Die deutsche Version finden Sie hier: https://fabioreinhardt.de/?p=438116>
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This report was sent on November 6th, 2015 to the President of the Berlin House of Representatives, the President of the European Parliament, the chairman of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, the European Commission Representation in Germany, the German embassy in Athens and the German association of journalists.
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1. General situation at the campsite
I am an accredited journalist and member of the German association of journalists DFJV. Also, I am a member of the Berlin House of Representatives, working in the field of refugees and asylum. I arrived on the Greek island of Lesvos on October 20th, 2015 in order to gain an overview of the situation of arriving migrants and to talk to people involved. I visited several UNHCR-campsites and police registration facilities. One of the recently most discussed facilities for migrants is the camp near Moria and Mytilene. Although having existed before, it has been officially labeled as one of eleven EU-Hotspots since October 16th. Migrants arriving on Lesvos from Turkey on boats have to be registered there or in Karatepe to be allowed to leave the island. On 22nd and 24th October I had a firsthand look at the registration process which turned out to be slow and painful. Migrants from different nations stood in lines in front of the inner registration facility for a very long time. There was no structure visible and several people were showing their lack of trust in the fairness of the registration procedure. The waiting period was tough with enduring rain that had been going on for days and the lack of shelter on site. I saw migrants that had swollen feet, were unable to stand and could hardly bear the pain. The long term consequences from this physical suffering are not foreseable. Many people on site were suffering from hypothermia, standing shivering or lying on the ground. There were also reports of pregnant women losing their babies, and lifeless and supposedly dead people that suffered from standing shelterless in the rain during the registration process. I would also like to point out that there was no identification procedure for persons belonging to vulnerable groups (ill persons, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, traumatized persons, victims of torture etc.).
It was especially painful to watch was the non-existent information policy on site. On the evening of October 24th I noticed migrants waiting for the beginning of the registration process outside the door of the southern facility building. It was obvious that they were not given any proper information about the nature and duration of the procedure or the overall situation in the camp. Instead, the camp police was treating people in a very disrespectful manner. They were shouting commands in Greek at them for no obvious reason instead of speaking sentences. No translations were provided by the police. Also, they clapped their batons on objects to make noise, obviously in order to make people afraid and eager to comply with given commands. This was additionally disturbing as there was no visible lack of compliance. It was obvious that no systematic approach, including for example the use of translators and the provision of an overview over the registration procedure, was in place.
Whilst being on site, I was faced with numerous reports by migrants of abuse and mistreatment by police guards. On October, 23rd there were reportedly two suicide attempts by minors during their stay in the facility. The whole matter of unaccompanied minors would actually be worth a separate letter. The procedures on site do not take into account that minors need a guardian to leave the island. However, guardians are not available for a long period of time, leaving the affected interned against their will and without committing any wrongdoing. Overall, the police on site was feared and sometimes also hated by the migrants. More remarkably, the police, or in other words the state, responsible for the camp was not feeling responsible for anything outside the registration facility. There was no sight of them organizing shelter or giving out food and drinks. UNHCR, private organizations and independent volunteers from several nations had to step in and replace the lack of necessary state support for the dependent people. Without any doubt, without their support the situation would have been utterly and unbearably worse.
2. Eyewitness report of police actions
On October 22nd, around 9 pm, a companion and I were watching the queues outside the registration facility on campsite. It was raining heavily but nobody was being registered or let inside the inner area. Instead of explaining the procedure, people were told in Greek to sit down. Then, without any visible cause, around a dozen police officers, equipped with helmets, shields and batons approached the gate from the inside of the southern main registration facility. At that time, I was filming the scene from a distance. There had not been any problems entering the camp site and there were no visible signs regarding filming or photographing on site. Suddenly, I was shouted at from inside the facility to stop filming, which I did. Then, two masked men in civilian dresses, equipped with batons, rushed up to me and my companion, dragging us towards the facility. Our demands to give reasons for that kind of behavior, to identify themselves and show any form of registration were ignored. We were pushed into the facility and dragged inside a building to the right, fully equipped with about a dozen fingerprint scanners and some computers.
