Humanitarianism under threat?
/My name is Bex Hall, and I am a sustainability and human rights consultant in London. In summer 2018, I used my academic and practical experience in a humanitarian context by volunteering with refugees in Lesvos with ERCI. Since returning from Greece, I have continued to support humanitarian organisations in Lesvos through donations, advocacy and pro-bono legal support and hope to volunteer again when it is safe to do so.
The refugee crisis has become increasingly severe over the last 9 months and there are an estimated 40,000 asylum seekers on the Greek islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos right now – while the official, safe capacity should be around 8,000. Google ‘Moria’ and you will see images of hell on earth, that are the direct result of ineffective European policy and a lack of accountability for the Greek government for their actions. Innumerable international, EU and even Greek laws are broken each day and refugees are denied basic human rights such as clean water, food, health care, safe accommodation. They live in camps where stabbings, rape and violence are common. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Moria camp are likely to be the beginning of further disaster. In my personal experience, spending days in Moria was like spending days in a war zone, surrounded by grief, trauma and indignity - not a European island where 20 miles away tourists were sunning themselves on package holidays.
Three major factors have increased the severity of the refugee crisis recently in the Greek islands:
The 2016 Ankara Agreement between the EU and Turkey ended in Summer 2019 – Turkey no longer restricts refugees from leaving Turkey to enter Greek (European) territory, where under EU law they must be rescued and processed by Hellenic Coastguards or FRONTEX. Since March 2020 and the collapse of the deal, numbers of people arriving in Greece has escalated back to levels seen in 2015 - the previous height of the crisis.
EU legislation (such as Dublin III) results in huge backlogs of migrants waiting in Greek detention centres for their asylum process to begin (let alone be resolved) - This creates a huge holdup - resulting in detention centres such as Moria on the island of Lesvos being 5 times over capacity.
Rising nationalism, right-wing politics and anti-refugee rhetoric within Greece – Other EU nations refuse to accept refugees/asylum seekers, thus increasing pressure on Greece and this causes local Greek communities to resent and become hostile to migrants and refugees trapped in their homeland, based on deeply embedded fears of refugees wrongfully ‘taking’ what is ‘ours’.
Moreover, humanitarian workers in Greece are seen as ‘encouraging’ further mass migration. They have been criminalised by Greek authorities, with outrageous accusations ranging from espionage to people trafficking – resulting in volunteers spending months in prison in custody, facing years in jail if successfully convicted. Humanitarian organisations are shutting down – exacerbating the gaps left in meeting basic human rights of refugee populations. See the case of my fellow volunteers Sarah Mardini and Sean Binder for an ongoing example. Over the last fortnight, refugees and humanitarians (including doctors) in Lesvos and Samos have faced significant violence, including suspected arson of refugee safe-spaces and warehouses of donations. This breeds fear in other countries, where they fear the arrival of ‘others’ will evoke the same violence and disruption in their homes.
Where are refugees to turn, when back is not an option, and if all the doors ahead of them are slammed shut due to racist rhetoric and violence?
What can you do to help?
Contact your local MP - demand they take the crisis seriously. Particularly for pro-EU ministers, showing solidarity with refugees and offering support is a key opportunity to re-engage with the European community.
Great resources to learn more about the crisis: MSF, the IOM weekly reports for Greece, The Aegean Boat Report, and the UN special rapporteur reports for Greece on conventions such as CEDAW
NGOs active in the area that are frequently short of donations include: MSF, Movement on the Ground and the Red Cross.
Bex Hall is a humanitarian volunteer and a sustainability and human rights consultant.