AYS Daily Digest 17/05/2021 — Hundreds of People in Distress Across the Mediterranean
56 People Pushed Back From Cyprus//Racist Statements From Top Greek Prosecutor//Police Confining People to Camps in Serbia
FEATURE
Hundreds of People In Distress in the Mediterranean
This weekend and the beginning of this week saw hundreds of people in distress in different areas of the Mediterranean.
Ceuta alone saw 900 arrivals on Monday. As of this morning, the number had gone up to 5,000 people. Over 100 people made the crossing by swimming the dangerous waters between Morocco and the Spanish enclave.
In the Central Mediterranean, the Sea-Eye 4 rescued over 400 people between mid-day on Sunday and today. In at least one of the cases, a Frontex plane had spotted the people in distress but had done nothing to alert rescuers or get the people to safety—the crew only found the people by following the plane’s suspicious circling. In another case, Frontex was probably involved in pulling people back to Libya. The job of rescuing people in distress at sea falls completely on NGO rescue ships, as European authorities refuse to communicate information about distress cases, organize rescues, or even provide a safe port for people in need.
The so-called Libyan Coast Guard “rescued” 683 people over the weekend. In reality these people were pulled back to a country where they will most likely face torture, starvation, and deprivation of rights. This is in addition to the 1,074 people that were pulled back to Libya last week.
Unfortunately, the beginning of the week also brought tragic updates. Over the weekend, AlarmPhone was contacted by a boat with 100 people in distress off the Libyan coast. They then lost contact with the people and never got a response from the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. On Monday, they learned from local fishermen that they’d been able to rescue 62 people, but dozens more are missing, presumed drowned.
The situation in the coming days is also expected to be tense. There is a weather alert for the western Mediterranean. Strong winds and big waves are expected in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Every week and every weekend, rescue organizations report hundreds of arrivals, crossings, and distress cases. It is too easy to turn one of the most dangerous border crossings in the world into a numbers game. Stories like these, the story of Moussa who survived 22 days at sea in a patera, remind us of the awful experiences that people go through to reach Europe.
CYPRUS
56 People Pushed Back to Lebanon
A group of 56 people that tried to reach Cyprus from Lebanon was intercepted at sea by Cypriot authorities then forced to return. This is the third such case in the past eight months.
GREECE
Racist Statements From a Top Prosecutor
Anna Zaire, the president of the Greek Union of Prosecutors who is also the Deputy Prosecutor for the Supreme Court said that a recent spate of murders is due to “the influx of populations that do not embrace the same values as the Greeks.” She made this statement on the TV show “Good Morning Greece.”
How are people on the move supposed to expect justice in the courts when such a high-ranking official openly makes racist statements on national television?
Greece’s Refugee Asylum Services are further limiting the services offered. Offices will only receive urgent asylum applications and limited numbers of interviews along with a few other services. More information here.
Legal Center Lesvos and the Moria 6 need your help! They are calling for international trial observers to observe the cases of the remaining four, which will take place on June 11th in Chios. For more information, including how to apply, go here.
SERBIA
Police Confining People to Camps
People on the move in Subotica are saying that the police are stopping them when they go into town to buy food and force them to return to the camps. Most people always carry IDs and permits to leave the camp with them, but the police do not respect their paperwork.
HUNGARY
Violent Pushbacks From Hungary to Serbia
Asylum Protection in Serbia collected the statements of a group of six people that were the victims of violent pushbacks at the Hungarian-Serbian border. The Hungarian police beat them with batons and attacked them with police dogs. It’s unfortunately more and more common that people have to seek medical attention for injuries such as broken shins in the Subotica hospital due to the violence inflicted by the Hungarian police.
SPAIN
Fire in Palos Shanty Town
Over the weekend, a fire broke out in a shanty town near Palos de la Frontera, in the southern Spanish province of Huelva. It destroyed 60% of the encampment and two people were injured. While we don’t have any details about the identity of the injured people, besides the fact that they were a man and a woman, many of these shanty towns are home to migrant workers.
