Humanitarianism in crisis
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HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE 9 The elections of September 20, 2015, showed an increase from 5% to 7% for Lesbos and 8% for Greece as a whole, strengthening fears over a growing intolerance and potentially hostile treatment of migrants. 10 Locals have successfully filed lawsuits against local businesses who engage in exploitative pricing policies, but the practice continues. Throughout the entirety of the crisis to date, there has been one isolated incident of violence towards immigrants by locals. In late summer two 17-year- old boys threw Molotov cocktails into a park where migrants were sleeping. No injuries were reported and the two were immediately arrested and prosecuted. Nevertheless, the continued inability of the government to properly manage the situation places at risk the relative calm and peace that exists between locals and migrants. t he fAr
- right
reAction
Throughout the more than six years of austerity Greece has endured, a growing fascist presence has taken hold, with around 7.5 percent 9 of all
Greeks holding extreme fascist beliefs and hostile ideologies towards immigrants and refugees. These groups try to incite panic by spreading lies and misinformation about abuses committed by the migrants. Such tales fill people with fear about a pending Muslim invasion and further polarize the local people. Among the rumor-generated fears expressed are sentiments such as “the Muslims will rape our daughters or will break into our houses.” l ocAl exploitAtion Some locals have taken to exploiting the situation, attempting to profit by charging inflated prices for prepared food or transportation. Based on their own testimonies, immigrants and refugees are approached by profiteers claiming that the price of goods or services is different for refugees versus immigrants, that pricing depends more on how much the seller stands to make rather than on an established, fair pricing system. Numerous small businesses have been set up outside the camps for many months, selling overpriced food, water, and clothes and requesting money for charging mobile phones.
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Additionally, there is a small percentage of people who aim to make money directly off of the smuggling industry itself. These islanders lurk at the shores, targeting the engines of the boats on which migrants arrive. According to the testimony of local fishermen, those who can get their hands on an engine can sell it for at least Euro 300. Though this act does not cost migrants anything directly, and while in fact numerous times migrants can be heard telling fishermen who assist them to take the engines for themselves as reward, it further polarizes locals who don’t tolerate this practice. e nvironmentaL impact . 19
HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE a d - hoc camp at e idomeni . c redit : f reedom h ouse t he efforts
of
the ngo
s Since September 2015, 81 non-governmental organizations have settled on the island, an outsized number for an island the size of Lesbos. Thousands of volunteers operate at key points, helping to reinforce humanitarian efforts. Many NGOs operate at the shores, providing lifesaving assistance to the disembarking refugees. Others provide transportation from the shores to the reception camps, saving the arrivals an otherwise long and difficult walk. NGOs operating within the camps offer food, water, and dry winter clothes. Medical teams also operate inside the camps and also at the shoreline, alleviating some of the strain placed on the local hospital. A few NGOs provide interpretation services to facilitate communication between migrants and local authorities or doctors. Many NGO workers also advise migrants about the registration process and the difficulties they will face during the rest of their trip. Other NGOs have organized garbage removal campaigns and provision of rubbish bins, while others have created safe areas for children. A small number of NGOs has provided local authorities and the hospital with specialized equipment. However, a lack of coordination between the large number of NGOs and volunteers, along with the relatively small size of the island, has caused difficulties. As of early March, only 30 NGOs were properly registered and cooperating with the local municipality and authorities. This disregard of the law, along with the poor treatment that some NGOs show towards local volunteers, has raised concerns amongst officials, particularly about those NGOs which appear to provide medical care without employing properly trained medical professionals. The need for coordination and management of the volunteers on the ground is ever more crucial (Boris Cheshirkov, UNHCR spokesperson) to avoid duplication of effort, misidentification of the needs of refugees and to avoid backlash from locals who are treated disrespectfully and whose efforts are often dismissed.
