp de concentration, « un camp quasi militaire », écrit à juste titre Maria Malagardis. Les réfugiés et les migrants seront détenus dans ce camp pour un temps indéterminé, en attente d’un renvoi vers la Turquie, plus qu’improbable dans les conditions actuelles. Le choix de cet endroit désolé et à haut risque d’inondation, la très grande promiscuité obligatoire, ainsi que l’absence de toute prise en charge médicale, ont suscité de réactions, y compris au sein de la police locale et des sapeurs-pompiers. On n’ose à peine imaginer ce qu’il pourrait s’y passer si l’épidémie Covid-19 s’y déclarait.

Et que se passera-t-il si l’épidémie se déclare dans des endroits si surpeuplés et si dépourvus d’infrastructures sanitaires que sont les hotspots des îles ? « En cas d’épidémie, une quarantaine qui enfermerait des dizaines de milliers de personnes en bonne santé ainsi que des personnes infectées par Covid-19 dans les camps surpeuplés, accompagnée d’un manque de préparation et de réponse médicale adéquate et appropriée, entraînerait presque certainement la mort inévitable de nombreuses personnes », ont déclaré 21 organisations qui ont lancé un appel pour l’évacuation immédiate des hotspots.
Désastre sanitaire imminent

Aux multiples appels (1) à évacuer immédiatement les camps surpeuplés, et même aux exhortations venant des instances européennes, le gouvernement grec continue à faire la sourde oreille, prétendant que l’enfermement des demandeurs d’asile dans des lieux comme le hotspot de Mória assure leur propre sécurité ! Le ministre de la Migration ne cesse de brandir comme solution miracle la création des centres fermés dans les îles. Entre-temps, les nouveaux arrivants, y compris les femmes enceintes et les enfants, restent bloqués à l’endroit même où ils débarquent, pour un supposé « confinement en plein air », sous des abris de fortunes ou même sans aucun abri, pendant au moins une période de quatorze jours ! Les appels répétés (voir ici et ici) de la commissaire Ylva Johansson de transférer les réfugiés des hotspots, ainsi que les exhortations de la commissaire Dunja Mijatović de libérer les migrants détenus en CRA, résonnent comme de simples protestations pour la forme. Dans la mesure où elles ne sont pas suivies de mesures concrètes, elles ne servent qu’à dédouaner la Commission européenne de toute responsabilité d’un désastre sanitaire imminent.

Un tel désastre ne saurait toucher uniquement les réfugiés, mais l’ensemble de la population des îles. L’Union européenne, si elle veut vraiment agir pour mettre les demandeurs d’asile en sécurité, doit à la fois exercer des pressions réelles sur le gouvernement grec et prendre de mesures concrètes pour l’aider à évacuer les réfugiés et les migrants et à les installer dans un confinement sécurisé à domicile. Dans l’immédiat, elle peut réorienter l’aide exceptionnelle de 700 millions d’euros octroyée à la Grèce pour assurer l’étanchéité des frontières européennes, afin de mettre en sécurité des réfugiés et des migrants.

Appliquer sur une population affaiblie et mal nourrie la méthode de « l’immunisation du troupeau » reviendrait à mettre en œuvre une politique d’élimination de populations superflues. Un tel choix politique ne saurait laisser intacte notre société tout entière. Ce n’est pas une question d’humanisme, c’est une question qui touche aux fondements de notre vivre-ensemble : dans quel type de société voulons-nous vivre ? Dans une société qui non seulement laisse mourir mais qui fait mourir ceux et celles qui sont les plus vulnérables ? Serions-nous à l’abri dans un monde transformé en une énorme colonie pénitentiaire, même si le rôle qui nous y est réservé serait celui, relativement privilégié, de geôliers ? Il est grand temps de se ressaisir : l’épidémie de Covid-19 a démontré, si besoin était, que nous vivons toutes et tous dans le même monde et que le sort des uns affecte celui des autres. Ne laissons pas les demandeurs d’asile subir un enfermement qui pourrait s’avérer mortel, mais faisons en sorte qu’ils partagent avec nous les conditions d’un confinement protecteur et salutaire. Il faudrait leur offrir en toute urgence un abri digne de ce nom dans des conditions sanitaires décentes. C’est une priorité absolue si nous voulons éviter une catastrophe humanitaire et sociétale.
Sans précédent

Face au choix de traiter des êtres humains comme des miasmes, nous pouvons opposer une politique qui combine diverses propositions : les résidents de hotspots et ceux qui se trouvent en détention administrative pourraient être transférés en Grèce continentale en bateaux de croisière, et y être hébergés provisoirement en logements touristiques vides, afin d’être par la suite répartis entre les pays européens.

