ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

Joint Press Conference: Two years after the EU-Turkey Deal

Posted on Wednesday March 21st, 2018

To mark the occasion of the second anniversary of the EU-Turkey Joint Statement (Deal, in essence), yesterday we held, along with other NGOs, a joint press conference titled: “Two years after the EU-Turkey Deal: a humanitarian tragedy for refugees and asylum seekers”.

The press conference was hosted at the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers (ΕΣΗΕΑ). Participants included journalists, as well as representatives of EU embassies, state institutions, and civil society organizations. The conference speakers covered the main aspects of the refugee issue from a humanitarian, legal, and political perspective.

Jenny Cavounidis, Board member of SolidarityNow, underlined the absence of a coherent strategy for a coordinated and holistic refugee response at both national and European level. Ms. Cavounidis conveyed the experience of SolidarityNow about the problems brought upon by the EU-Turkey Deal and its ongoing consequences on the overall management of the refugee response in Greece.

Ms. Cavounidis underlined “the urgent need for a holistic response to the problems arising from the refugee issue, with a central, visionary, and long-term planning for the whole country”. She also stressed:

“This past winter we experienced once more the lack of a central mechanism for refugee management on the islands. Despite the deplorable conditions in the islands’ camps since the summer, and although the number of residents way exceeded each camp’s capacity, the decongestion of the islands started to take place only when the situation hit rock bottom due to the worsening weather conditions. Then, in November, the Government rushed to transfer people to the mainland, to hosting facilities that were urgently created or adjusted, without proper planning”.

The Director of Amnesty International/Greek section, Gabriel Sakellaridis, and Eva Cossé, Researcher for Greece for the organization Human Rights Watch, analyzed the current situation on the islands for the asylum seekers and refugees stranded there two years after the Deal, stressing the need to lift the geographical restriction.

From a medical care perspective, Agapios Terzidis, Vice-President of the Board of the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO), presented the program Philos (Emergency Health Response to Refugee Crisis) and the challenges faced by KEELPNO during its implementation.

Vasileios Papadopoulos, Coordinator of the Legal Unit of the Greek Council for Refugees, set out the legal effects of the EU-Turkey Deal. Mr. Papadopoulos emphasized the need to move refugees and migrants from the islands to the mainland, while he also explained that the presumption that Turkey is a safe third country is highly problematic, both from a legal and political perspective.

Yonous Muhammadi, President and Coordinator of the Greek Forum of Refugees, and the cultural mediator Yasaman Heidarpour from the organization Melissa Network, talked about the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees on the Greek islands. In particular, Ms. Heidarpour told her own story as a refugee who reached Europe after fleeing Iran.

*The conference was organized by the following NGOs:

SolidarityNow

Amnesty International – Greek section

Greek Council for Refugees

Greek Forum of Refugees

Melissa Network

Human Rights Watch

Two years after the EU-Turkey Deal: a humanitarian tragedy for refugees and asylum seekers

Posted on Friday March 16th, 2018

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

Athens, 16 March 2018. Two years following the implementation of the EU-Turkey Deal, many refugees and asylum seekers continue to be trapped in the Greek islands, deprived of their basic human rights and access to international protection.

On this second anniversary, and whilst legal appeals against the geographical limitation of asylum-seekers to the islands are still pending, we continue to stress that the regime of reception and asylum at the EU borders has been brought to a dramatic standstill from every perspective:

Humanitarian, as thousands of people are still trapped in island hotspots, living in a state of constant insecurity about their future, whilst lacking access to basic services.
Legal, with border asylum procedures taking place, on many occasions, without the minimum procedural safeguards for effective access to asylum, while thousands of people are deprived of their liberty and detention remains a widespread practice in migration management.
Political, with EU governments continuing to present the EU-Turkey Deal as a success, without admitting that refugees and asylum seekers are forced to live under deplorable conditions on the islands, often leading to tensions between the refugee population and local communities.

For the past two years, our organizations have been repeatedly stating that the EU-Turkey Deal is undermining human rights and Europe’s very fundamental principles. We insist that the only way to properly receive displaced people is by adhering to our common European values and complying with our international protection obligations, i.e. respect the principle of non-refoulement, provide dignified reception and accommodation to asylum seekers, and ensure the right of everyone to seek asylum without discrimination. In practice, however, the EU asylum and migration policy is governed by a logic of deterrence and border securitization, at the expense of human rights protection and humanitarian values.

