AYS Daily Digest 26/6/2020 — Italy: From push-backs to pull-backs
SPAIN: Regularizacion Ya reach Madrid / GREECE: Man dies in Samos as a consequence of geographic restrictions. Antiracist demos in Athens and Thessaloniki…
Featured — Italian government face legal action for supporting pull-backs by the LCG
On Friday morning Alarm phone received a distress call from international waters, “There are ~95 people on board & they have been at sea for 2 days. They say that a baby was born on board & that the boat is at risk of capsizing. They need rescue urgently!”. Despite the presence of Italian Navy vessels and Maltese aircrafts in the area, no one intervened. Mediterranea’s Mar Jonio vessel tried to reach the boat in distress, but “unfortunately they witnessed the so called Libyan Coastguards conducting an illegal pullback. After almost 3 days at sea, the people will be returned to the hell they were escaping from.” IOM confirmed later that woman gave birth on board and that 6 people are missing, most likely drowned in the Med.
The Centre Suisse pour la Defence des droits des Migrants (CSDM) has submitted a formal request to the UN Committee to launch an inquiry procedure under Article 20 CAT concerning Italy’s conduct in the Central Mediterranean which has lead to the mass torture, rape and forced labour of thousands of refugees and migrants, who were pulled back to Libya. This is related to the agreement between Italian and Libyan authorities, and specifically the Italian’s support of the Libyan coast guard. Even more, in the last few months, while media and rescue organisations attention focused on the ruthless actions of Maltese authorities, Italy attempted to conceal what was happening in the Central Mediterranean even more. The specious attempts and actions to seize rescue boats, the refusal to communicate official statistics, or precise data on rescues and interceptions and the constant silence in response to the distress calls received by Alarm Phone all seem to be part of a well oiled strategy that goes beyond Italy and implicates Maltese authorities as well as the EU through Frontex vessels and planes in the area, turning the central mediterranean into, what journalist Sergio Scandura termed, a black hole of information.
From push-backs to pull-backs
Several reports from UN agencies, NGOs, local sources and journalists have made it impossible to hide or ignore the abuses and violence taking place in Libyan detention centres, both those ran by government forces and those ‘outsourced’ to private militias. As CSDM notes, “the Committee against Torture has itself found that Italy’s co-operation with Libya facilitates the torture of migrants by Libyan actors (CAT/C/ITA/CO/5–6, § 22)” and “both Italian government and European Union officials have publicly acknowledged that this is happening”.
The shift from “push-backs” — involving Italy’s own navy and which were declared illegal by the ECtHR in the Hirsi Jama judgment — to “pull-backs”, where Italy outsources the very same activity to the Libyans, constitutes a naked attempt to avoid accountability under human rights law.
In their submission, the CSDM shows how the LCG is acting on Italy-s behalf.
Specifically, it is operating due to Italy’s comprehensive material and logistical support which includes funds, ships, training, and command and control structures.
Real-time naval and aerial surveillance in the Central Mediterranean is provided by Italy directly and through EU programmes in which it participates. Cooperation between Italy and Libya is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a bilateral treaty signed in 2017 and renewed in 2020, whose stated purpose is to “stem illegal migration” through the provision of Italian resources to “the Libyan institutions in charge of the fight against illegal immigration” such as the “coast guard” (MoU Article 1).
Such financial, material, informative and policy cooperation are essential for the Libyan authorities to able to operate, in this way. “Italy has entirely externalized its border control to Libya”, with such a comprehensive involvement, “that Italy has itself become responsible for the LCG’s conduct under applicable principles of international law”.
SEA
Sea Eye’s Alan Kurdi vessel is free
The ALAN KURDI is free again and is now heading for the Spanish coast. The vessel had been seized by Italian authorities on the 5th of May after a rescue of 150 people, an 11-day stand-off and subsequent quarantine.
Italian coast guard claimed to have detected “serious safety deficiencies”. In response, the German Ministry of Transport had stated that such irregularities do not concern serious safety deficiencies. Sea Eye is considering appealing against Italian authorities.
GREECE
Yet another illegal pushback?
According to the Turkish Coastguard, 455 migrants were intercepted in 13 separate incidents that took place between 19–25 June 2020.
Man dies in Samos due to lack of specialist care and travel restrictions
Vassili Tsarnas reports that a man from Ghana died from epilepsy in Samos refugee camp. He had been visiting the local hospital but received no treatment because there is no neurologist there. He also went there a few hours before his death but was denied entrance. As researcher Tihomiv Sabchev points out, this in one more example of the damage caused by geographic restrictions, especially when a recent law “limited the vulnerability criteria previously used to lift restriction of movement & travel to mainland for health issues”.