FRANCE
6 Expulsions in Calais
Sunday morning, French authorities conducted another series of expulsions in Calais. There are videos of them confiscating people’s tents, tarps, and even personal belongings.
Three years ago, little Mawda was shot and killed in the arms of her mother by Belgian police during an attempted crossing to the UK near Grand-Synthe. Refugee Women’s Centre organized a commemoration event for her, whilst the justice system seems to have forgotten.
SWITZERLAND
More Surveillance of Asylum Seekers
The Swiss government is expanding its network of video surveillance inside and outside centers for asylum seekers. Officials said that the increase in surveillance is in response to an increase in violent incidents among people inside the centers. However, organizations such as Swiss Refugee Aid pointed out that people in federal centers are already under tight surveillance and control. The additional cameras will only increase the prison-like feeling.
DENMARK
Protests Across the Country in Support of Syrian People
Danish activist groups have organized demonstrations in 19 different cities in support of Syrian people in the country. They will take place on Wednesday. For more information (and to find a demonstration near you if you are in Denmark) go here.
UK
Schools Demand Proof of Nationality For Pupils
Human rights organizations published screenshots of a communication from a school telling parents about “passport review,” where students must bring their passports to school for the administration to verify their nationality and immigration status. This comes after campaigners from Schools ABC got education authorities to stop collecting data on nationality and country of birth for their students.
The legality of these passport checks, which multiple schools are carrying out, is contested. Formally it was made illegal three years ago, but schools are saying that due to Brexit they are now obligated to check that pupils have leave to remain. Unfortunately, immigration law is so convoluted even human rights lawyers are confused about the legality of these checks.
EU/Frontex
Plan For Sponsored Returns Falling Apart
The EU’s new Pact on Migration attempted to bridge the failures of solidarity among EU member states by allowing states to either take in people on the move or to sponsor returns. However, new documents that were drawn up earlier this year reveal that member states cannot even agree on sponsoring returns.
Some states disagreed with the proposal, claiming that it is a way of sneaking in relocation because if a person is not deported within a decided window of time they would be relocated to the sponsoring member-state. Others took issue with the eight-month window for executing a deportation and wanted to shorten it. Member states also pointed out the lack of detail in what happens when someone lodges a subsequent application for international protection or hides during the waiting period.
Even this compromise is contentious among EU member states, showing how difficult it will be to draw up a concrete relocation system.
The EU’s office of the Mission to Libya reopened today after a lengthy closure. However, this means that while the EU deemed Tripoli unsafe for its own staff, it was promoting returns of people on the move there.
GENERAL
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. We extend our solidarity with all LGBTQI people, particularly people on the move who often have to flee their homes due to discrimination and danger and face additional dangers on the route to Europe. Even once they presumably reach safety, they are under pressure from legal authorities to prove their sexual orientation or gender identity, which is a difficult thing to prove.
For more on the experience of LGBTQI asylum seekers, check out this weekend’s special from Samos.
LSE Invites Uncritical Propaganda From Mitarakis
The London School of Economics invited Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis to deliver the Hellenic Observatory Annual Lecture, called the “Migration Crisis and its Impact for Europe.”
To invite Minister Mitarakis to talk about migration at all is a shame, to allow him to speak without any kind of context or opposition is downright irresponsible. Mitarakis has a history of making racist statements and outright lying about the situation in order to incite xenophobic sentiment. How can he be trusted to deliver a lecture?
WORTH READING
This article talks about the complicated situation with regards to vaccines in Greek camps. The vaccination campaign was delayed, even though the people in the camp are among the most vulnerable, and now many do not trust the medical establishment or the vaccine.
Find daily updates and special reports on our Medium page.
If you wish to contribute, either by writing a report or a story, or by joining the info gathering team, please let us know.
We strive to echo correct news from the ground through collaboration and fairness. Every effort has been made to credit organisations and individuals with regard to the supply of information, video, and photo material (in cases where the source wanted to be accredited). Please notify us regarding corrections.
If there’s anything you want to share or comment, contact us through Facebook, Twitter or write to: areyousyrious@gmail.com
