In 2003, the EU launched a new “Asylum Seekers & Refugees” Policy: Dublin II Agreement. It stated that the first member state where the asylum application was lodged will be responsible for examining it (1). However, it means that you made your way to Germany, Belgium or other country in the EU where you can apply for asylum.You will always be send back to the first country you enter when you arrived on European soil to seek asylum. Now, think about how migrant people would try to “enter” Fortress Europe? Imagine you are fleeing Africa or the Middle East.Which way would you take? Obviously, you will be trying to go through the Turkish-Greek border by crossing the Evros river by boat on wild waters. You are left on your own with dozens migrants paying an outrageous price to smugglers. So you will be trying your luck crossing Gibraltar, or head to Malta or Italian coastal shores in an overloaded rowing boat. And next? If you are lucky enough you will make your way to European soil, but it doesn’t mean that your trip is over. Your battle for rights would have just begun.
Due to a reinforcement of the European border controls, the migration has moved to the Greek-Turkish border which has become the main point of entry for migrants in Europe. With the Dublin II Agreement, however, the migrants that are trying to go to another EU country, are sent back to Greece, because it is the country through which they first entered the European Union. In May 2012, an estimated number of one million illegal migrants where “living” in Greece (2). Yes, that’s a lot for a country facing its own economical and political issues.
Even though the situation of illegal migrants in Greece has been an issue for a long time, the living conditions of detainment centers are inhumane and the police treatment of illegal migrants are getting worse.Though it is not only happening in Greece but all over Europe. In the current Eurocrisis context, migrants are turned into “scapegoats”. This summer, the rise of xenophobia led to a point where unknown groups of men, as well as recent police operations, have been persecuting migrants on the basis on their “perceived ethnicity”. Besides the fact that it is leading to confusion between legal and illegal migrants residing in Greece, one cannot be discriminated against on the basis of their perceived ethnicity.Such actions fuel xenophobic sentiment (3).
Moreover, because of the recent rise of xenophobic acts in Greece, the Greek authorities have launched the “Zeus Xenios” initiative (Zeus, the protector of hosts) which is described as a “massive drive to reduce illegal immigration”. Early August, a number of police operations has led to 4,900 people being questioned and 1,130 being placed in detention centers.The Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection aims at 5,000 people in detention centres by December. With the financial support of the European Return Fund, the Greek government has already started to send some migrants from where they were coming from and intends to triple the number of border guards on the Greek-Turkish Evros river border, fearing an “upsurge of refugees arriving from Syria” (4).
Yes, you could tell me that Greece cannot face such a number of illegal migrants by itself, that Europe can not deal with all the miseries of the world, that all of Europe is facing a rise of xenophobia, that in time of crisis people try to blame others for their problems, that maybe not all migrants are sweet and innocent even though they have been through a lot and that reality is the way it is and we should deal with it in a rational way. I would answer you that I would tend to agree with you and that, of course, it is a more complex issue, that the actual context is not helping, but firstly, that it is not a Greek issue, but a European one.
I am not an expert on EU Asylum Seeker Policy, neither on xenophobia. I have never been obliged to flee my country because of ethnic, political or social violence, wars or economic or ecologic dreadful situations. I never had to leave my friends and family behind to seek a better future in another place, no matter how big the financial and living expenses. I have never applied for asylum, I have never lived in the fear of a police arrest, nor of being sent back to a country where I don’t belong anymore. But should that make me less concerned about what happens to women and men who, just, like you and I have dreams and wishes to live life with all the rights that they are entitled to?
Sources:
1 Dublin II Agreement, EU Legislation
2 Europeans preparing to lock down borders with Greece, Der Standard (Austria), 30/04/2012
3 Greece must bring an end to racist & xenophobic attacks, Amnesty International, 15/08/2012
4 Clampdown on illegal immigrants, Ta Nea (Greece), 06/08/2012
To watch:
“Hellas Hell : Refugees’ hell in Greece” , Synergy Project, March 2012
“For A Moment, Freedom” (“Ein Augenblick, Freiheit”), by Arash T. Riahi, Austria, 2009
Written by Marine Betrancourt, AEGEE-Lyon