AYS Daily Digest 17/11/2020 — Violent Dismantling of Camp Saint-Denis
1,700 People Tried to Escape Libya in November Already//GLAN Files Legal Action on Behalf of Syrian Asylum Recipient Deported from Greece to Turkey/& More
FEATURE
French Authorities Violently Clear Saint-Denis Camp
On Tuesday morning, over 2,000 people were evicted from the camp in Saint-Denis, the largest encampment in Paris. The eviction started at 4:30 in the morning and went on for hours, during which hundreds of people were forced to sit and wait without access to water, food or sanitation.
People were then bused to reception centers and gymnasiums set up for temporary housing, although they were not told where they were going. However, the eviction was so poorly coordinated that there were not even enough places on the buses for all the people. Many subsequently went on foot towards La Chapelle.
The French authorities carried out the eviction with their typical violence and aggression. The people, including families with young children, were tear gassed. At one point, a crowd of people were gassed while they were waiting for the bus, when they had nowhere to go. The police also rushed into the crowd.
The people had to burn their belongings that they could not take with them, a tremendous waste of resources and loss of personal items. The police also confiscated their tents instead of letting volunteer organizations take them and reuse them. Volunteer organizations like MARDi and Utopia 56 were on site and had to treat people that were injured by tear gas.
This is the latest eviction which is part of a French strategy that has proven to be highly ineffective. People are evicted from street camps, pushed into other street encampments or temporary shelters, but eventually they end up on the street again. The people are not sleeping on the street because that is where they want to be, but because they have nowhere else to go, since there is no long-term housing provided. Putting them in crowded reception centers and then kicking them out onto the street again after a short time only continues the cycle. Additionally, these conditions are unsafe, as cases of coronavirus in France skyrocket. In March during the first wave, French authorities evicted the camp of Aubervilliers and housed many people in crowded gyms and reception centers that saw outbreaks of COVID-19. What precautions are in place now to prevent an outbreak, besides testing the people when they arrive?
There is no way to describe these systems of evictions besides torture. Forcing people to move constantly without offering them a place to go, and destroying their possessions each time, is torture. Depriving them of sleep by forcing them to gather their belongings at 4:30am, then waiting for almost the whole day to move, is torture. Using tear gas on people in a confined space, such as when they are waiting for a bus, is torture and a violation of UN standards for the usage of tear gas. The people deserve safe and dignified housing now, not to be brutalized by police.
ETHIOPIA
Crisis Continues, People Fear More Will be Displaced
Over 27,000 people have already fled Ethiopia for neighboring Sudan according to the UN, fleeing heavy fighting in the Tigray region in the north. Clashes between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have escalated into a full civil war. The government announced a more aggressive offensive for the end of the week, which could cause even more displacement and loss of life.
SYRIA
Syrians Turn to European Courts to Prosecute War Criminals
Syrians have brought cases against chemical companies, members of terror groups, and even financial institutions like the Doha Bank that bankrolled fighters. Due to vetos in the UN by the Security Council, the war in Syria has never been appraised by the ICC so Syrians have to turn to European Courts to get justice. For more about this legal article, check out this article from DW.
Meanwhile, Russia’s conference on the return of Syrian people to their home country, which was boycotted by the EU, was very poorly attended. Analysts said that the goal of the conference, and Syria’s eventual reconstruction, was financial gain for Russia and other states.
TURKEY
Turkish Coast Guard Pulls Back 249 People
Teams from the Turkish Coast Guard detained 249 people in two separate attempts after they attempted to cross into Europe. The Coast Guard also rescued 27 people that were pushed back into Turkish waters by Greek forces.
SEA
Over a Thousand People Tried to Escape Libya in November
AlarmPhone reported that about 1,700 people tried to reach Europe from Libya in the first two weeks of November. Several dozen died that we know of, and several hundred were pushed back to Libya. AlarmPhone also pointed out that Frontex surveillance flights usually lead to interceptions by the so-called Libyan coast guard, which pulls people back to torturous conditions.
