An organized group of residents from the Greek island of Samos blasted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over his claims that migrant pushbacks have not been taking place.
The Samos Open Assembly, a group of residents on the Greek island of Samos, wrote in an open letter to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that there have been at least three incidents where there was a "violent repatriation of refugees who had landed on the shores of the island."
The group is also taking issue with a recent comment by Mitsotakis that "thousands of rescues" have taken place.
Data from the Greek Coast Guard showed minimal such rescue activity since March 2020, when the government's policy of "systematic repatriations" began.
Greece's migration ministry has rejected claims from NGOs that refugees and migrants residing in camps across the country have been deprived of food. This comes after UNHCR handed over the cash assistance program to Greek authorities.
A group of 26 NGOs active in Greece released a statement on Monday (October 18), saying that many migrants and refugees in camps go hungry.
They called on the Greek government and the European Commission to ensure immediate access to food for people residing in facilities run by the migration ministry "regardless of their legal status." They also demanded of the government "to restore financial assistance to asylum seekers and recognized refugees."
Greece has announced it will open two new "transit camps" on its mainland for migrants and refugees.
The goal: To speed up the transfer of asylum seekers from desperately overcrowded camps on the northeast Aegean islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos.
There has been a huge spike in arrivals in recent weeks, which has put a massive strain on resources and has caused tensions at existing camps.
Locals concerned over potential permanence of camps
The Greek Citizen Protection Ministry said the new units would be temporary, serving only as transit centers. But locals are concerned that the centers could eventually turn into permanent camps as the influx of migrants into Greece, especially from Turkey, continues.
One of the two camps will be located in a defunct military base in the village of Karavomylos in the region of Fthiotida, while the second is planned as an addition to an already existing pre-departure center in Corinth in the Peloponnese region.
The government wants both facilities to start operating by the end of the month. They are supposed to accommodate approximately 1,000 migrants and refugees.
Government in crisis?
Greece's government, led by the New Democracy party, is already facing the wrath of the beleaguered local communities on the islands, and it now risks upsetting more citizens as it struggles to cope with the migrant and refugee influx.
Virginia Stergiou, mayor of the town of Stylida, which is located just north of the village of Karavomylos where one of the transit centres is set to open, has spoken out against the move.
"It is not acceptable that in a coastal zone where we are trying to plan to develop our tourism that we have to face this," she told reporters. "For starters, that place is not fit to operate as a reception centre, the conditions are not up to scratch [...] The haste, the lack of due diligence and the manner in which the whole thing is being done shows that the government is not on the right track. The municipality cannot lift all this burden. The outcome will be very bad for the citizens here, but also for the refugees themselves, because of the conditions in the camp."
The Greek government has expressed concern over an increase in migrant landings on the Aegean islands over the past few weeks. The minister responsible for migration wants the incoming European Commission to ensure “a fairer sharing of the burden.”
Giorgos Koumoutsako spoke to newspaper Kathimerini about the situation. As alternate minister for citizens’ protection, Koumoutsakos is responsible for dealing with migration in Greece.
In the interview, Koumoutsakos said that since July 7, “there has not been a single day without arrivals.” On July 7, national elections in Greece led to the victory of the conservative Nea Dimokratia party and the formation of a new government.
Over 20,000 migrants and refugees on Aegean islands
“Today on the five Aegean islands, that is Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kos and Leros, the total number of refugees and migrants has exceeded 20,000. This constitutes an increase of 17 percent in a few weeks,” the minister said.
Koumoutsakos said that over the last few months, a new “corridor” for migrants has also been created between the Greek island of Samothraki and Alexandroupoli in the north, near the Turkish border.
Athens expects cooperation from the European Commission, minister says
The minister said that Greece “has exhausted its capacity” and is now “looking forward to efficient cooperation with the European Commission and the member-states.”
Koumoutsakos pointed out that the new president of the European Commission, Ursula Van Leyen, spoke about a “new pact on immigration” during a visit to Rome. “I hope that this will contribute to soon reaching an agreement on the Common European Asylum System, including the Dublin 4 regulation, on the basis of genuine and concrete solidarity,” he told Kathimerini. He said that he hoped that the EU could achieve a fairer sharing of the burden and a more effective return policy toward third countries.
The number of migrants presenting at registration camps on the Greek islands has topped 20,000 once more, according to data released by the Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection. The number of people living at facilities on the islands in the eastern Aegean Sea had dropped down to 14,000 in April.
The last time the number of people at registration camps reached such heights was less than a year ago in October 2018, when the Greek government transferred thousands of migrants to the mainland, responding to severe overcrowding and a subsequent rise in riots in the camps.
Sources at the Greek Coast Guard told the German DPA news agency that the number of people reaching the country had surged after an increase in migrant boat journeys from Turkey.
Greeks are mostly empathetic towards migrants and refugees. But a survey of attitudes towards national identity, immigration, and refugees in Greece has also found that many people are worried about the impact of migrants on overstretched public resources.
The research project, carried out by non-profit organization More In Common, is part of a global initiative aimed at tackling the growing threats to open and inclusive societies. For the Greece report, 2,000 people aged 18 to 64 were surveyed.
While deep frustrations remain among locals in Greece, which has taken in many people fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa, Greeks are "more likely to express empathy towards refugees than to blame them for their circumstances," according to the research findings. Many respondents saw them as "working hard and having good intentions for a better life."
The survey also showed that the majority of Greeks do not think that the arrival and integration of migrants into their society represents any serious "threat" to their national identity.
With the highest unemployment rate in Europe, Greece's economic difficulties have been well documented since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. In the survey, 31 percent identified the economic situation as the top issue facing the country, while 22 percent identified unemployment, which increased from 7 percent to 28 percent between 2008 and 2013 and was still high at 19 percent by the end of 2018.
Although many Greeks are concerned about immigration, especially on the North East Aegean islands close to Turkey and in the north near the land border, only 7 percent of them considered immigration to be the hottest issue facing the country.
On November 11, InfoMigrants is launching its first English podcast called "Tales from the Border". In eight episodes, the feature format takes listeners on an audio journey across the political and physical barriers that confront migrants as they attempt to reach their destination in Europe.
German courts correct asylum decisions after 2018 scandal
The following article was written by Benjamin Bathke and published by InfoMigrants on 17 February 2021.
In 2018, Germany's asylum office BAMF came under fire for supposedly wrongly issuing numerous positive asylum decisions. Now, German courts have ruled in favor of 66 refugees whose positive asylum decisions had been revoked.
German administrative courts have ruled in favor of 66 refugees after they brought lawsuits against the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees BAMF. They were appealing the withdrawal of their positive asylum decisions.
That's according to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group from Wednesday (February 17) citing an answer by the federal government to an inquiry of the Left parliamentary group.
The rulings come nearly three years after proceedings about asylum decisions in a branch of Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) caused a scandal.
In these new rulings, judges reinstated refugees' protection status in 66 cases brought since 2018. Moreover, 11 lawsuits were stopped for unknown reasons. In only ten cases, the courts rejected the claim against terminating the protection status. [Read more here.]