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HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE r ecent chAnges
in
the e uropeAn scene
And
their
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refugees By the time immigrants and refugees reach Greece, settle into a camp, and complete the registration process, they have experienced more injustice, maltreatment, and suffering than most will encounter in a lifetime. In the face of this reality, many take the humanitarian response of locals and the government for granted. However, as they begin their attempt to journey past Greece into northern Europe through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM), Serbia, Hungary, and Bulgaria, a new realization takes hold. Once reaching mainland Greece, refugees and migrants must pay more for ground transportation to reach the country’s northern border to go to fYRoM and continue towards their destination countries. Those who provided testimony for this report said that their destination country is often based on the speed of asylum processing, the economic condition of the country, and whether they have family in those countries. However, political developments in neighboring Balkan countries have now led to the placement of many restrictions on those wishing to continue their journey to asylum. Last September, Slovakia announced the closure of its borders with Hungary. In October, Hungary, a major crossing point into Austria and Germany, blocked its borders with Croatia. This decision forced a detour in the migration route, cutting instead through Croatia. During the same month, Austria announced that it had built a metal fence along the borders with Slovenia, creating the first barrier between two Schengen-area countries, where the movement of people is supposed to be free and unrestricted. In December, fYRoM erected a fence along its border, allowing only Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis to cross. This forced the Greek police to transfer more than 2,250 people back to Athens and house them in government controlled emergency transit centers. February 2016 may be considered the month when Balkan countries turned their backs on the refugees, with the rest of Europe witnessing the situation and Greece facing a heightened humanitarian emergency. On February 19, 2016, Austria imposed a daily entry limit of 3,200 and a daily limit of 80 asylum applications, resulting in changes throughout the Balkans and more stranded refugees. On February 22, Slovenia announced the erection of a fence at the borders with
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HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE 11
They must present a photo ID in order to cross. 12
Under the new deal, the hostpots have now become detention centers. “ It is impossible to overlook the desire of these people to reach Europe by any means possible. ” Austria and Hungary, while the border with Croatia was secured with the aid of military troops. Under pressure, Croatia warned that blocking the main migration route through Croatia to Austria and Germany would also lead to the closing of Croatian borders, as the country could not alone house all those prevented from entering Austria and Germany (The Guardian, February 25, 2016). On the same day, February 22, fYRoM also sealed its borders, forbidding entrance to Afghanis and allowing only a limited number of Syrians and Iraqis to cross, imposing at the same time additional, stricter controls 11 (UNHCR, February 25, 2016) On February 24, Albania warned that it too would close its borders if fYRoM fully sealed its border with Greece. Bulgaria, being a major transit country for those who do not cross the Aegean Sea but instead travel by land through Turkey, extended the fence it had already built on its border with Turkey. Hungary called for an anti-refugee quota referendum, and Czech Republic called for the formation of a special migration police unit (The Guardian, February, 25, 2016). These political developments led to a build-up of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers stranded on the Greek side of the fYRoM border. By February 26, more than 15,000 refugees were stranded at the border and in need of accommodation and food (UNHCR, 2016). On March 18, EU leaders signed a historic deal with Turkey aimed at shutting down the main migration route used by refugees and migrants and offloading the crisis to another country. Under the terms of the new deal, new migrants entering Greece by way of Turkey after March 20, 2016, will be deported to Turkey. Those deemed eligible to seek asylum will be placed in refugee camps in Turkey, while those deemed ineligible will be returned to their home countries. In exchange, Europe will provide Turkey with an additional Euro 3 billion in financial support and a pledge to resettle one Syrian refugee within Europe for each Syrian refugee returned to Turkey, capped at a maximum of 72,000. Deportation began on April 4, when 202 migrants and refugees were deported to Turkey under heavy security. Ironically, arrivals of migrants and refugees from Turkey to the Greek islands have not ceased, with 1,276 arrivals between April 1st and 4th and 26,623 for the month of March (UNHCR). It is impossible to overlook the desire of these people to reach Europe by any means possible. As of April 5, 2016, 52,352 migrants and refugees were stranded in Greece, with 35,088 located in transit camps in mainland Greece; 11,280 in Eidomeni at the border with fYRoM; and 5,984 on the Greek islands generally. Despite the Greek government's attempts to evacuate the camp at Eidomeni due to the squalid living conditions and due to the large (4,000) number of children living there, refugees refuse to leave, hoping against all hope to cross the sealed border towards northern Europe. In the Moria detention center, 12 3,149 migrants and refugees are now detained, 2,800 of whom have requested asylum within the past few days in response to the new deal. 22
HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE A growing industry
in
smuggling
And trAfficking It is expected that the number of refugees and asylum seekers who will be exploited by smugglers and traffickers will rise in proportion to the stricter and very selective entry mechanisms put in place by transit and destination countries. It follows that as long as there is no governmentally established method for refugees to cross into Europe, those out of money and unable to feed their families will increasingly look to the smuggling and trafficking industry as their only choice. There is a growing concern that governmental efforts to stem the flow of migrants could lead to more covert smuggling, higher prices, and more violence against already vulnerable and traumatized people. If migrants and refugees are unable to pay the increased prices, they may engage in forced labor or subject themselves to sexual exploitation in an effort to secure the funds to pay for their journey. Those at highest risk tend to be from poorer economic backgrounds (UNHCR, 2016), as well as unaccompanied children. As established routes through the Balkans become inaccessible, many will be steered toward alternative routes, including those that they had previously avoided due to the presence of anti-immigration and far-right ideologies. In countries such as Bulgaria and Hungary, for instance, there have been documented cases where migrants were abused, beaten, robbed, and attacked with police dogs. Such cases are of particular concern, as these migrants have no access to health care to tend to their wounds (Human Rights Watch, January 20, 2016). In light of these events it remains unclear whether the measures put in place to combat smuggling and trafficking are doing more harm than good. Of particular concern is the new European Union-Turkey deal and its far reaching implications. In protest of the deal and its terms, many NGOs have scaled back or suspended operations in the Moria camp, refusing to “be instrumentalized for a mass expulsion operation and be part of a system that has no regard for the humanitarian or protection needs of asylum seekers and migrants” (M.E. Ingres, MSF Head of Mission in Greece). The deportation of these vulnerable people to Turkey will likely place them at increased risk for many types of exploitation, including child exploitation, as echoed by recent reports from Human Rights Watch (2015).