L’extrême urgence de la situation impose de faire vite, il n’y a plus une minute à perdre (2). Exigeons du gouvernement grec et des dirigeants européens une action immédiate qui mettra en sécurité les demandeurs d’asile et les migrants. Ne pas le faire aujourd’hui nous rend complice d’une stratégie criminelle qui mènera inévitablement à une catastrophe humanitaire sans précédent.

Contre les politiques d’exclusion et de criminalisations des arrivants, il nous faudra construire un monde « un », commun à toutes et à tous. Sinon, chacun de nous risque à n’importe quel moment de se retrouver du mauvais côté de la frontière.

►https://www.liberation.fr/debats/2020/04/04/chronique-d-un-desastre-annonce-l-enfermement-criminel-des-refugies-en-gr

Voir compile des effets délétères indirects de la pandémie :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/832147

#coronavirus #solidarité #prisons

A mettre en lien avec cette interview à Denis Salas :
#Denis_Salas : « La #justice se trouve confrontée à un phénomène totalement inédit »
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/834072

Riot police clash with locals over migration centers on the islands (videos)

Extensive clashes erupted overnight on islands of Lesvos and Chios and continue on Tuesday, with local authorities and residents trying to prevent the arrival of riot police, water canons and excavating machines to be used to build new closed migration centers.

https://i1.wp.com/www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/chiosblockage2.jpeg?resize=768%2C499&ssl=1#.jpg https://i0.wp.com/www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/matbin.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1#.jpg https://i1.wp.com/www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MAt2.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1#.jpg

The forces arrived by ferries chartered by the government.
▻https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/02/25/greece-islands-lesvos-chios-police-migration-centers

Μάχες στην Καράβα

Στην Καράβα, στην είσοδο του δρόμου που οδηγεί στην επιταγμένη έκταση στου Καβακλή γίνονται από τις 6,30 το πρωί πραγματικές οδομαχίες. Εκατοντάδες Αστυνομικοί επιτέθηκαν ρίχνοντας μεγάλες ποσότητες χημικών στους συγκεντρωμένους πολίτες.

Στον κεντρικό δρόμο έχουν στηθεί οδοφράγματα με αυτοκίνητα του Δήμου δυτικής Λέσβου.

https://cdn.stonisi.gr/repository/2019/karavaepisodia25.2-3.jpg

Η άλωση του Καβακλή
▻https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=677454506329468

Greek authorities scramble to calm tensions over migrant detention camp

Violent scenes underscore resistance to construction of camps on Lesbos and other Aegean islands.
▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/0a3a32e2d7ffa272c231fa2a1d7693d1aa205945/0_192_5760_3456/master/5760.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=156e24b0d279963a566c9f

Greek authorities are desperately trying to contain mounting tensions over government plans to construct migrant detention camps on the north Aegean islands after a night of clashes between residents and riot police on Lesbos and Chios.

Security forces used teargas and stun grenades to disperse crowds gathered at sites designated for the controversial facilities. In Chios, a local mayor and a priest were rushed to hospital after collapsing as a result of the toxic fumes.

With islanders voicing dismay at the scale of the violence, local unions hit back with debilitating protest strikes on Tuesday. “Nobody should go to work, nobody should go to school, no shop should open,” Lesbos’s central labour force announced.
’I get a lot of love’: how hope survives in the hell of Moria
Read more

“We call on all workers, the people of Lesbos, bodies and associations to stand against government plans to turn our island, and other Aegean islands, into a vast prison of human souls.”

At least two people were taken to hospital later on Tuesday after more violence erupted at roadblocks set up to prevent bulldozers and other machinery reaching plots expropriated by the government for the facilities.