On the occasion of the EU-Turkey Deal’s second anniversary, we invite you at the Press Conference we are holding on 20 March 2018, in Athens. The event will be conducted in Greek, with simultaneous translation in English.

Interventions will be made by:

Amnesty International, Gabriel Sakellaridis, Director

Greek Council for Refugees, Vasileios Papadopoulos, Legal Unit Coordinator

SolidarityNow, Jenny Kavounidis, Board of Directors

Greek Forum of Refugees, Yonous Muhammadi, President & Coordinator

Melissa Network, Yasaman Heidarpour, Cultural Mediator for Farsi speakers

Human Rights Watch, Eva Cossé, Researcher for Greece

KEELPNO, Agis Terzidis, Pediatrician, Board Member

Moderator of the Press Conference: Ioannis Papadopoulos, journalist

The Press Conference will be held at 12:30, at ESIEA (Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers) – 20, Akadimias str. (1^st floor), Athens

The Press Conference is organized by:

SolidarityNow
Amnesty International
Greek Council for Refugees
Greek Forum of Refugees
Melissa Network
CEAR

Access to Justice is an Absolute Human Right for All

Posted on Thursday March 1st, 2018

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

3,801 people received legal assistance through the SolidarityNow Solidarity Centers

Access to justice, the equality of all before the law, the exercise of the right to court representation and the right to trial are four of the basic human rights* which SolidarityNow defends as self-evident for every person -regardless of nationality, gender, religion, political beliefs.

“Access to justice is the minimum denominator of citizens’ rights reinforcement and demonstrates the proper functioning of a democracy. It is a proof and at the same time the foundation for the proper functioning of a democracy”, states Antigone Lyberaki, General Director at SolidarityNow.

SolidarityNow since the establishment of its Solidarity Centers operating in Athens and Thessaloniki has incorporated legal assistance as an elementary service provided pro bono to anyone who requests it. Groups of experienced lawyers in both refugee and civil, penal and administrative law support all those who need legal assistance by providing a wide range of services – from issuing legal documents, representation in services (especially for asylum seekers) to court representation. The various legal services provided aim to respond to both the large number of cases received by the organization and the complexity of each case separately.

The level of complexity of the cases dealt with is captured by the ratio of those cases that demand court representation.

During 2017, 7.44% of the Athens Solidarity Center legal service beneficiaries’ cases required court representation while the equivalent for the Blue Refugee Center is 9.88%, while for the Thessaloniki Solidarity Center is 14.53%. The above percentages indicate that 1 out of 10 among the 3,801 Solidarity Centers’ legal services beneficiaries brought a case that required court representation to be resolved.

The paradigm of the Athens Solidarity Center

In 2017, the Athens Solidarity Center assisted a total of 1,526 beneficiaries and its legal team undertook a significant role in addressing the legal assistance needs of asylum seekers in Athens:

130 of the 236 family reunification cases were successful for the families
55 of the 112 cases of court representation had a positive outcome for the beneficiaries

The next step: securing resources to meet the needs of even more

Building upon the effective initiatives to date, including: hosting of an Asylum Service office at the Athens Solidarity Center, supporting the operation of four more regional Asylum Offices and providing 13 grants to other Civil Society organizations which provide legal support to those who need it, SolidarityNow targets in the future to:

– Ensure that additional financial and human resources are put in service of the people to meet the increased, unmet needs of the population.

– Reinforce the right to access free legal advice to Greek citizens who lack sufficient resources, as well as to other vulnerable individuals including refugees and asylum seekers.

– Facilitate training to judges and other public officers in human rights and asylum law, including the ever-evolving standards and case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

Read more on the SNapshot entitled “Access to Justice” which is based on a survey of people who received legal support from the organization: https://www.solidaritynow.org/en/ekdoseis/.

* Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), United Nations (1948)

BUSINESS FOR YOUth: SOLIDARITYNOW YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

Posted on Wednesday February 28th, 2018

Click to read the announcement in FRENCH

Click to read the announcement in ARABIC

Click to read the announcement in FARSI

Are you between 18 to 35 years old?

Do you want to make your business dream come true? Are you interested in becoming a freelancer in Greece?