Local media reported that the founder of refugee team Cosmos FC on the island of Lesvos, Giorgos Patlakas, has died of cancer. Read more about Cosmos FC HERE.
Education spaces on the islands reopen
Theirworld announced that children have returned to classrooms on the Greek Aegean Islands after weeks of school closures, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Greece shut down the public school system in March, which meant non-formal education centres also had to call a halt to lessons. The centres are run by local organisations, many of them in partnership with the UN agencies UNHCR and UNICEF.
Most are outside the islands’ crowded refugee camps, which are home to more than 10,000 school-age children. So the school closures meant children were confined inside the camps for weeks.
Education continued to be delivered online, through apps and even with school work being passed to students at the camp entrances. But now they are happy to be back in their classrooms.
Anti-racist demonstrations in Greece
A number of demonstrations were held on Friday in Greek cities, protesting against widespread racism, the worsening conditions for people on the move and the migration policies of the government.
Thousands of people protested in the centre of Athens on Friday afternoon, June 26th, at a large rally held at the call of Migrant Communities, Refugee Committees from the camps of Attica, KEERFA, as well as many organisations and collectives.
The rally started with the percussion of African Heritage giving the rhythm early afternoon in Syntagma where a microphone was set up and then they took the floor to speak one after another from the migrant communities and refugee committees from camps, men, women and children of all ages, but also trade unionists from hospitals, food, students.
[…] The slogans in all languages, Greek, French, English, bangla, ordu, farsi, Arabic, did not stop for a moment: “ What do we want? Paper! When do we want them? Now!”, “ Asylum and shelter to refugees — not racist eviction “ “ Eviction to Mitarakis — deport Mitsotakis “, “ From Athens to America — global rebellion “, “ From the Minneapolis to Palestine there is no peace without justice “, Solidarite avec les sans papiers, solidarity avec les emigres s’ “, “ Black Lives Matter “, can’t breathe-nojustice, no peace!. (Εργατική Αλληλεγγύη)
Volunteers needed in Athens
Khora is calling for volunteers. At a time when many others organisations shut down due to the lockdown measures, Khora and other grassroots groups stepped up and distributed thousands of meals and food packs all over the city, through the Athens Food Collective.
If you’re in Athens or planning to go, Khora need help preparing, cooking, and packing food, especially for people coming from the islands.
Shifts are Monday to Friday: 08:00–13:00 and 13:00–18:00
Join them if you can!
Message them HERE or donate to the Athens Food Collective crowdfunder
Read more on the situation for people on the move, especially for minors, in Athens HERE.
SPAIN
‘Regularizacion Ya’ arrives in Madrid
On Friday, the campaign Regularisation Now arrived in Madrid to present their proposal of regularisation for all workers without papers in front of the Spanish parliament.
The campaign started weeks ago. “Last Friday, June 19, in the last days of the state of alarm, a small group of people was on their way to Congress. They carried with them a document that had the backing of more than 1500 social entities, groups, and migrants, who gathered around the #RegularizazionYa movement”. Throughout last weekend, as we reported, demonstrations took place all over the country.
Yesterday was the last step (for now) of this campaign demanding the “urgent, permanent and unconditional” regularisation that could be a vital turnaround for the 600,000 people estimated to reside in Spain in an irregular administrative situation and are therefore deprived of fundamental rights.
This concludes a journey that has taken several weeks of discussion and whose ambition is to overcome the regularization processes that have taken place in Spain, but also models such as the one in Italy — where, due to the health emergency, measures were approved that they envisaged regularization only for workers in certain essential sectors — who, in the words of Edith Espinola, one of the spokespersons for # RegularizaciónYa, are utilitarian and instrumentalist.
Racist police raids against migrant workers in Lleida, Catalunya
Catalonian groups SOS Racismo Catalunya and Fruita Amb Justícia Social denounced the institutional racism spread throughout Catalunya.
… we denounce that the administrations , instead of being guarantors of the rights of all citizens and of giving a dignified solution to hundreds of people in a situation of extreme vulnerability, use the public security forces to harass them with control, expulsion and criminalisation devices that generate more tension and hostility to the population and that normalise among the neighbourhood that non-white people are subject to police harassment, even if they are not committing any crime.
They demand the stop of the constant and racist police raids, so that people who come to work in the fields in the area are treated with the dignity to which they are entitled.
BiH
Lipa Camp
FRANCE
Updates from the Paris area
Solidarité migrants Wilson reported that during the week the police started to give fines and intimidate volunteers supporting people in the makeshfit camps in Saint Denis, Paris. One volunteer intervened while the police was harassing a 14-year-old kid. They were both arrested.
The group organised a solidarity event in front of the police station where they were taken. On the same day, the volunteer was released.
