Geneva/Athens, May 25th, 2016. CARE International and its partner organization SolidarityNow ask EU member states to urgently act on their own commitments to relocate refugees from Greece to other countries in the European Union. “The EU needs to act decisively and establish an effective process to quickly relocate 46,000 people. This is the only long-term solution to alleviate the urgent humanitarian situation. Clearing informal camps such as Idomeni doesn’t help to end refugees’ waiting limbo,” says Thomas Rottland, CARE’s team leader in Greece.

The EU’s target of relocating at least 20,000 persons by mid-May has not been met, although it estimates that between 35,000 and 40,000 persons in Greece are eligible for relocation. So far, only 979 have been transferred to other EU member states. Most refugees could not even start their relocation or family reunification process while in Greece. They have to call a hotline via skype, but with a narrow timeframe it becomes quickly overwhelmed with the number of calls. In fact, the hotlines can only take around 300 calls per week. “Refugees are telling us that making an appointment is like winning the lottery. The people here have lived through years of war and had to leave everything behind.” Many refugees have told CARE and SolidarityNow that they had stayed in one of the official camps before and do not want to go back to these isolated locations. “They described the situation in these camps as being worse than in Idomeni. It is not acceptable that they have to wait in yet another camp fearing that the world is forgetting their plight.”

Greek police started on Tuesday to move the approximately 8,000 migrants and refugees stranded in a makeshift camp on the sealed Northern border with FYROM to facilities run by the state. Most of the refugees in Greece were on their way to Western Europe to reunite with their families, women and children being the majority. They now live in over 35 overcrowded accommodation sites, without proper access to sanitary facilities, quality food and protection.

“This crisis is absolutely avoidable. Its solution is in the hands of European governments. They have the means and the expertise to provide Greece with the support it has requested. Additional capacity from European governments is urgently needed to improve the humanitarian situation. Most importantly, refugees need to be able to start their requests for relocation and family reunification”, says Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director of SolidarityNow. And he continues: “Unfortunately, at the World Humanitarian Summit, world leaders did not agree on concrete actions to help end those conflicts, which endanger the lives of millions of people and have caused them to flee terror and desperation”.

SolidarityNow participates in the 1st World Humanitarian Summit by the UN, taking place in Istanbul from the 22^nd to the 24^th of May 2016. It is expected to bring together the largest humanitarian organizations worldwide and over 70 top leaders who will visit in order to participate in the global dialogue on pressing global humanitarian issues.

The inability of the international community to confront a global humanitarian crisis has sparked great insecurity and instability around the world. As the humanitarian system is being challenged, we are called to do more and for more people, and at a greater cost. The failures and proposed solutions for these ongoing issues are the subject of the first ever World Humanitarian Summit, which takes place in Turkey.

“The Summit takes place while people on the move are fleeing conflict and poverty, and trying to reach Europe in hope of creating a new, safe and dignified life. Millions of our fellow human beings live under inhumane conditions awaiting the EU’s decisions. We must realize though that the Summit is essentially humanitarian action, humanitarian aid, the meaning of humanity and solidarity as values to which we must commit” says Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director of SolidarityNow. “SolidarityNow is at the center of the European humanitarian crisis, but emphasizes on collecting data, best practices and identifying the methodological gaps of humanitarian-type intervention so as to design and implement better-focused projects and activities to relieve the vulnerable, and people on the move. With its participation in the Summit, SolidarityNow – which has thus far allocated 15 mil. euros to develop 48 emergency programs -, aims to further build and strengthen partnerships to achieve common goals such as is the protection, prevention, relief, and the preservation of human dignity for all.”

The first World Humanitarian Summit takes place under these global circumstances, with the participation of Member States, civil society and the private sector, who are invited to commit to five core responsibilities set by the UN Secretary General:

• Global leadership to prevent and end conflict
•  Uphold the norms that safeguard humanity
• Leave no one behind
• Change people’s lives- from delivering aid to ending need
• Invest in Humanity.

SolidarityNow participates in the civil society forum (Exhibition Fair) of the Summit, along with 300 other organizations from around the globe, presenting the organization’s findings and actions based on its multilayered humanitarian response and the involved people’s perspective on their experience and needs.