You have the will, you have the idea, but you feel that you do not have the proper tools to start?

SolidarityNow, with the support of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and in collaboration with the Social Enterprise Knowl, is organizing a 40-hour free Υouth Εntrepreneurship training program in Athens.

In this integrated program, you will acquire knowledge and develop skills that are necessary to make your first steps as a professional. You will learn the basic principles of entrepreneurship and the method that will help you build a successful brand.

And what’s the best?

Forty (40) out of the total of participants who will successfully complete the program will attend a special mentorship program in which they will receive counseling and guidance from entrepreneurs and professional mentors!

Why are you still waiting?

Read the detailed program information and fill in your application at the online form below!

One of the 330 positions of the program is yours.

Because business (is) for YOUth!

CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION

Participants for the duration of the program have to be based in Athens.
Young people aged between 18-30 years
Refugees or Asylum Seekers legally residing in Greece, benefiting from the International Protection in Greece, immigrants with a residence permit for Greece, unemployed Greeks.
Adequacy in at least one of the languages offered: Greek, English, Arabic, Farsi or French.

SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS

The final pool of participants will be selected through personal interviews.
Maximum number of participants: 330

DURATION

The training will be implemented in fifteen separate cycles, comprised of 40 hours of training (over 4 weeks).

The days and hours of the lessons will be announced shortly to the participants.

COST

Participation is free of charge for all participants.

CERTIFICATION

All participants who manage to successfully complete the training will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

For your application to participate in the training program, click the link below and

fill out the form:

Application form to participate in the training program

Business for Youth

For any further information: youth@solidaritynow.org

This project is supported by the Citi Foundation in partnership with the International Rescue Committee.

In collaboration with

Comprehensive service provision through Blue Dot approach in regions of mainland Greece

Posted on Wednesday February 14th, 2018

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us” *

The Blue Dots is the image of our world, as envisioned by SolidarityNow

“For us, every child is unique and special. Each one has its own story, personality and future. If we manage to support them, we are proud of our work. We do not believe in heroes; we believe in the power born when people meet and interact honestly“; that is the view of Thodoris and Eleni for their work at the Blue Dots Unit operated by SolidarityNow.

Defending the rights of vulnerable groups

SolidarityNow, with the support of UNICEF and funding by ECHO, implemented (reporting period: August 2016 – October 2017) the 1^st phase of the innovative Blue Dots program on a national scale, as part of the ongoing efforts to protect the most vulnerable refugee and migrant groups. One of SolidarityNow’s priorities was and remains the protection of human rights at all levels, with emphasis on the groups facing greater risks, such as children.

The special support Centers –known as Blue Dots- for children, women and families were rolled out by SolidarityNow, in 12 points across Greece to provide vital services and counselling. However, the teams’ composition and deployment remained flexible in order to respond to the needs of families and children on the move, through a holistic approach; finally, the services were provided in 20 different sites in four regions –Attica, Epirus, Central Greece, Northern Greece- both through the fixed and mobile teams.

The Blue Dots program exceeded its objectives:

4,409 refugees and migrant children received supporting services (including psychosocial and legal support)
10 mother and baby corners (MBC) were established
416 mothers/caregivers benefited from infant and young child feeding counselling
84 frontline aid and service providers were trained on child protection

Children and families at risk identified and referred to specialized services with a focus on unaccompanied children, persons with disability and/or illness, cases of suspected trafficking, (sexual) gender-based violence survivors, single mothers:

1,138 referrals of individuals with health needs (physical injuries, sickness) to health providers
507 children referred to formal or informal education
388 unaccompanied children and/or vulnerable adults referred to accommodation services
977 referrals of individuals in need of additional legal support

“I want to send a special message to my people, I want to tell them that they must exercise and never give up!” says Fatima, after her participation in the 6^th International Thessaloniki Half Night Marathon where she crossed the line with a net time of 00:13:56. The 16-year-old girl from Afghanistan has been supported through the Child Friendly Space-Teenagers corner of the Blue Dot operated in the organization’s Blue Refugee Center in Thessaloniki.

The Child & Family Care Centers, Blue Dots, target education

The 2nd phase of the Blue Dots project (November 2017 – May 2018) extends the operational role of the hubs created for children and their families by continuing with strengthened child protection and gender-based violence services and also introducing non-formal education activities in selected sites. The new intervention’s objective is to ensure refugee and migrant children and families access a holistic package of both protection and education services in campsites and urban settings, with a focus on increased protection, well-being and social integration.