Caught up in the clashes, Yiannis Bournous, an MP with the opposition Syriza party on Lesbos, deplored what he described as “an unprovoked and violent attack of riot police against protesting citizens”, likening the confrontation to an assault on democracy.

Demonstrations are planned for later in the day. Leftwing, pro-immigrant supporters also declared they would rally in solidarity in Athens.

Local authorities said they would step up opposition with a general strike Wednesday. “Not even the junta did such things,” said Konstantinos Moutzouris, governor of the north Aegean region, referring to the military dictatorship in power in Athens between 1967-74. It was appalling, he said, that riot police should use such force against people who were at the coal face of the refugee crisis.

The tumult underscored the resistance the centre-right administration now faces in its quest to construct “closed” facilities to accommodate the ever-growing numbers crossing over from Turkey in a bid to enter Europe via Greece’s outlying isles.

More than 43,000 people are currently stranded on Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Leros and Kos, the main gateways to the country. Over 20,000 are on Lesbos, the island long on the frontline of the influx, with most forced to endure the unsanitary and vastly overcrowded conditions of the infamous open-air camp of Moria, a short drive from Mytilene, its capital.

The vast majority of those entering the EU from the war-torn Middle East, Asia and Africa came via the islands last year with an overwhelming 99% applying for asylum, according to Greek immigration authorities.

Hamstrung by a containment policy determined by Brussels, they are forced to remain on the islands until asylum requests are processed by a system already buckling under the pressure. Holding facilities on the outposts were originally designed to host no more than 5,400 people.

Government officials, clearly shamed by international criticism of the camps, say the new detention centres will finally put an end to the woeful images that have emerged from Greece. Constructed to host around 5,000 people each, expectant asylum-seekers will share the installations with those scheduled for deportation.

By fast-tracking the asylum process, the administration argues the detention centres will help accelerate what is needed most: decongestion of the isles. Locals, who have already borne the brunt of migratory flows, fear the facilities will ultimately become permanent.

On Tuesday the administration of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, vowed to forge ahead with the scheme despite the protests and mounting expressions of consternation from the opposition.

Describing the current camps as “public health bombs”, the government spokesman insisted the new installations would ultimately be in the interest of the islands. As he spoke defence department bulldozers driven by soldiers could be seen clearing some of the land.

“We are asking local residents to understand that these closed facilities will benefit the country and their communities,” the government spokesman Stelios Petsas told Open TV. “We will build these closed centres but also close the existing open ones. That is the government’s promise.”

International aid groups also expressed alarm over the rising tensions following Monday night’s clashes.

“It has reached an explosive point for both locals who have shown remarkable solidarity towards refugees and asylum seekers living in the conditions that they live,” said Nikolas Panagiotopoulos area manager of the International Rescue Committee.

“There is an urgent need for de-escalation. We firmly believe that more dialogue is needed between local government and central government for a sustainable solution,” he told the Guardian. “It is clear the north-east Aegean islands cannot shoulder this responsibility. The EU needs to step up in solidarity because Greece cannot cope on its own.”

▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/25/clashes-over-greeces-migrant-detention-camp-plans-continue

Police and protesters clash on Greek islands over new migrant camps

Teargas used against demonstrators on Lesbos and Chios who want migrants moved to the mainland.

▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a0d7a1510621342ba7d8b8b47f9274696a4cf9a4/0_188_4928_2955/master/4928.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=af3450ab469077828676ff

Clashes have broken out on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios, where residents tried to prevent the arrival of riot police and excavating machines to be used to build new migrant detention camps.

Police fired teargas to disperse the crowds that gathered early on Tuesday to try to prevent officers from disembarking from government-chartered ferries.

On Lesbos, protesters set fire to bins and used municipal rubbish trucks to try to block the port area.

Police on Chios also used teargas and flash grenades. At least three people were treated in hospital for breathing difficulties caused by the extensive use of teargas, local officials said.

▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/afb80ca0f792e510c7c41eced0c9bf1b45625093/0_186_5568_3341/master/5568.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5b59bf2d879c7ecb6496c3

The government says it will press ahead with plans to build the new facilities and has promised to replace existing camps where severe overcrowding has worsened in recent months.

Many island residents as well as local authorities argue the migrants and asylum seekers should be moved to the Greek mainland.