GREECE
GLAN Launches Legal Action on Behalf of Syrian Wrongfully Expelled to Turkey
The Global Legal Action Network and Human Rights 360 filed a complaint against Greece with the UN Human Rights Commission against the wrongful expulsion. Fady, a Syrian man who had received asylum from Germany, was expelled from Greece in 2016 when he went to search for his missing younger brother. While he was searching in the Evros region for his brother, Greek police along with German-speaking officers detained him, stole his papers, then pushed him back to Turkey. He was stranded in Turkey for three years and pushed back eleven times at the border, until he was finally able to travel to Athens and get his documents reissued. Of course, the Greek government denies their involvement and has yet to even begin an investigation.
His brother was never found.
As a result of his ordeal, Fady suffered serious health problems and trauma that he will probably be dealing with for the rest of his life. His case also exposes how the authorities rely on racism and racial profiling to carry out deportations. We hope justice will be served, but no court ruling can give him those years of his life back.
Stand By Me Lesvos organized a training for the camp fire brigade in cooperation of camp management. Many residents, including members of the Moria Corona Awareness Team participated. Unfortunately, conditions in the camp are still fairly dangerous, especially with the bad electrical wiring, so a dedicated fire brigade could save lives.
Elsewhere on Lesvos, near Palios, twenty-five people landed on the island. They hid in the woods out of fear that the police would push them back as has happened to so many others in the past. They contacted Watch the Med — Alarmphone and shared pictures and location data, which they forwarded to local authorities and the UNHCR representative. Eventually the people were taken to the Megala Therma quarantine site, but it is shameful that they have to take such precautions just to be treated in accordance with international law.
Earlier this month, Greece arrested a Tajik asylum seeker connected to an exiled opposition figure because of a “red notice” Interpol warrant issued by Tajikistan. However, the government of Tajikistan has a history of abusing Interpol “red notices” to extradite opposition figures, and they are often imprisoned upon return. We hope Greece will refuse to cooperate with the warrant (there is precedent for this), but European governments have a history of cooperating with despotic regimes on deportations, even when people are in danger of torture.
LIBYA
People Transferred from Libya to Rwanda
The fourth group of stranded asylum seekers evacuated to Rwanda will leave Libya this Thursday, as part of a temporary Emergency Transit Mechanism. However, how long will they be in Rwanda before they are able to find permanent, stable homes where they wanted to go in the first place?
ITALY
Agrigento Prosecutor’s Office to Investigate Shipwreck
The prosecutor’s office in the Sicilian city of Agrigento opened a file on the shipwreck last Wednesday that killed six people, including one infant. They are investigating if the rescue operation was delayed in any way after Open Arms first sounded the alarm, among other possible angles.
The website Il Migrante profiled Linea d’Ombra, an organization led by Lorena Fornasir and Gian Andrea Franchi that helps people crossing from the Balkan route into Trieste. They help by raising money, giving valuable supplies such as clothes and shoes, and administering first aid. Linea d’Ombra are doing very important work, and you can read more about them here.
Eight people on the move were found last Friday in a refrigerated truck near Naples. They were given first aid and taken to local Carabinieri headquarters. The driver was arrested for human trafficking, although he claimed that he had no idea the people were in his truck.
SPAIN
Protests in Gran Canaria as Poor Treatment Continues
Yesterday, our digest reported on conditions in the Canary Islands, which the Interior Minister claims will never be a new Lesvos. He justified his statement because people do not stay on the docks for more than three days.
Yet, the abuses continue. The police evicted around 200 people from the dock in Arguineguin without giving them a place to go. Only at night did the government find buses to take them to a complex of bungalows near Maspalomas. The people told reporters that while they were in Arguineguin, they had only eaten once all day and had no access to showers.
Even if people stay on the docks for only a few days, if they are removed with nowhere else to go afterwards, that is not a sign of a functioning system.
Meanwhile, protestors on the Canary Islands took to the streets calling for better conditions for people on the move. It is time that the government listen to the people and provide dignified housing.
For an overview of the situation there, check out this article from the Christian Science Monitor.
The government of Spain recognized the responsibility of the CIE administration for the death of Samba Martine, a Congolese woman that died in CIE Madrid in 2011 after asking for medical attention ten times. Her family will be compensated financially, but nine years later there is still very little access to medical care for people on the move.