The 1^st phase of the Blue Dots program was implemented by SolidarityNow, supported by UNICEF and funded by the European Commission – Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid Operations – ECHO.

* Carl Sagan, scientist, 1934-1996

Greece: Urgent Need to Move Asylum Seekers from Islands

Posted on Thursday December 21st, 2017

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

As Winter Begins, Accelerate Transfers, End Containment Policy

Athens, December 21, 2017. More than 13,500 asylum seekers remain trapped on the Greek islands in most deplorable conditions as winter begins today, December 21^st, SolidarityNow states. Greece, with support from its EU partners, should urgently transfer thousands of asylum seekers to the Greek mainland and provide them with adequate accommodation and access to fair and efficient asylum procedures.

The Greek government committed in early December that it would move 5,000 asylum seekers from the islands to the mainland as an emergency measure, before the onset of winter. Despite the transfer of almost 3,000 people since early December, the hotspots on Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros, and Kos still have 11,005 people in facilities with a total capacity of just 5,576. More than 1,000 people have arrived to the Greek islands during the same period.

“Αfter the recent incidents in Moria’s camp, resulting in pregnant women and children being injured, the transfer of the population to the mainland, becomes even more urgent. Under these circumstances, we welcome the Greek Government’s decision to promptly move thousands of people to better conditions on the mainland as an emergency measure, however much more needs to be done to improve the situation for refugees in the country. Greece, with the support of the EU and its member states, has to act immediately and protect the human rights of the people arriving at Europe’s borders”, stated SolidarityNow.

In a campaign that began on December 1^st, 13 human rights and aid organizations called on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, to end Greece’s policy of containing asylum seekers on the islands. The groups said that Greek authorities should immediately transfer people to improved conditions on the mainland and take concrete measures before the official start of winter so that no asylum seekers are left out in the cold. The groups also said that other EU leaders should take a clear stand to end the containment policy that keeps asylum seekers trapped on the islands under an agreement with Turkey to send people refused asylum back there.

SolidarityNow and other groups participating in the campaign will continue campaigning throughout the winter, highlighting the deplorable conditions asylum seekers trapped on the islands face. The groups will press the Greek government and EU leaders for a more effective response that protects the rights and reduces the suffering of asylum seekers arriving in Greece.

The Greek government is expected to introduce a bill in Parliament in the coming days to accelerate the asylum process with the aim of expediting returns to Turkey, under the EU-Turkey deal. While the length of the asylum procedure is one factor contributing to people’s distress on the islands, reducing the length of asylum procedures at the expense of the quality of the process would put asylum seekers at risk of being denied the protection they need, SolidarityNow said.

Such an approach is the wrong way to alleviate overcrowding or address the systemic issues linked to the containment policy and EU-Turkey deal that have created this inhumane situation on the islands. Any reform should ensure that asylum seekers have access to fair and efficient asylum procedures that allow for all asylum claims to be fairly examined on their individual merit.

Organizations Participating in the Campaign:
Amnesty International
Caritas Hellas
Greek Council for Refugees

Greek Forum of Refugees
Help Refugees
Human Rights Watch
International Rescue Committee
Jesuit Refugee Service
Oxfam
Praksis
Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR)
SolidarityNow
Terre des Hommes

1 out of 3 Greeks and 1 out of 6 Refugees and Migrants found Work with the support of SolidarityNow

Posted on Monday December 18th, 2017

3,000 people were supported and inter-connected with the labor market through the organization’s Solidarity Centers

“I know how to make 120 different desserts“, says Longman Gashimi. Longman, a Kurdish from Iran, currently makes his sweets in a pastry shop in Nea Raidestos where he works; this job was acquired through the SolidarityNow employability service at the Blue Refugee Center, in Thessaloniki.

For SolidarityNow, employment facilitation and empowerment services to access the labor market are an integral part of the support that Greeks and migrants receive in the Solidarity Centers operated by the organization in Thessaloniki and Athens. Linking people to the labor market and enabling them to find a job is the ultimate goal of the comprehensive efforts for their social integration. This leads to the decrease of people’s dependency on state and NGOs’ assistance and provides the opportunities for personal development.