The standoff between police and protesters continued later on Tuesday near the areas where the new camps will be built, as police cordoned off areas around roadblocks set up over the past few days by demonstrators on the two islands.

“We understand that there is a problem of trust that was created over the previous years,” the government’s spokesman, Stelios Petsas, told state-run TV. “But the closed facilities will be built and we are calling on the public to support this.”

Petsas said the government also had to act due to heightened concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, arguing that proper health checks could not be carried out at existing overcrowded camps.

Greece is the busiest entry point for illegal migration in the European Union, with most arrivals occurring on eastern Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast. Under a 2016 agreement, backed and funded by the EU, the movement of migrants is restricted to those islands until their asylum claims are processed.

Nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees arrived on Greek islands last year, almost double the number recorded in 2018, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency.

▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/25/police-and-protesters-clash-on-greek-islands-over-new-migrant-camps

Riot police withdraws from Lesvos & Chios after raging against locals and cars (videos)

Eight riot police squads departed from the island of Lesvos on Thursday morning after an unprecedented use of violence against people and …parked cars.

The squads embarked ferry “Nisos Rodos” at 9 o’ clock in the morning. Loaded were also police buses, machinery and equipment that was transferred to the islands last Monday night in order to facilitate operations in Kavakli-Karava where the new closed migration center is to be constructed.

https://i2.wp.com/www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MATLesvosGO1.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1#.jpg

The ferry on an extraordinary schedule is to transfer to Athens also riot police forces from the island of Chios at 12 o’ clock noon.

Locals see in the withdrawal a “huge defeat for the government,” however, they are still in rage about the extensive use of violence committed by the riot police during the two days they stayed on the islands.

The violence was not only against protesting locals but against vehicles as well.

Several videos uploaded on social media, show fully equipped riot police to shoot at parked vehicles, smash windshields and destroy car mirrors.

Citing locals, state broadcaster ERT TV reported that riot police have destroyed more than 100 vehicles on the island of Lesvos.

At the same time, they set six forest fires by launching flash grenades in the area of the site.

They have apparently also used teargas expired 40 years ago!

https://i2.wp.com/www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MATLesvosGO1.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1#.jpg

Despite the withdrawal of the “official troublemakers,” the atmosphere is still tense on Lesvos and Chios, where authorities and trade unions of public and private sector have declared a 24-hour strike for the second consecutive day.

The Prime Minister has summoned the mayors of the islands to Athens today to discuss ways out of the crisis. However, he excluded the Regional Governor of the Aegean Region, Kostas Moutzouris, who used vulgar expressions against him during a live interview with a TV channel on Wednesday night.

PS We always thought that “troublemakers” were the anarchists in Exarchia. Apparently, every riot cop has the right to damage private property in the name of “institutionalized violence.”

▻https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/02/27/riot-police-lesvos-chios-violence-cars

#Grève générale dans les îles grecques contre de nouveaux camps de migrants

Le gouvernement veut remplacer les camps actuels, surpeuplés, par des installations plus petites. Les élus et la population locale s’opposent vigoureusement à cette décision.

https://img.lemde.fr/2020/02/26/0/0/5568/3712/688/0/60/0/4b57839_979029ad51344334acb17de142c17323-979029ad51344334acb17de142c17323-0.jpg

Les îles grecques de Lesbos, Chios et Samos, proches de la côte turque, menaient mercredi 26 février, une grève générale pour protester contre la construction de nouveaux camps pour les migrants. Pour le deuxième jour de suite à Lesbos, les manifestants ont fait face à la police antiémeute près de la ville de Mantamados, proche du site prévu pour la construction d’un camp de 7 000 personnes.

De petits groupes ont jeté des pierres vers la police, qui a répondu avec du gaz lacrymogène et des grenades aveuglantes. « Nous sommes en temps de guerre. [La police] a les armes, nous avons nos cœurs et nos âmes », a déclaré le père Stratis, un prêtre local.

Le gouvernorat local a appelé à une grève de vingt-quatre heures, rejetant les projets du gouvernement de construire de nouveaux camps pour remplacer les installations actuelles surpeuplées, dans lesquelles les demandeurs d’asile vivent dans des conditions épouvantables. Plus de 38 000 migrants s’entassent dans les camps des îles de Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Leros et Cos, officiellement prévus pour 6 200 personnes.