Salvamente Maritimo rescued thirty-two people from two pateras and took them to Almeria, a port city in Andalusia.
Small Victories! Solidarity Wheels was able to help Sami, a young man who has been stuck in Melilla alone for five years, transfer to the mainland. You can read more about his story here. Congratulations to Sami and to those who worked with him—it should have never taken this long.
FRANCE
Calais Authorities Uproot Trees
Calais authorities uprooted trees along one of the most popular promenades in the city in order to prevent people on the move from hiding among them. Apparently, the spot was beloved among local residents and we wonder how they will react to this destruction of nature. The definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face…
AUSTRIA
Ministry of Interior Denies Report of Illegal Pushback
Last week, a journalist for O1 shared the story of several chain pushbacks from Austria all the way to Bosnia & Herzegovina. In response to a lawsuit filed by a Viennese lawyer, the Ministry of Interior denied that an illegal pushback happened and said that the group did not request asylum and instead tried to run from the police. The lawyer, Clemens Lahner, rejected this claim. We will be following this court case as it proceeds, and we hope justice will be served.
GERMANY
Nun Might Go to Prison for Helping Asylum Seekers
Mother Mechthild, a Benedictine abbess, has helped more than thirty people over the years avoid deportations through the practice of church asylum. Church asylum is a legal exemption that allows religious institution to offer sanctuary to people facing deportation. Mother Mechthild has saved people from returning to civil war zones and helped them get their cases reevaluated. For her troubles, she has already been fined twice and the state is threatening her with prison.
Berlin’s Senate decided to sue the Ministry of the Interior over the federal ministry’s refusal to allow the city to take in three hundred vulnerable people from Greek island camps. Several German states have been clashing with the federal government since the Moria fire (and even earlier) because local governments want to do more to help.
SWEDEN
Segregation in Swedish Schools
Many of Sweden’s private schools are de facto segregated. A study found that seven out of ten independent schools in Sweden’s major cities do not have any newly arrived students, and many have fewer students whose native language is not Swedish compared to their public counterparts. Many private schools in Sweden are free, but they require an application that provides a barrier of access for many newly arrived families.
UK
Home Office Policies Cause Self-Harm Incidents to Skyrocket
The Home Office’s drive to deport people that crossed the Channel in small boats, as well as their use of dehumanizing rhetoric, has reportedly caused self-harm incidents to go up by 2,000%. Campaigners have also exposed other ways that the Home Office failed asylum seekers, especially those with mental health issues, for example by failing to identify victims of trafficking who are eligible for more sensitive treatment.
EU
Various Developments in the European Sphere
Yesterday was the first day of Europe Must Act’s action event. Across Europe, people attended demonstrations, dropped banners and otherwise showed their opposition to Europe’s inhumane border policy.
This Thursday, there will be a virtual conference for MEPs and national MPs on how to “manage migration and asylum.” We hope that the attendees will take note of the European people’s opposition to brutality.
ECRE published their press review, collecting important developments from the Canary Islands to Ethiopia.
Frontex bragged on its Twitter that “illegal border crossings[…] fell by 21%” this year. However, AlarmPhone was quick to point out that the reason behind the drop in arrivals was the systemic, illegal pushbacks and interceptions that have caused countless deaths this year. Frontex also conveniently left out its own role in many of these illegal pushbacks, from non-intervention to active cooperation.
Finally, MEP Tineke Strik shared a blog post outlining the failings of the New Migration Pact, and explaining what could actually be done to create a fairer asylum system. She promised to share more relevant documents on migration and other topics in an effort to promote transparency.
WORTH READING
Two pieces of the Berlin Wall marked the entranceway to Lewisham Shopping Center in London just before the latest lockdown. They were installed as part of the Migration Musem, which follows the history of “migration to and from Britain” and empire as detailed here .
This study from Dartmouth College mapped the clusters where people on the move die the most while attempting to cross international borders.
This article, in Italian, strongly outlines why rescue at sea is not only legal but a duty.
Finally, this article offers a comprehensive overview of chain pushbacks from Italy into the Balkans, an ongoing problem.
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