Thessaloniki Solidarity Center

1 out of 3 Greek and 1 out of 10 refugees/migrants, beneficiaries of the Center found a job with the support provided by the SolidarityNow experienced employment consultants. Thessaloniki Solidarity Center has significant success rates in employment: 30.3% of Greeks have already found a job, while 15.51% of refugees and/or migrants who have received support also found work through the employability program.

Blue Refugee Center

From December 2016 onwards, through targeted activities for refugees in the Thessaloniki based Blue Refugee Center, 15.89% of the its beneficiaries got a job.

Athens Solidarity Center

Since 2014, employability services at the Centre in Athens have reached 1,996 people, through the NGO Praksis, with 15.4% of them finding employment.

In addition, SolidarityNow implements specific actions to enhance skills and assist and assist people who are unemployed:

Supported an improvement in marketable skills through access to ICT and English language training and certification for 100 Greeks and refugees, with the support of UNHCR.
Provides intensive training in professional interpretation techniques for 100 Arab and Farsi speakers to improve their chances to successfully enter the labor market with the support of Guerilla Foundation.
Partners with academic institutions in order to analyze job market trends and employability prospects for its beneficiaries.
Assisted 18 new social enterprises and cooperatives during their start-up phase, through the cooperation with NGO Ergani.

Furthermore, SolidarityNow kicks off a project aiming to strengthen the market-related skills for 330 refugees, migrants and Greeks through targeted education, technical assistance and mentoring, with the possibility for some to get a business start-up grant, with the support of the International Rescue Committee.

SolidarityNow has supported more than 3,000 people to connect with the labor market via the employability services provided in the organization’s Centers. Our main objectives are: to facilitate young people’s access to the labor market, build partnerships with the private sector and academic institutions and develop funding tools for the new businesses’ set up.

Yokan Sefket, 21, from Komotini, learned to believe in himself and claim his right to work, with the support of SolidarityNow. The assistance he has received through the professional counseling service at Thessaloniki’s Solidarity Center has built his self-confidence and, as he says, “when I go to a job interview now, I know exactly what to say!”

Read more in the SNapshot no4: https://www.solidaritynow.org/en/ekdoseis/

Concerns for hundreds of unaccompanied children sleeping rough in Greece this winter

Posted on Wednesday December 13th, 2017

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

NGOs launch roadmap for handover of refugee response to Greek Government

More than 2,000 unaccompanied children are on the waiting list for safe shelters in Greece, according to a new report by 15 organisations. The chronic shortage of accommodation for children is just one of the gaps in services that is worsening as the Greek Government prepares to take full control of the refugee response.

The report provides an overview of the current situation on the islands as well as on the mainland. It sets out a series of recommendations for the Greek Government, EU leaders and the UN for a successful handover to address the persistent gaps in services, access to asylum and opportunities to integrate with Greek society.

While some steps have been taken to move people to the mainland, the islands remain dangerously overcrowded with many families sharing unheated tents as winter sets in. A dangerous shortage of medical and legal staff risks people’s health and has contributed to long delays in the asylum procedure. On the mainland, unaccompanied children are increasingly spending nights in police cells, in squats or on the streets because of a shortage of safe shelters.

To improve the situation, the report says a mechanism is needed to move people to accommodation on the mainland as soon as reception centres reach their capacity. It also calls for all EU states to recognise their legal and moral obligation to consider asylum claims and to relocate the most vulnerable people to other countries in Europe.

It recommends that NGOs and the Greek Government invest in more programmes that build tolerance and integration, and in Greek communities that have borne the brunt of the sudden influx. It also calls on UNCHR – the UN refugee agency – to be more vocal and take a stand against the policies and practices being implemented in Greece that reduce standards and minimize safeguards in the reception, asylum and returns procedures.

Nicola Bay, Head of Mission for Oxfam in Greece, said: “It’s time for the Greek Government to step up and take control of the situation. It should seize this opportunity to learn the lessons of the past two years and to move people from overcrowded and unsafe shelters. Sadly, the misery we are witnessing on the islands will only deepen when winter sets in.”

Jana Frey, Country Director for the International Rescue Committee, said: “Of paramount concern is the safety and wellbeing of the over 3,000 children who are without their family and on their own in Greece. Only about 1,000 are staying in shelters set up to accommodate them. The rest are on a waiting list, with potentially hundreds of children sleeping on the streets or in squats. These children are at grave risk.”