« Les criminels devraient partir »

Les habitants des îles se plaignent depuis longtemps des problèmes d’insécurité et de santé publique que causent, selon eux, les migrants et s’opposent aux projets de construction de nouveaux camps du gouvernement. La père Staris fait valoir :

« Nous nous battons également pour ceux qui veulent partir pour un endroit meilleur. Nous voulons qu’ils partent. Nous accepterons les réfugiés de guerre, mais les criminels devraient partir. »

Au niveau national, le gouvernement conservateur, arrivé au pouvoir en juillet, a annoncé que les camps de Lesbos, Samos et Chios seraient fermés cette année pour être remplacés par de nouvelles installations, plus petites, qui devraient être opérationnelles à la mi-2020. Après des semaines de pourparlers infructueux avec les autorités locales, le gouvernement a envoyé lundi par bateau des engins de chantier et la police antiémeute, provoquant l’indignation.

Les partis d’opposition ont dénoncé une décision antidémocratique, et les responsables locaux une tentative « barbare » de « transformer de force Lesbos et Chios en prisons ». L’Etat avait déjà mis en colère les insulaires dans le courant de février en annonçant que des terres pourraient être réquisitionnées pour une période de trois ans pour construire les nouveaux camps.

▻https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/02/26/greve-generale-dans-les-iles-greques-contre-de-nouveaux-camps-de-migrants_60

Des habitants de l’île grecque de Lesbos incendient un centre d’accueil pour migrants inoccupé

Des habitants de l’île grecque de Lesbos ont mis le feu dimanche soir à un centre d’accueil inoccupé de migrants près de la plage de #Skala_Sykamineas après l’avoir bloqué, a constaté un photographe de l’AFP. Ce centre, autrefois géré par le Haut commissariat aux réfugiés de l’ONU, avait été fermé fin janvier. Il accueillait auparavant les migrants avant qu’ils soient conduits vers un centre d’hébergement sur l’île.

▻http://www.rfi.fr/fr/ticker/habitants-l-%C3%AEle-grecque-lesbos-incendient-centre-d-accueil-migrants-inoccup

Επεισόδια στη Μόρια

Συγκρούσεις ανάμεσα σε 500 αιτούντες άσυλο που θέλουν να πορευτούν στη Μυτιλήνη και διμοιρίες των ΜΑΤ.

https://cdn.stonisi.gr/repository/2019/MORIAEKSEGERSI.jpg

Εξέγερση αυτή τη στιγμή στον καταυλισμό του Κέντρου υποδοχής και Ταυτοποίησης της Μόριας. Περίπου 500 αιτούντες άσυλο για άγνωστους λόγους ξεκίνησαν από τον καταυλισμό με σκοπό να κατεβούν στην πόλη της Μυτιλήνης. Περίπου 200 μέτρα μετά την είσοδο του ΚΥΤ δυο διμοιρίες ΜΑΤ τους σταμάτησαν ενώ δέχθηκαν επίθεση με πέτρες. Οι αστυνομικές δυνάμεις απάντησαν κάνοντας χρήση χημικών και χειροβομβίδων κρότου λάμψης. Οι συγκεντρωμένοι αρνούνται να επιστρέψουν στον καταυλισμό.

▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqcyTiyrZjA&feature=emb_logo

–-> Des incidents ont lieu en ce moment au centre d’accueil et d’identification de #Moria. Environ 500 demandeurs d’asile sont partis du campement en se dirigeant vers la vile de Mytilène. A 200m de la sortie du camp, deux escadrons de CRS les ont arrêtés tandis qu’ils recevaient de jets de pierre. Les forces de l’ordre ont répondu par des gaz chimiques et de grenades assourdissantes. Les manifestants refusent de rentrer au camp.

Fire wrecks Greek refugee camp after unrest over woman’s death

Iraqi woman, 47, dies after going to hospital with fever but testing negative for Covid-19

A fire ripped through one of Greece’s largest migrant camps, leaving widespread damage and many people homeless after the death of an Iraqi woman sparked unrest.