 “The World Humanitarian Summit takes place at the peak of a global humanitarian crisis we are all called to face, as the number of people suffering from the consequences of conflicts and natural disasters is constantly rising,” says Arianna Tsolakoglou, the Advocacy officer of SolidarityNow and the organization’s Focal Point to the Summit.” “It offers, however, the unique opportunity to reach an international consensus which upholds and reaffirms humanitarian principles and at the same time, to alter the current global humanitarian modus operandi in order to better serve all those in need. It is a vast, multi-stakeholder event, but also an ongoing process, involving governments, donors, civil society organizations, the private sector and representatives of affected populations. And if there is one thing all these actors can agree on, it is the need for a serious discussion about boosting, globally, the humanitarian response. Here at SolidarityNow, we feel the need and that we ought to be part of and contribute to this global discussion.”

Watch the video of the exhibition here:

Solidarity Now and the Benaki Museum kindly invite you to the Opening of the photo exhibition entitled \”The Journey. People On The Move”, on May 16th at 20:00 , at Pireos street(138 Pireos & Andronikou) The Exhibition will run from the 19th to the 29th of ,with free entrance for the public.

8 Leading Photographers
140 photos
1 Journey from Turkey to Greece for a safe refuge in Europe

Eight renowned photographers–photo reporters in Greece capturing, this past year, the Journey and routes of all the people who were forced to flee their countries.

The exhibition features photos of the photographers:
Yannis Behrakis
Alkis Konstantinidis
Giorgos Moutafis
Angelos Tzortzinis
Enri Canaj
Myrto Papadopoulos
Orestis Seferoglou
Chloe Kritharas – Devienne

“Refugee Highway”, documentary, Chronis Pechlivanidis

Exhibition Opening: May the 16th, 2016 at 20:00 at the Benaki Museum (Pireos building)

Days & Hours of the exhibition:
Thursday and Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00 Friday and Saturday: 10:00 – 22:00

Free Entry. 

Curator: Dora Komninou

Deportations of refugees and migrants from Greece to Turkey must be halted immediately and people wanting to seek asylum should not be kept in detention, said Oxfam, Norwegian Refugee Council and SolidarityNow today in Greece.

Refugees could be returned to Turkey without having had a proper asylum hearing or without receiving the necessary information about their legal rights, the aid agencies warn. Forced returns to Turkey were restarted after a pause last week.

Over 6300 refugees and migrants have arrived on the Greek islands since the EU-Turkey deal came into effect on 20th March, and are being arbitrarily held in detention camps. The majority of these new arrivals have applied for asylum. While the European Commission said on April 4th that Greece had sent 1500 asylum case officers and police officers to the islands, there is no evidence of this additional capacity on the ground.

The Greek Asylum Service remains severely understaffed with only a handful of officials and caseworkers on the island to process cases who are struggling to cope with the demand of asylum requests. Unless the promised additional capacity arrives, the quality of the asylum process will be severely compromised.

Compounding the pressure are new ‘emergency measures’ adopted into law by the Greek Government on April 3rd, which includes an expedited ‘fast track’ asylum hearing to determine admissibility. Under these new procedures, Greek asylum officials must undertake complex asylum examinations, including decisions on whether or not Turkey is considered a safe country for return. These complex reviews that determine a person’s future take place in just one day.

Farah Karimi, Oxfam Executive Director said: “Thousands are being held in squalid detention centers on the Greek Islands – this is the state of Europe in 2016 – while the returns deal was pushed through to the detriment of these stranded suffering people by the EU which claims to be a bastion for human rights. Shame on the EU for prioritizing detention and deportation over people’s rights to safety and dignity.”

Even with the support of this promised extra staff, it will take weeks to process the asylum claims of the more than 6,300 people currently being held in overcrowded detention centers on the Greek islands.

Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland said, “It is shocking to see how Europe is mistreating men, women and children fleeing to our continent for protection from war and persecution. Asylum seekers are kept with migrants in overcrowded detention camps deprived of dignity and basic human rights. Disgraceful conditions are placing people at risk. European politicians hold the keys to this crisis, and should immediately open the camps.”

The aid agencies claim that living conditions in the detention centers are deteriorating rapidly with many people sleeping outdoors or in cramped shelters.
Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director of SolidarityNow, said: “Europe can no longer look away from this inhumane situation in which people continue to risk their lives. It must ensure that the people on the move will live in open and secure structures as long as they remain in the country. It is more important, however, to immediately stop deportations to Turkey and to guarantee that these people can exercise their basic right- that of asylum”.
There remains no routine identification of vulnerable people and aid agencies report ongoing detention of children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and those with medical needs. In Lesbos and Chios Pakistanis who perceive their treatment to be discriminatory have threatened to commit suicide.

There is, additionally, growing insecurity as a result of rising frustration and tensions. There have already been incidents of violence at night and women in particular are extremely vulnerable under such circumstances.