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HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE i nsteAd of
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epilogue This chaotic and massive flow of people marks the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. It is a crisis that Greece and the whole of Europe were not prepared for and are not currently able to handle. The disparate approaches by countries inside and outside the European Union have led to deep political divisions amongst neighboring nations that threaten the unity and cooperation the Union has strived to achieve. Beyond Europe, the crisis has sparked global debate and widespread outrage, and has even influenced domestic policies far beyond the European Union. This global crisis requires a global humanitarian response. None of the European countries, despite unilateral attempts to implement responsive measures of one kind or another, are able to halt the momentum of this movement. The safety and economic prosperity Europe has created, along with its established social welfare systems, act as magnets attracting those fleeing from war, oppression, and persecution. History and human nature show that people will face every risk to save themselves and their families, yet the response by many countries in Europe seems to ignore this fact. Through attempts to “stem the flow of immigrants,” they ignore the potential for shattering the European Union and for dismantling the Schengen Zone. Also, the policy that Europe has adopted paradoxically seems to encourage illegal immigration, empowering the smuggling and trafficking industry more and more.
The actions taken by sovereign nations to protect and care for those lucky enough to reach their borders will indeed define the legacy of those nations. Europe’s responsibility is dictated by its values and founding principles, “the protection of fundamental human rights and freedom and to ensure freedom, security and justice.” If there is to be hope for Europe and for the rest of the world, Europe must not turn its back on its own history nor on the promises it made to the world. Europe must stand united and resolute in its response, committed to upholding the human rights of those risking their lives to reach her doorstep. Vasileia Digidiki April 2016 Boston, MA
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HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE r eferences Batchelor, T. (2015, December 6th ). The New Iron Curtains: Where the fences are going up across Europe to keep migrants out. Retrieved from: http://www. express.co.uk/news/world/624488/Europe-border-fences-migrant-crisis. Greek Police Data (a). (2016). Immigration Data. Retrieved from: http://www. astynomia.gr/images/stories//2015/statistics15/allodapwn/8_statistics_all_2015_ methorio.JPG. Greek Police Data (b). (2016). Immigration Data. Retrieved from: http://www. astynomia.gr/images/stories//2014/statistics14/2013_ethsio_all_.JPG. Greek Police Data (c). (2016). Immigration Data. Retrieved from: http://www. astynomia.gr/index.php?option=ozo_content&lang=%27..%27&perform=view&i d=38019&Itemid=1240&lang Greek Police Data (d). (2016). Immigration Data. Retrieved from: http://www. astynomia.gr/images/stories//2015/statistics15/allodapwn/11_statistics_ all_2015_sull_yphkoothta.png. Human Rights Watch (2016, January, 20). Bulgaria: Pushbacks, Abuse at Borders. Halt Summary Returns, Beatings, Robbery of Asylum Seekers. Retrieved from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/20/bulgaria-pushbacks-abuse- borders.
Human Rights Watch (2015, November 8). When I Picture My Future, I See Nothing. Retrieved from: https://www.hrw.org/node/282910/. Ministry of Welfare (1920). Welfare of Refugees (1917-1920) (in Greek). Athens. The Guardian (2016, February 25). “Europe braces for major ‘humanitarian crisis’ in Greece after row over refugees.” Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian. com/world/2016/feb/25/europe-braces-major-humanitarian-crisis-greece-row- refugees. UNHCR (2016). Refugees/Migrants Emergency Response-Mediterranean. Retrieved from: http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/documents.php?page=1&vi ew=grid&Country%5B%5D=83. Yüklə 190,29 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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