The blaze late on Saturday at the Vial refugee camp on #Chios island destroyed the facilities of the European asylum service, a canteen, warehouse tents and many housing containers, Greek migration ministry secretary Manos Logothetis said.

“A large part of the camp’s administrative services was destroyed,” said Logothetis, adding that no injuries were reported.
Patel refuses to take children from Greek camps threatened by Covid-19
Read more

The UN refugee agency’s spokesperson in Athens Boris Cheshirkov said the damage was still being evaluated but that many camp residents were likely to have been left homeless.

“Authorities are still assessing the damages but a few hundred people are likely affected because their shelters have burned down. We have donated tents to the authorities which can quickly be put into use and we will assist in replacing the warehouse tents,” he said.

At least three vehicles outside the camp were also gutted.

A police source in Athens said two Afghans and an Iraqi had been arrested in relation to the unrest, which erupted after a 47-year-old asylum seeker from Iraq died in the camp on Saturday.

“We managed to restore order at around 1am ... There were many people who took part in the incidents,” another police source on Chios said.

The Iraqi woman had been taken with a fever to a hospital earlier this week. At the time, a test for coronavirus had returned negative, state news agency ANA reported.

Migrant camps in Greece have been under quarantine in recent weeks, with authorities trying to keep their residents away from locals.

The virus has so far killed 110 people in Greece with 67 more in intensive care.

According to official figures there have been coronavirus cases in two camps on the mainland but no cases have been reported in island camps so far.

Like all Greece’s island camps, Vial is overcrowded with more than 5,000 people living in a space intended for around 1,000.

Around 100,000 asylum seekers are stranded in Greece after other European states closed their borders in 2016.

There are more than 36,000 people in camps on islands close to Turkey that were originally built for just 6,100.

The migration ministry has said it will begin moving hundreds of elderly and ailing asylum seekers out of the island camps to protect them from coronavirus.

A scheme to gradually relocate 1,600 unaccompanied minors from war-torn countries to other European nations also began this week.

►https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/19/fire-wrecks-greek-migrant-camp-after-iraqi-death-sparks-unrest
#Vial #hotspots #hotspot

ΒΙΑΛ : Τρεις συλλήψεις - Άγνωστα τα αίτια θανάτου της 47χρονης

Στην Αστυνομική Διεύθυνση Χίου κρατούνται τρία άτομα που συνελήφθησαν κατά τη διάρκεια των χθεσινών επεισοδίων. Άγνωστο παραμένει ακόμα αν θα υπάρξει επίσημο πόρισμα για την αιτία θανάτου από την ιατροδικαστική υπηρεσία του Νοσοκομείου Χίου.

Φωτιές, πετροπόλεμος, τραυματισμοί και συλλήψεις, σημειώθηκαν χτες το βράδυ και μέχρι τις πρώτες πρωινές ώρες στη ΒΙΑΛ, σε επεισόδια μεταξύ προσφύγων που διαμένουν στο ΚΥΤ και αστυνομικών δυνάμεων.

Το καζάνι στη ΒΙΑΛ που έβραζε μέρες τώρα, έσκασε και η έκρηξη άφησε πίσω του οικογένειες που πλέον δεν έχουν « πού την κεφαλήν κλίναι » να τριγυρνούν ξυπόλητες στα χωράφια γύρω από το ΚΥΤ χωρίς ούτε μια αλλαξιά ρούχα ή έστω μια κουβέρτα, την Υπηρεσία Ασύλου κατεστραμμένη από τη φωτιά , δύο καμένα αυτοκίνητα εκ των οποίων το ένα ήταν περιπολικό, σκηνές και αυτοσχέδιες κατασκευές με όλα τα υπάρχοντα των ενοίκων τους να έχουν γίνει στάχτη, μία καντίνα ολοσχερώς κατεστραμμένη και εκατοντάδες ανθρώπους σε απόγνωση.