Aid agencies are calling on Europe to:
– Immediately halt all returns from Greece to Turkey
– Immediately open all camps where people have expressed intention to seek asylum.
– Immediately improve security to ensure a protective environment for all people inside the closed facility
– Maintain the integrity of the asylum claims process and ensure people have access to legal aid as a matter of urgency
– Increase the number of staff working with the Greek Asylum Service on the islands to process these claims and ensure people are able to access their right to claim asylum before any deportation order is issued.
– Put an end to arbitrary arrests and detentions. The increasing use of detention as a restriction of the freedom of movement of asylum-seekers on the grounds of their irregular entry is a major concern.

In an Action Report we named “e-Report”, we have concentrated the positions of SolidarityNow from 2013 until today.We assess the policy that we follow for our donations to organizations of civil society, which produce important work with social impact and public organizations.

We unfold our philosophy that determines our positions and guides our actions. And simultaneously, we outline the programs that we have developed throughout the social spectrum which ranges from human rights and social justice, to the protection of vulnerable social groups and advocacy on an international and national level.

We present the very positive results that we have achieved through our Solidarity Centers in Athens and Thessaloniki. And the “bet” we won when in 2014, we created specific structures based on the idea of an open space, a nucleus that supports the participation of different groups of civil society in order to cover the lack of access of the city’s most vulnerable populations to integrated services.

We talk about the development of partnerships with civil society organizations and institutions as a fundamental axis of the strategy that we are developing. Our goal is to maximize the result of the joint efforts to relieve the most vulnerable groups affected by the economic and social decline and the refugee crisis.

At SolidarityNow, from 2013 until today, we have financially supported 40 civil society organizations, public institutions and other initiatives with donations exceeding 14 million euros to implement 68 projects .

And we go on.

You can read the e-Report in detail, here.

For over a year now, more than one million people have put their life at risk because they simply have no choice. The policy of delay and exclusion contributes to the deterioration of the situation, causing urgent humanitarian needs and leading to profit-making practices and exploitation of these people.

In 2015, 67 million refugees and migrants who move to flee wars or famine, were recorded worldwide. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights grants everyone the right to leave their country and seek protection in another one.
According to data from the UNHCR, in Greece more than 90% of people who have passed through our country or are currently here (52,000) are refugees that come from war-struck countries where life is threatened, while 59% are women and children – many of whom, (the number is constantly increasing), are unaccompanied or die tragically. Altogether, more than 4,000 people have lost their lives trying to exercise their legitimate right to reach the EU in 2015-16!

As a state based on justice and integrity, we must ensure their human rights based on strict adherence to international law and the Geneva Convention. In this context, closed reception and recording/detention centers cannot work, as there have not yet been any institutionalized procedures for their operation, ensuring the protection of human rights (enhancement of the asylum service, second degree for the examination of appeals, sufficient time to process requests –it is obvious that two weeks’ time is not enough – free legal support and interpretation, medical care, psychological support, housing and food, all of which aim to ensure on human dignity).

In the mainland, where people who arrived before March 20 still remain, the situation is dramatic. Refugees and migrants have been dispersed in over 30 areas. The conditions at the port of Piraeus and around Idomeni are horrible and are inappropriate for a country that wants to be called European. Under these conditions, the risk of causing panic, injuries and deaths in these areas is great, while violence and resistance is expected today as migrants are being returned to Turkey.
The Greek state constantly violates Article 25§1b of the constitution, which requires public institutions to ensure the full exercise of the individual rights of all people who are in the Greek territory, either inside structures or in open areas. In this sense, it especially violates Article 2§1 (respect and protection of human dignity) and puts into jeopardy the rights enshrined in Article 5§2 (absolute protection of life, honor and freedom). Any death or serious injury causally derived from these offenses will lead to serious criminal responsibilities/ repercussions. The criminal offense of exposure (306§1 of the Penal Code) is already taking place with potential fraud.

The EU and Greece probably do not realize that these practices simply alter the routes of traffickers and increase their profits – we have already witnessed arrivals on islands where there are no hotspots, while more and more people are using the route to Italy and soon, the passage at Kipoi towards Bulgaria and Albania will reopen.
The shortsighted policies that led to the destabilization of the Middle East, the formation of terrorist Daesh group (ISIS) and the explosion of the migration phenomenon, should be of concern and it should become rapidly understood that the current practices regarding the refugee/migration crisis are creating persecuted population in the “East and West”, that could trigger new, unforeseen situations.

