AYS Daily Digest 09/04/2020– Yazidi Teenager Stabbed to Death in Germany
Greece Seeks Help from EU to Manage Epidemic///Strict Quarantine in Serbia///Libya, Malta and Italy Close Their Ports///And More
FEATURE
15-Year-Old Yazidi Boy Killed in Germany
Today, we want to take a moment to remember the life of Arkan Hussein Kjo, who was only a child when he was killed in the Germany city of Celle while riding his bicycle.
Kjo’s family was from the Sinjar region of Iraq and survived the Yazidi genocide before resettling in Germany in 2015, when Arkan was only 10 years old. The untimely death of anyone, especially a child, is heartbreaking. It is especially tragic considering the terrible things he survived with his family, only to be killed while on his way home. His family is heartbroken by the tragedy, as seen in this statement by his older sister Helime Hussein Khalaf.
“Why did they kill my brother in the middle of the road? We are harmless [Ezidi] people, they took everything away from us, we came here over the waters [sea] and drowned in blood.”
The attacker was a 29-year-old German man who was immediately arrested. Police are speculating that the perpetrator may be mentally ill, saying he was “confused” at the time of arrest. However, there is still the possibility that he was motivated by racism and xenophobia. Unfortunately, attacks against people on the move, including children, have been common across Europe. These violent acts are fueled by xenophobic rhetoric spouted by politicians and public figures.
If a racist motive is confirmed in Kjo’s case, he will sadly not be the first nor the last child killed by Europe’s xenophobia. People, including children, are dying every day due to hate crimes, border violence, and horrid conditions in border camps. Just last month, an Iraqi infant and a young Syrian boy drowned off of the coast of Greece. The official story surrounding their deaths was murky and original reports did not uncover any particular signs of foul play. However, a later Al Jazeera investigation uncovered that the boat the children were on was in fact attacked by the Greek Coast Guard, which later tried to cover up the infant’s death. Although the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two children are unclear, even if the Coast Guard did not directly attack their boat they are still victims of racist border policies.
We must remember the life of Arkan Hussein Kjo and work to make sure that no child is needlessly killed again.
GREECE
Greece Asks for Help to Manage COVID-19 Crisis
Camp residents and NGOs such as MSF have been warning that an epidemic of COVID-19 in Greek camps would be a catastrophe and that the Greek government by itself is unprepared. The Greek government asked other European governments for support in creating medical isolation facilities to manage crowded camps among other things. Austria committed to sending 181 shipping containers, which will become housing and healthcare centers.
Austria is one of the richest countries in Europe yet is notoriously unwilling to grant asylum. Accepting asylum seekers so they do not have to live in crowded camps would be far more helpful than sending shipping containers, but hopefully this can make conditions in the camps a little bit more bearable.
Other European countries are gradually accepting people held in camps. Plans to resettle unaccompanied minors are set to begin next week. This week, five minors won their family reunification cases. However, even after children receive a positive answer, it often takes months for them to actually be reunited with their family. We hope these children will be able to leave Moria soon.
The Council of Europe published a report on torture and inadequate conditions in Greek prisons and detention centers. They condemned the overcrowding and violence that are characteristic of the Greek system. The full report can be found here.
There will be a collection of supplies for refugees and vulnerable persons who are imprisoned in Petrou Ralli on Saturday from 11–4. More information (in Greek) can be found here.
SERBIA
Strict Quarantine Makes Life Difficult For People on the Move
All of Serbia has been under strict quarantine measures for almost a month to try and stop the spread of COVID-19. However, these measures are hitting the most vulnerable, such as people on the move, the hardest. They are isolated and denied freedom of movement while housed in conditions that make stopping the spread of disease almost impossible.
There is an almost complete ban on movement in and out of refugee centers, which makes it impossible for NGOs to provide basic services or even accurate information to those trapped inside. The confinement has increased tensions within the camps, especially since people no longer have access to mental health support, and violent clashes have broken out. The camps are so crowded that proper social distancing measures are impossible to implement.