Τα επεισόδια ξεκίνησαν γύρω στις εννιά το βράδυ όταν οι πρώτες φλόγες τύλιξαν την Υπηρεσία Ασύλου. Η Πυροσβεστική ώστόσο ήταν αδύνατο να επέμβει αφού ταυτόχρονα ομάδες προσφύγων επιδόθηκαν σε πόλεμο με τις αστυνομικές δυνάμεις που απάντησαν με δακρυγόνα, μετατρέποντας την περιοχή σε κόλαση.
Σε λίγη ώρα όλη η περιοχή είχε μετατραπεί σε πεδίο μάχης , αφού οι συγκρούσεις μεταξύ αστυνομικών και αιτούντων άσυλο είχαν εξαπλωθεί περιμετρικά του ΚΥΤ , μέσα στα χωράφια όπου έχουν κατασκηνώσει περίπου 4.500 άνθρωποι.

https://www.efsyn.gr/sites/default/files/2020-04/epeisodia_bial.jpg

Η ένταση είχε ξεκινήσει νωρίς το μεσημέρι όταν σε κοντέινερ που έχει στήσει εκεί η Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαιου για ιατρικούς σκοπούς, βρέθηκε νεκρή μια 47χρονη γυναίκα από το Ιράκ.

Η γυναίκα είχε παραμείνει εκεί επί τριήμερο περισσότερο για προληπτικούς λόγους, αφού μόλις τη Πέμπτη είχε επισκεφθεί το Νοσοκομείο με συμπτώματα που θεωρήθηκαν ύποπτα για κορονοϊό. Το δείγμα ωστόσο που ελήφθη και εξετάστηκε στο Ινστιτούτο Παστέρ, κατέληξε αρνητικό και έτσι η γυναίκα επέστρεψε στη ΒΙΑΛ, έχοντας λάβει οδηγίες για φαρμακευτική αγωγή μιας και όπως έγινε γνωστό έπασχε από διαβήτη αλλά και από καρδιακές αρρυθμίες.

« Η ίδια τις τελευταίες ημέρες ήταν πολύ νευτρική και αναστατωμένη. Παραπονιόταν ότι δεν αισθάνεται καλά και δεν έτρωγε το φαγητό της. Ωστόσο ακολουθούσε πιστά την φαρμακευτική αγωγή, αφού κοντά της ήταν ο σύζυγος ενώ είχε και τη βοήθεια μελών μιας ΜΚΟ με ιατρική ειδίκευση » δήλωσαν στην ΕΦ.ΣΥΝ. άνθρωποι που είναι σε θέση να γνωρίζουν.

Αυτό όμως δεν στάθηκε αρκετό και έτσι το μεσημέρι του Σαββάτου, η γυναίκα μεταφέρθηκε νεκρή στο Νοσοκομείο Χίου, με το θάνατο της να γίνεται αφορμή για όλα τα παραπάνω.

https://www.efsyn.gr/sites/default/files/images/2020/04/vial_0.jpg

Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, η γυναίκα βρέθηκε νεκρή έχοντας τροφή στο στόμα της, γεγονός που οδήγησε αρχικά στην υπόθεση ότι ο θάνατος της ήταν αποτέλεσμα πνιγμού ωστόσο εξίσου πιθανά θεωρούνται και τα σενάρια είτε της καρδιακής ανακοπής, είτε κάποιας πνευμονικής εμβολής.

Δυστυχώς όμως άγνωστο παραμένει ακόμα, αν θα υπάρξει επίσημο πόρισμα για την αιτία θανάτου από την ιατροδικαστική υπηρεσία του Νοσοκομείου Χίου, αφού η διοίκηση δεν έχει απαντήσει ακόμα σε σχετικό ερώτημα της ΕΦΣΥΝ.

Το βέβαιο είναι ότι αν η γυναίκα είχε παραμείνει νοσηλευόμενη στο Νοσοκομείο, σίγουρα οι πιθανότητες να ζούσε ακόμη θα ήταν περισσότερες.

Τέλος, να σημειωθεί ότι στην Αστυνομική Διεύθυνση Χίου κρατούνται τρία άτομα που συνελήφθησαν χτες κατά τη διάρκεια των επεισοδίων.

►https://www.efsyn.gr/ellada/koinonia/239861_bial-treis-syllipseis-agnosta-ta-aitia-thanatoy-tis-47hronis

Fin avril 2020, autre incendie...
►https://seenthis.net/messages/848111

voir aussi le film Bienvenue au Refugistan qui montre bien l’application de ce genre d’innovations dans les camps de réfugiés :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/502311