With the implementation of the 20 March 2016 EU-Turkey deal, refugees and migrants in Greece are divided into two groups, who (for now) have different legal procedures. There are those who remain in the mainland -about 50,000- and those who arrived on the islands during the last two weeks -about 5,000 – and who are temporarily accommodated at the hotspots (which are being renamed “Reception and Identification Centers” but in reality, are simply temporary accommodation areas) in Lesvos, Chios, Leros, Samos.
The people for whom the neighboring country is a “safe country “, will be returned immediately. The rest can apply for asylum which should be irrevocably judged in a month. Those who are entitled to asylum can legally stay in Greece for three years and can also file a request for relocation to another Member State. They have no right to choose a specific country, but if they have family in another country, they can go there according to the family reunification law.

The solution of the problem lies in third countries such as Turkey, which has received 3 million refugees and migrants, Jordan 500,000 and Lebanon 1.5 million. Turkey must be helped, but is it a safe country? Certainly not, in the sense that populations may be returned to the countries of origin. In this way, the Geneva Convention has not been adopted fully, as geographical limitations are placed because although refugees are protected from the West (!), they are not from the Middle East and Asia.

So the refugees / migrants are not safe in Turkey, they do not have access to education and have quite limited access to employment. We do not know where the 3 billion euros of the deal will go and what organization will manage it and how it will improve the lives of the people in the accommodation centers. Generally, there has been a breakdown of freedoms in Turkey particularly against the freedom of the press and academia. Obviously, each country aims to prevent flows.

On the other hand, the fact that the revenues of the smuggling networks are estimated in the last few years to be $ 16 billion, while the cost of securing the borders amounts to 13 billion, is deterrent to limiting the phenomenon. In Greece, the government expects to spend € 4,000,000,000 without clarifying its allocation and relevant procedures. Where will we spend this money? In a country that we believe will accommodate 29 million tourists in 2016, we cannot accommodate a little over 50,000 people? Or are there other reasons behind this policy?

According to a recent survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation, 79 % of European citizens believe in a common European asylum system, while 85% of citizens believe in a fair distribution of refugees in 28 EU countries (currently only 8 countries have accepted this relocation). Greece should be an example of rational integration for everyone, and urge all countries to accept a fair share commensurate with their financial capacity and population size.

Until safe zones are created in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, this mass movement will not stop and the EU will have to absorb 1 million people on the move directly from third countries, who meet certain criteria, and not the 72,000 according to the agreement. The legalization of this movement in combination with a common European asylum will stop the trafficking networks and deaths and will give hope amidst the despair and fear. Besides, 1 million a year is less than 0.5% of the EU population.
Legal and safe channels to Europe and other countries must be created, like the effective resettlement model that Canada implements. In the last century, Greece accepted some 800,000 Greeks of Asia Minor, 500,000 Pontic Greeks and 1million originating from Albania.

Today, despite the sympathy that ordinary citizens, groups of citizens and civil society and government organizations, such as the Coast Guard, have shown, the inability and lack of organization along with the timidity of the government, has excluded us from having a wide, coordinating humanitarian role in the EU. This has resulted, once again, apart from the lost opportunity to promote the country as a major player and partner, in the loss of confidence and now we are visibly at the risk of exiting the Schengen Agreement, with all the financial consequences this entails.

In a month the agreement will practically collapse and the EU will be searching in panic for a new unreal salvation plan to delay again the new large flows, while fearing internal resistance and national elections, as Nazi and xenophobic movements gain new momentum feeding off the lack of organization, fear and the absence of a common political vision. A new “maypole of people” that are nothing more than numbers, will be created. The EU is facing a political crisis.

The number of non-Syrians recorded in Greece will increase and all of them will file applications for asylum and appeals, as applications are rejected in Turkey since only Syrians have specific asylum provisions – though lately mass deportations are taking place and Syrians are sent back to their country. It is, of course, expected that the applications of Syrians satisfy most of the standards in Greece, as they constitute the main group which conceptually is closer to the word “refugee”. The European Court of Human Rights will prohibit the return of Kurds or Iranians, for example. Traffickers will initially be under pressure but will find, eventually, new passages. So if justice prevails, few will be judged as meeting the requirements to be returned to Turkey.

Our country is now in its 6th year of an economic and socio-political crisis that has moved us back in time, with skyrocketed rates of unemployment especially among young people. Young people leave in search of opportunities overseas where, because they are white and Christian, their right (to relocate) is respected. Perhaps this the last chance for us to leave our children and the EU with the belief that with solidarity and integration in our society, there is still hope for a better life, free of racism and xenophobia, which ultimately contributes to the prospect of social and economic development. Hopefully.

Epaminondas Farmakis has been a member of civil society for the past 19 years and since 2015, has been Managing Director of the Association SolidarityNow