Antigone Lyberaki, General Manager for SolidarityNow, said: ”The Greek Government has the required resources to receive refugees in a safe and dignified manner and support their inclusion into the society. What is needed now is full political will to resolve existing problems that make thousands of people suffer and to create a response system that will benefit both refugees and the hosting community.”

Aleksandra Godziejewska, Head of Mission of CARE in Greece, said: “Despite being in one country, as a direct result of the EU-Turkey statement, the living conditions and protection safeguards of asylum seekers on the Greek islands and the mainland are substantially different. We look forward to the results of the efforts to decongest the islands, and call the Greek government to implement strategies to counter the exclusion and marginalization that all refugees, men, boys, women and girls, can face during the upcoming process of integration.”

Notes to editors

Download the report, here

The report was jointly written with input from the following organisations:

ActionAid, Advocates Abroad, CARE, Caritas Greece, Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Greek Forum of Refugees, Greek Helsinki Monitor, HIAS, International Rescue Committee (IRC), JRS, Oxfam, SolidarityNow, Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR), Terre des hommes and Translators Without Borders.

More than 2,100 unaccompanied children are already on the waiting list for safe shelter on the Greek islands, with at least 100 more arriving each month. As of 1 August 2017, the Greek Government took over financing of the existing shelters for these children. At least four of them are facing funding difficulties and may close without immediate action, forcing even more children into police cells, unsafe accommodation or onto the streets.

At the end of July 2017, the Greek Government took over control of the management and funding of the response on the Greek islands from ECHO, the European Commission’s humanitarian division. Some humanitarian agencies have downsized or pulled out of the islands altogether, leading to gaps in vital services such as medical care.

Greece: Move Asylum Seekers to Safety Before Winter Hits

Posted on Friday December 1st, 2017

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

12 Groups Open Campaign to End Containment Policy

(Athens, December 1, 2017) – The Greek government, with the support of European Union leaders, should act now before the onset of winter to end Greece’s “containment policy,” 12 human rights and humanitarian organizations said in a campaign that began today.

The groups began a countdown to the official start of winter, December 21, 2017. They said that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, with the support of EU leaders, should immediately transfer people to improved conditions on the mainland and take concrete measures by December 21 so that no asylum seekers are left out in the cold.

As of November 30, the hotspots on Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros, and Kos are almost 7,200 over capacity: 12,744 people in facilities with a capacity of just 5,576. Thousands, including single women, female heads of households, and very young children, live in summer tents, essentially sleeping on the ground, exposed to the cold, damp, and rain as the weather worsens. Some women are forced to share tents and containers with unrelated men, putting their privacy and safety at risk. There is lack of access to clean water, sanitation facilities and health services.

This will be the second winter asylum seekers have had to spend in unsuitable facilities on the islands since the EU-Turkey Deal went into effect in March 2016. Last winter, three men died on Lesbos in the six days between January 24 and 30. Although there is still no official statement on the cause of these deaths, they have been attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from makeshift heating devices that refugees have been using to warm their freezing tents. In late 2016, a blast likely caused by a cooking gas container killed a Kurdish woman and her young grandchild, also sleeping in a tent in Lesbos.

EU and Greek officials have referred to the EU-Turkey deal as a justification for the containment policy. The policy, put in place as part of the deal, forces asylum seekers arriving on the Greek islands to remain there until their asylum claims are decided, regardless of if there is accommodation capacity or adequate access to services. However, forcing asylum seekers to remain in conditions that violate their rights and are harmful to their well-being, health, and dignity cannot be justified, the groups said. Some who arrived on the islands in the early days of the deal have remained stuck there for 20 months.

As part of the campaign, the groups are teaming up to highlight the deplorable conditions asylum seekers trapped on the islands face; to call on European citizens to get involved; and to monitor and update the public on the response of the Greek government and EU leaders.

