Greece Rushes to Unblock Camps After Migrant Deaths
Government speeds up measures after deaths in crowded camps that NGOs describe as ‘hell.’
By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
POLITICO.EU
9/30/19, 10:04 PM CET
ATHENS — Greece's government announced on Monday sweeping measures to deal with a sharp increase in migration flows, a day after a killer blaze in a notoriously overcrowded camp on the island of Lesbos.
Following a Cabinet meeting, the government said it would try to decongest camps on the Aegean islands, by transferring people to the mainland and setting up closed pre-departure centers for those who are to be deported or sent back to their country of origin. It also said it would create a “safe-country list” for people who have illegally entered Greece, making it easier to send them back if they are not at risk at home.
The goal is for some 20,000 people to leave the squalid conditions in the islands' reception centers, Greek officials said. The center-right government also aims to deport some 10,000 people in 2020, compared with the approximately 1,800 people deported in total during the past four and a half years under the previous left-wing Syriza government.
The newly elected New Democracy party is grappling with a significant surge in migration flows that is exacerbating the poor conditions in reception centers in the Aegean that receive the bulk of migrants.
Greece is once again the main point of entry for migrants coming to Europe, with new arrivals at their highest level since an agreement between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016 to reduce the flow.
Some 23,000 people have landed on Greek shores in the last three months. This year so far, about 46,000 people have entered the country via its land and sea borders. The other two European frontline states, Spain and Italy, have jointly received a total of 29,000 migrants so far in 2019.
The situation in Greece could escalate even further if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes good on his threat to reopen the borders if he doesn't receive adequate international support.
On Sunday, the charred corpse of a woman was recovered from the infamous Moria camp on Lesbos, after fires broke out. Her baby, along with 16 other people, were transferred to hospital. The unrest came a few days after a five-year-old Afghan boy was accidentally run over and killed by a truck on the fringes of the camp. A teenage boy was stabbed to death late August in a brawl.
“No one can call the fire and these deaths an accident. This tragedy is the direct result of a brutal policy that is trapping 13,000 people in a camp made for 3,000,” said Marco Sandrone, a field coordinator for the NGO Doctors Without Borders. He described the camp in question as "hell."
Greece said it plans to completely transform its asylum process in order to tighten up the time needed for a final decision. In the face of resistance from international organizations and opposition parties, the government has dropped plans to abolish second-instance committees, where asylum seekers can appeal if their application is rejected. However, the authorities will alter the composition of those committees.
New legislation also means that if applicants fail to cooperate, or fail to be physically present throughout the asylum process, they will be removed. The goal, officials said, is to have a final decision within three months, in a procedure that currently often takes more than two years. The new rules impose stricter definitions of which applicants are considered "vulnerable" — for example, applicants suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder will no longer qualify.
By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
POLITICO.EU
9/30/19, 10:04 PM CET
ATHENS — Greece's government announced on Monday sweeping measures to deal with a sharp increase in migration flows, a day after a killer blaze in a notoriously overcrowded camp on the island of Lesbos.
Following a Cabinet meeting, the government said it would try to decongest camps on the Aegean islands, by transferring people to the mainland and setting up closed pre-departure centers for those who are to be deported or sent back to their country of origin. It also said it would create a “safe-country list” for people who have illegally entered Greece, making it easier to send them back if they are not at risk at home.
The goal is for some 20,000 people to leave the squalid conditions in the islands' reception centers, Greek officials said. The center-right government also aims to deport some 10,000 people in 2020, compared with the approximately 1,800 people deported in total during the past four and a half years under the previous left-wing Syriza government.
The newly elected New Democracy party is grappling with a significant surge in migration flows that is exacerbating the poor conditions in reception centers in the Aegean that receive the bulk of migrants.
Greece is once again the main point of entry for migrants coming to Europe, with new arrivals at their highest level since an agreement between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016 to reduce the flow.
Some 23,000 people have landed on Greek shores in the last three months. This year so far, about 46,000 people have entered the country via its land and sea borders. The other two European frontline states, Spain and Italy, have jointly received a total of 29,000 migrants so far in 2019.
The situation in Greece could escalate even further if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes good on his threat to reopen the borders if he doesn't receive adequate international support.
On Sunday, the charred corpse of a woman was recovered from the infamous Moria camp on Lesbos, after fires broke out. Her baby, along with 16 other people, were transferred to hospital. The unrest came a few days after a five-year-old Afghan boy was accidentally run over and killed by a truck on the fringes of the camp. A teenage boy was stabbed to death late August in a brawl.
“No one can call the fire and these deaths an accident. This tragedy is the direct result of a brutal policy that is trapping 13,000 people in a camp made for 3,000,” said Marco Sandrone, a field coordinator for the NGO Doctors Without Borders. He described the camp in question as "hell."
Greece said it plans to completely transform its asylum process in order to tighten up the time needed for a final decision. In the face of resistance from international organizations and opposition parties, the government has dropped plans to abolish second-instance committees, where asylum seekers can appeal if their application is rejected. However, the authorities will alter the composition of those committees.
New legislation also means that if applicants fail to cooperate, or fail to be physically present throughout the asylum process, they will be removed. The goal, officials said, is to have a final decision within three months, in a procedure that currently often takes more than two years. The new rules impose stricter definitions of which applicants are considered "vulnerable" — for example, applicants suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder will no longer qualify.
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