The situation in neighboring Bosnia & Herzegovina is similar — people on the move are confined completely to overcrowded camps. So far, there haven’t even been any cases of coronavirus among people on the move in Bosnia, so locking people in camps has no clear medical benefit. Limiting freedom of movement in such extreme ways is unfortunately motivated by xenophobia.
LIBYA
Libyan Ports Closed
While European countries close their ports due to the COVID-19 epidemic, Libya closed the port in Tripoli due to heavy shelling. Authorities are refusing to accept people rescued at sea. People are forced to stay on overcrowded coast guard ships.
The Libyan coast guard is also refusing to carry out rescue operations because they claim they do not have protective equipment such as masks. Meanwhile, European authorities are refusing to carry out rescue operations because they say the Libyans are the relevant authorities. While governments pass responsibility between each other, people will continue to die at sea.
MALTA
Malta’s Ports Are Closed, People Stranded at Sea
On Thursday, the Maltese government announced it would close its ports to people on the move, following Italy’s lead. They said these measures are to prevent the spread of COVID-19, so no people rescued by NGO vessels or any other ships will be allowed to enter Malta.
As a reminder, the global spread of COVID-19 was mostly caused by tourists and wealthier travelers, not people fleeing from war and poverty.
On Thursday, a boat carrying about 70 people contacted AlarmPhone and said they were attacked by the Maltese military when they entered Maltese waters. The military cut the cable of the boat’s motor and told them, “I leave you to die in the water. Nobody will come to Malta.” AlarmPhone lost contact with that ship, but the Times of Malta published information from other sources who said that ship was rescued by the Maltese army in the end.
ITALY
Nonprofits Condemn Italy’s Decision to Close the Ports: “We Must Save All Lives, At Sea And On Land”
MSF, Sea-Watch, Open-Arms, and Mediterranea published a statement condemning Italy’s decision to close its ports to “foreign ships”, allegedly to stop the spread of coronavirus. People rescued at sea will have nowhere to go as ports across Europe close their gates, except back to war-torn Libya which is hardly safe. The organizations condemned Italy’s hypocrisy in taking this measure while asking for solidarity from the rest of the world to support its own struggles.
FRANCE
Indefinite Confinement Affects People in Calais
The French government placed the country under indefinite confinement in an effort to contain the COVID-19 virus, however, this is hurting people stuck in already horrendous conditions in camps such as Calais. Less and less volunteers mean there are fewer services available. People are relying on food packs supplied by the French government to survive because you need a printed and signed piece of paper to move about. Crowded conditions in the camps also mean the virus, which is already present, can spread quickly.
Refugee Info Bus has information about what services are still provided in English and in French.
SWITZERLAND
Conditions in Camps Worsen After Lockdown
People on the move are still kept in crowded conditions even as governments across the world stress the importance of social distancing. In the camp of Urdorf in Zurich canton, men are kept in underground bunkers with no access to fresh air or daylight. Even the Swiss army no longer houses its soldiers in bunkers.
Similar crowded conditions are present in NUK Adliswil, the camp for families and women. While in Urdorf there have been no coronavirus cases yet, there have already been several in the family camp and the government took days to relocate the sick.
In addition to crowded conditions, people inside these detention centers do not receive proper nutrition which is crucial to boosting the immune system. The government has suspended the emergency aid asylum seekers are entitled to and they are almost completely cut off from nonprofits and solidarity workers.
THE NETHERLANDS
Dutch Government Will Not Compensate People For Slow Asylum Process
Until now, Dutch law required that the government compensate asylum seekers if their applications take longer than six months to process. After the government realized there is a current backlog of 14,000 cases, and that they are already indebted between €30 and €40 million to asylum seekers, they drafted emergency legislation to stop payments. Instead of working to streamline the asylum process, the government is working to take away money from already vulnerable people.
GERMANY
Support Services For People on the Move Affected by Epidemic
The epidemic means less support is available for people on the move in Germany. Many government offices are closed and nonprofits and volunteer groups are limiting their services. The shutdown of the government means family reunification will be delayed as consulate offices shut down. Information about what is open and where to turn to for help can be found here.
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