AYS Daily Digest 30/08/2018: Reception centre in Messina, Sicily, denounced for irregularities, still hosts hundreds of people in dreadful conditions
New report by UNHCR gives clear picture of arrivals in Europe / List of needs and donations in BiH / Event in Germany in support of the victims of Chemnitz attack / Proactiva Open Arms to start missions in the Alborán Sea in few weeks / Abuses against people on the move by police in Morocco / Tensions in Libya force 300 people to evacuate from detention centre / And more news…
FEATURE
A real shanty town, overcrowded, made of zinc metal sheet containers, tents, fences and gates, a few almost out of order toilets, and three big rooms with hundreds of bunkbeds, glued to one other. This is how the reception centre of Bisconte-Messina, Sicily was described and presented by a journalist who went there. The “prison,” originally a complex of barracks known as “Gasparro,” was refurnished in 2017, with extra areas for the identification, detention, and expulsion of those “undesired” people on the move.
Since 2017, people have lived there awaiting to know about their destiny in an environment and bureaucratic system that seemed to have forgotten about them.
Just when the case of the Diciotti came to the spotlight and the national authority’s intention to transfer 100 people in the former barrack became clear, local authorities seemed to remember about the structure and immediately pronounced words in favour of the closure of the inhumane hotspot.
Funny enough, just after the media attention, a document was discovered, dated 2017, right before the beginning of the refurbishment works, that stated the irregularity and illegitimacy of the works, works “which would not allow adequate ventilation and air circulation in the living units, as well as inadequate quantity of sunlight.”
Other irregularities were depicted and reported (see link to Italian article) before the beginning of the works but the local authorities at the time didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the reports made by technicians and professionals.
In mid-November, Borderline Sicilia Onlus carried out an investigation inside the structure to find out that only one emergency exit was present in the building, which at the time hosted 600 people, making it difficult to manage any unforeseen emergency.
Flooding occurred regularly, forcing people to sleep in external tents; hot water was present during just a few specific moments of the day, some of the toilets were portable, and no social space was present. Clothes were distributed just once, at the point of arrival, and stayed the same for the entire period of stay in the centre (sometimes even a year or more).
Both people on the move staying in the structure and local residents raised their voices against these inhumane conditions but nothing ever happened and it’s hard to imagine that things will change even after a national call out on media. People will keep struggling on a daily basis and strive to achieve their basic rights. What will authorities do?
LIBYA
Around 300 people have been evacuated from the detention centre of Ain Zara in Tripoli due to tensions and clashes between armed groups fighting in the area. Refugees were left alone and “in clear danger of being caught in the hostilities.”
MOROCCO
Tangier district: Police abuses and violences continue in order to track people on the move down and indiscriminately return them to their country of origin.
SEA
Sea arrivals in the Mediterranean reached the number of 72,409 in 2018, while the number of fatalities has been reported to be 1,540, as shown in recently UNHCR statistics. This marks a decrease of 38% compared to the number of deaths reported in the same period in 2017.
“Most deaths occurred along the Central Mediterranean route (1,095 or 72%) with 317 (21%) of the deaths along the route to Spain. Along land routes, at least 67 refugees or migrants are known to have died so far this year at or near European borders.”
Proactiva Open Arms will move their rescue operations to the Alborán Sea in the next weeks, in support of and collaboration with Salvamento Marítimo.
GREECE
Recent figures published by UNHCR report that around 26,100 people on the move have entered the country so far in 2018 (62% of them by sea). In the month of July alone, more than 2,540 people reached Greek shores, while 1,500 were intercepted by the TCG.
The remaining 38% of the arrivals entered the country through the land border of Evros, where a total of 9,840 people have crossed into Greece up to July 2018.
1,500 people were reported having crossed the land border in the same month, 430 arrivals more compared to June.
Of note is that 17% of the arrivals are Turkish nationals.
As AYS reported yesterday, illegal push backs in the area are frequent and violent. Please read more here.
Arrivals
A boat carrying 87 people has been spotted in the area of Cephalonia, among them six children. Two people have been arrested as traffickers. First aid, water, and food have been supplied.
30 people arrived on Samos this morning:
MAINLAND
A demonstration is planned in Athens on September 1st as part of the European protests planned all over the region to stop the governments that criminalize Sea Rescue and to hold said governments accountable for the deaths happening regularly in the Mediterranean. For more information, please see here.