The conditions of the camp by the Saint Denis canal are extremely precarious. We reported last week that people on the move and rough sleepers hosted in hotels in times of coronavirus were being sent in the streets again due to the reopening of commercial activities.
This is a testimony from Nora, SMW volunteer(from Saturday 20th June):
We are working in 3 teams: four people are heading to Paris, four north of the canal St Denis, and my team takes charge of the camp at Pont du Landy where almost 200 people now live… We are now forced to make two go back between the camp and the Belle Etoile, as we do not have enough room in our cart and backpacks to carry all the meals.
Arrived on site, we quickly distribute the first part of our loading, to a mostly Afghan community. I speak long with a small group, one of which speaks French very well. He says he arrived in Paris a few days ago, and in Europe for almost 6 months. […] He keeps saying he doesn’t understand what’s going on. He spent the last three days calling the prefecture to get an appointment for his asylum application, he shows me his phone: 66 unanswered calls, and two phone refills exhausted, because being put on hold cost. He also tried to call 115 a dozen times, no answer. He now finds himself sharing a tent with two other people, and he doesn’t understand: “ How is it possible that we’re out there, without anything to eat for several days? We’re not invisible, people see us, right? So why do we leave us like this? “. He spent his last money on shoes, stolen last night, and is very grateful that we give him the details of the dressing room for migrants, because he has no spare clothes.
There is only one water point, that of the Moglia crossing across the bridge, far enough for everyone, and it is unthinkable to use it for the toilet. To do this, they go to the showers located at Porte de la Chapelle, 3 km from there, and where it is difficult to do less than 2 hours of tail. They have never received either the masks or the gel promised by the City Hall following the referral won a few weeks ago, and are concerned that more and more people will arrive in the current health conditions. The only measures followed were the addition of toilet cabins and rubbish: six cabins and 3 bins for 200 people…
On the other side of the bridge, the news is little more positive: we meet a Sudanese man who explains that most of his neighbors have gone to get food somewhere else because few people come to see them and some haven’t eaten for several days.
If you can, donate to Solidarité Migrants Wilson HERE.
Updates from Calais
Situation is not any better in Calais. According to local organisations’ estimations, around 1,200 people are living in camps in the area between Calais and Dunkirk, with at least 100 minors among them, Infomigrants report. Organisations are worried about the next few months, due to the continuous violent police incursions in the area and the potential lack of items to distribute, as crowfunding events had to halted due to the lockdown measures.
Further reading: Fences and Cameras, by Calais Migrants Solidarity, about fences around walls, or under bridges, fences that are not even a pretence of ‘security’ anymore, fences that force people to move from one place to another, to left-over areas as far as possible from towns ans sensitive locations. In a cycle that makes people’s lives everyday more precarious and push them to concentrate in large numbers and horrible conditions, breeding ground for more tensions… “only to then complain about it and dismantle the one place everyone is! Ring a bell?”
Rescue off the French coast
Local media report that 10 people were rescued off the coast between Calais and Dunkirk. They were attempting to reach the UK, but their boat was unfit for the crossing. They have been taken to the port of Petit-Fort-Philippe.
DENMARK
Danish government harden further its stance on migration
Media report that the Danish government signed a deal with Greek authorities offering € 3 million to Greece to built facilities for unaccompanied refugee and migrant children in the country and launch integration programs in 2021. Danish migration minister stated last week that it is sill undecided how many people on the move the country will accept to accommodate, and that they could be ‘supported’ outside the country instead. Denmark has not yet pledged to welcome minors from Greece either. With the recent offer to Greek authorities, the government is covering the fact that they have adopted the right-wing populist xenophobic and hardline stance on anyone foreign and immigration in general. By this handout, the government attempts to hide the persistent refusals to take in refugees and enabling the narrative to the voters that refugees are best supported far outside of the borders of Denmark.
It has also been announced that the Danish ministry of Integration has cancelled the contract with the humanitarian nonprofit organisation Danish Refugee Council (Dansk Flygtningehjælp) for the supervision and ‘return’ of rejected asylum seekers.
Instead, from August 1st the newly established administration agency for returning rejected asylum seekers under the Danish Ministry of Integration will take over the task of ‘motivating the people in question to agree on voluntarily returns’ to their country of origin, as many countries will only accept returns based on voluntary agreements.
EU/UK
Let child refugees reunite with family
Safe Passage published a petition to demand from the EU that they put forward a plan to include family reunification under Dublin III within the EU/UK Brexit negotiation.
12 people arrested for people’s smuggling over the Channel
British and Belgian police arrested 10 people in Belgium and 2 in the UK in an ongoing investigation over a smuggling network between the two countries, Infomigrants report.
Further reading: An asylum seeker in the UK: Staying alive is a full-time job
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