AYS News Digest 17/5/23: Appeal for help for 500 unaccompanied minors
News and updates, long reads // Paris unaccompanied minors need support and Utopia volunteers // Greek reports on border securitisation // Report on hunger at the borders // on the EU strategy to deliberately slow rescue operations
FEATURED
France — Associations Utopia 56, TIMMY , TARA and MIE Midis call for support and, along with direct help through volunteering with one of the field teams, you can support them by signing this petition addressed to Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne, Charlotte Caubel, Gérald Darmanin, Eric Dupond Moretti, Olivier Véran, Marc Guillaume, Léa Filoche and Anne Hidalgo.
Background: As we have been reporting, the unaccompanied minors supported by Utopia teams need help and urgent relocation, especially after the far-right raid on the premises.
Since 4 April 2023, more than 500 unaccompanied minors (UM) in recourse sleep on the floor in an abandoned school in the Paris 16th arrondissement, without water or electricity. They took refuge in this place to escape the police violence they face daily in the street. They wish to make their deep distress heard, and urgently obtain dignified and sustainable accommodation.
In spite of what you might have heard in the media, things are different and quite serious for those in the situation of having nowhere else to go. If you want to find out more details, please read the entire text of the petition which you can also sign HERE.
The demands of this petition are:
We ask that the 500 unaccompanied minors who have taken refuge in the school in Paris 16th arrondissement be immediately sheltered.
We wish to open a peaceful and responsible dialogue with the Prefecture of Ile de France and the departments in charge of child protection.
We call for a review of the evaluation process for foreign unaccompanied minors, which is too uncertain in view of the consequences for the future of those concerned, and for an inclusive policy to be put in place in consultation with specialized associations.
We call for the presumption of minority to be enshrined in law, and for the creation of reception facilities throughout France, to protect unaccompanied minors until the end of their appeals, in places adapted to their vulnerability.
The future and safety of these adolescents cannot be the cynical issue of political rivalries, and their systematic protection is a national emergency. A dignified reception of exiled people is possible and depends solely on a state will, as has been put in place for Ukraine.
Also, Utopia is looking for more volunteers:
GREECE
Hungry in Europe
A new report released by INTERSOS HELLAS in cooperation with HIAS Greece and the Greek Council for Refugees entitled: ‘Being Hungry in Europe: An Analysis of the Food Insecurity Experienced by Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants, and Undocumented People in Greece’ presents evidence met during the implementation of the Food for All project. The report was presented during a press conference held in Athens on 15 May.
According to the report:
- 30.1% of those who received assistance through the FfA project hold the legal status of a recognized refugee;
- Most individuals who benefited from the FfA project (54%) are children, of whom one out of three (23.7%) are under four years old.
- 59.4% access food only one-three times per week
Find the entire report here.
“Guarding our borders is a priority, it is a national imperative”
The head of EP’s largest political group, EPP, and the Deputy Minister of National Defence in Greece met to admire the surveillance and border system near Evros. If you want a few more details, visit the local media report. However, if you want to read a more detailed analysis and understand the meaning behind the whole mechanism, you can also read this piece, also proposed in our “worth reading” section.
EVENTS
Action Day
“On 20 June — World Refugee Day — Abolish Frontex calls for an international decentralised day of action for all anti-racist and no-border collectives, for all groups fighting for rights and the dignity of people on the move, for all antifascist action fronts, for all associations and NGOs working for freedom of movement, for all individuals and groups who strongly believe that Fortress Europe must fall. The ABOLISH FRONTEX ACTION DAY is a day to amplify our voices, a day to stand up for international solidarity and to raise our voices against the banalization of xenophobic speeches and the rise of structural racism.” See more:
WORTH READING
- Delays in rescue — deliberate, cruel strategy — The EU’s secret weapon against refugees — time
- Palestinian refugees answer questions about the Nakba — Mondoweiss
- A Steel Fence for Europe’s External Borders | Oxford Law Blogs
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