Lesvos
ITALY
Up to July 2018, over 18,500 people arrived in Italy, UNHCR reports, with less than 2,000 people in July alone. According to the report, this marks “an 83% decrease compared to those who arrived in July last year (11,460).”
The main reason for the acute decline in the number of arrivals is due to the imprisonment people suffer in Libya with the support and protection of the EU, thus just 66% of the arrivals have crossed from Libya, increasing the departures from Tunisia (20%) and Turkey (9%).
More than 2,200 people on the move have been intercepted by the LCG in July alone.
For more information, please see here.
Diciotti case updates
Some important updates on the Diciotti case and the investigations pending on Interior Minister Salvini as reported by Italy’s Refugee Crisis Database.
“28–29 August 2018:
Hundred people staying in the hotspot of Messina (Sicily region) got transferred to the Mondo Migliore center in Rocca di Papa (Lazio region) where they will stay some days before being relocated to several dioceses.30 August 2018:
Two further charges for Salvini: “kidnapping for the purpose of coercion” for the attempt of pressuring the EU preventing the people’s disembarkation and “omission of official records” for having ignored the request of a safe port by the Italian Coast Guard. That makes 5 charges, together with kidnapping, illegal detention of the people on board and abuse of office.
From tomorrow on, the Court of Ministers will take over the investigation”.
SPAIN
With the sick policies adopted by Italy, the fascist and intimidatory acts enacted by Salvini, and the consequent “closure” of the route to Italy, Spain is the next safe port to direct to. 27,600 people reached Spain so far this year “representing an increase of 130% compared to the same period in 2017.” In July alone, 9,600 refugees had landed or crossed the border in seek of shelter and safety, representing a challenge to some existing reception capacities.
31 people landed safely in Melilla despite the negligence and indifference of Spanish and Moroccan authorities.
Meanwhile, 156 Moroccan migrants have been held in Tenerife and charged with “illegal crossing.”
Salvamento Marítimo rescued 227 people in total today with the collaboration of Frontex, 112 of those rescued just in the Alborán Sea.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
With 2,500 arrivals in July alone, BiH reached a peak of 10,100 people presently in transit in the country. Out of this number, 33% of the arrivals are from Pakistan, 15% from Syria, and 12% from Iran. Of these, many try to move on to Croatia and Slovenia.
On the other hand, Serbia reportedly registered 3,600 presences on the territory in July, 250 people more than June.
“Humanitarian needs are particularly critical in USC (Una Sana Canton, northwest of the country) where the daily movement of refugees and migrants is estimated to be between 70 and 90: it is estimated that there are now around 4,500 refugees and migrants there.”
Donations needed in Sarajevo and Velika Kladuša
Please find below a need list for organizations working in and around Sarajevo and Velika Kladuša.
Food:
- Flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Oil
- Cans (lentils, chickpeas, beans, etc.)
- Black tea
- Dried fruit/nuts
NHI:
- Jumpers and jackets
- Small and medium sized trousers
- Small and medium sized t-shirts
- Shoes size 39–43
- Blankets
- Underwear
- Socks
- Backpacks
- Smartphones
If you can help, please contact No Name Kitchen, SOS Team Kladusa, or Souls of Sarajevo.
FRANCE
PARIS
We have here a first hand account of how unjust and still the reception system is in France as people are stuck in Paris for months, dreaming to reach their final destination, be it Belgium, the UK, or others:
“All of them explained that the situation had gotten even worse in the past few weeks — the police had been more & more present at the place where they were sleeping and now keep on pushing them further & further away from Paris, hereby making them more & more invisible — from both the general public and the volunteers trying to bring them essential aid.
They brought me to the place where they now sleep as well as dozens of other people — still along the same highway, but on the other side — meaning they’re not in Paris anymore.
The place is a muddy and polluted hill.”
CALAIS
GERMANY
#wearemore
On Monday, September 3rd join thousands of people in solidarity in Chemnitz to raise our voices against pointless hate, originated by ignorance and fear. Racism should not be left uncontested.
AYS received a message from activists in Germany, warning “migrants in Saxony and especially in Chemnitz should be cautious right now due to right-wing/racist rallies and attacks.” The political environment is toxic in some parts of eastern Germany.
Please, be careful when demonstrating.
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