For more information on the digital campaign, please visit:
www.solidaritynow.org

Organizations Participating in the Campaign:

Amnesty International
Caritas Hellas
Greek Council of Refugees
Help Refugees
Human Rights Watch
International Rescue Committee
Jesuit Refugee Service
Oxfam
Praksis
Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR)
Solidarity Now
Terre des Hommes

20 organisations continue to press Greek Officials and EU States to transfer asylum seekers to the mainland and offer improved reception conditions

Posted on Wednesday November 22nd, 2017

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

Groups Press Greek Officials, EU States for Mainland Transfers, Improved Conditions

The Greek government, with the support of EU member states, should act now to end Greece’s “containment policy,” 20 human rights and aid groups said today. The policy forces asylum seekers arriving on the Greek islands to remain in overcrowded, unsafe facilities, an urgent concern with winter approaching.
Conditions on the Greek islands have continued to deteriorate in the month since 19 nongovernmental groups wrote an open letter to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, calling on him to move asylum seekers to the mainland, where better conditions and services are available.

“This remains a matter of life and death,” said Jana Frey, the International Rescue Committee’s country director in Greece. “There is absolutely no excuse for the conditions on the islands right now – thousands of people crammed into overcrowded and desperately under-resourced facilities. We are in a race against time. Lives will be lost – again – this winter – unless people are allowed to move, in an organised and voluntary fashion, to the mainland.”

Members of the group recently asked to meet with Tsipras to discuss the most urgent needs on the islands and provide recommendations for addressing this increasingly dire situation. They have received no response.

Over the past month, the Greek government has transferred 2,000 people from Samos and Lesbos to the mainland as a one-time emergency measure. When the government announced this initiative in October, these islands were already 5,000 people over capacity. It was clear then that this measure, while helpful, would not suffice.

“Nothing can justify trapping people in these terrible conditions on the islands for another winter,” said Eva Cosse, Greece researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Greece and other European Union member states should act urgently to remove the obstacles to people getting the care and assistance they need on the Greek mainland.”

As of November 20, 2017, the hotspots on Lesbos, Samos, and Chios are hosting 7,000 over capacity: 10,925 people are staying in facilities with a capacity of just 3,924. Thousands, including single women, female heads of households, and very young children, are being forced to live in summer tents, essentially sleeping on the ground, as the weather worsens. Some women are forced to share tents with unrelated men, putting their privacy and safety at risk. This will be the second winter asylum seekers have had to spend in unsuitable facilities on the islands since the EU-Turkey Deal went into effect.

“The EU-Turkey Deal is condemning refugees and migrants to a second winter in squalor on the Greek islands. Instead of trying to maintain the deal at all cost, European countries and Greece should urgently work together and move asylum seekers off the islands,” said Gabriel Sakellaridis, director of Amnesty International in Greece.

EU and Greek officials have cited the EU-Turkey Deal as a justification for the containment policy. However, forcing asylum seekers to remain in conditions that violate their rights and are harmful to their well-being, health, and dignity cannot be justified, the organisations said. As such, the groups have also written to EU member state ambassadors to Greece urging them to immediately call on the Greek government to suspend, the containment policy.

The groups urged Prime Minister Tsipras to protect the human rights of asylum seekers trapped on the islands by ending the containment policy, immediately transferring people to improved conditions on the mainland, and making a commitment to ensure that no one is forced to sleep in a tent.

Because the “containment policy” is being implemented in response to the EU-Turkey deal, the organizations highlighted the responsibility of the European Commission and the EU member states to address the situation on the Greek islands and to press the Greek government to reverse the policy. EU member states should support the Greek government’s efforts to ensure the safety and dignity of asylum seekers in EU territory, including by expanding safe accommodation and access to services on the mainland.

“In an effort to make the EU-Turkey deal work, the Greek islands have been transformed into places of indefinite confinement for asylum seekers who have risked their lives in search of safety and a better life in Europe,” said Nicola Bay, head of mission for Oxfam in Greece. “The EU and the Greek government need to start putting people’s lives ahead of politics and uphold Europe’s commitment to human rights.”

To read the joint letter to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, please visit:
https://www.solidaritynow.org/en/prime_minister_letter/

Human Rights Watch

International Rescue Committee

ActionAid

Advocates Abroad

AITIMA

Amnesty International

Arsis

CARE

Caritas Hellas

Danish Refugee Council Greece

Greek Council for Refugees

Greek Forum of Refugees

Greek Helsinki Monitor

Help Refugees

Jesuit Refugee Service

Lesbos Legal Center

OXFAM

Praksis

SolidarityNow

Terre des hommes