Inside, we were neither shown nor told the identification of the people involved (no identification number, no name or position) nor given a legal basis for their behavior. Instead we were being interrogated for a full 90 minutes by up to eight people. Some of them were masked, some unmasked, some were equipped with batons and toyed them around. From the beginning I showed them my valid international press card and informed them that I was a member of the Berlin House of Representatives. We were told to hand over any video or photo material taken in the camp. Then they took our video camera, connected it to a computer, browsed through the videos and tried unsuccessfully to erase a number of videos. They also wanted us to unlock all three of our phones in order to browse through the data which we denied pointing out the lack of legal grounds. However, we did delete several pictures on the phones as requested.
After the interrogation, we were handed over to three local police men, carrying us to the office for migration purposes at Mytilene police station. They took our names and data including my press credentials into their computer and on paper, releasing us afterwards in a rather unspectacular manner. They pointed out that we were not considered to be under arrest.
In the whole process mentionable points were:
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We were not given any information and still do not know which police force was detaining and questioning us, which units were involved or any names of the acting individuals.
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We were not given a specific law or ruling for our alleged wrongdoing. We were not supposed to ask for any legal grounds as this was understood as to question the authority of the police.
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The several times we asked if we were officially under arrest, we were given several varying answers depending on the situation. When I pointed out that we should be released or be given the right to call a lawyer, the demand was rejected. Later, I was told, first we would have to unlock our cell phones. The whole interrogation procedure, including the time at the Mytilene police station, lasted for more than three hours. During that time we were not able to move freely or continue watching the situation in Moria. This can be only be labeled as detention.
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During the interrogation we were not given fresh water despite demands.
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Finally, I want to point out a related political matter. During the interrogation I was told by several individuals that the situation on site is only so difficult because there is a lack of personnel from the Greek and European side. While I can understand that point, it seemed and still seems quite absurd to me to take press / political observers into the room that is supposed to be for registration purposes and to use it for hours for an interrogation, especially as the interrogation was completely obsolete and also lacking legal grounds. The police personnel present could and should have been used for registering migrants instead.
3. Responsibility of the European Commission for above issues
Regarding the responsibility of the European Union and especially the European Commission for the whole affair, I want to point out that neither the situation on the campsite nor the treatment of press / foreign politicians on site can be labeled as just a national matter of the Greek authorities. On numerous occasions the European Commission made it clear that it bears responsibility for the operation of the eleven EU hotspots and supports them through various means:
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On July 15th, 2015, Commissioner Avramopoulos stated in a letter and explanatory note to the Justice and Home Affairs Ministers the aim of the “’Hotspot‘ approach” was “to provide comprehensive and targeted support by the EU Agencies to frontline Member states”. He included details “setting out the way in which this approach is implemented in practice in Italy and Greece, taking into account legal, financial and operational aspects”. [1]
“In such a ‚Hotspot‘ approach, the European Asylum Support Office, Frontex and Europol will work on the ground with frontline Member States to swiftly identify, register and fingerprint incoming migrants. The work of the agencies will be complementary to one another. Those claiming asylum will be immediately channelled into an asylum procedure where EASO support teams will help to process asylum cases as quickly as possible.“ [2]
„On the ground, operational coordination is necessary. For practical reasons that would consist of an EU Regional Task Force (EURTF) responsible for the overall coordination of the work of the different teams of experts involved in the “Hotspot” approach and the information exchange among these teams.“ [2]
A roadmap on the implementation of the described approach was attached. [2]
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On September 29th the European Commission released an annex to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council named „Managing the refugees crisis: immediate operational, budgetary and legal measures under the European Agenda on Migration“. [3]
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On October 8th the European Commission sent out a press release stating that they were “confident that the Greek authorities are rapidly implementing the hotspot approach“ and quoting Commissioner Avramopoulos: „Greece and Italy should now finalise the rollout of the hotspot teams“. [4]
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On October 16th Commissioner Avramopoulos visited the campsite on Lesvos and stated afterwards: „The hotspots consist of experts teams deployed by European agencies namely Frontex, Europol, Eurojust and EASO as well as by Member States and of course by the Greek authorities. These teams ensure that the procedure is finalised quickly and that in a legal manner, the asylum applicants are included in the relocation scheme.“[5]
By sending out these and several other press releases and communications the European Commission made it clear that it bears responsibility for both the situation on the ground, especially for the treatment of migrants awaiting the obligatory registration procedure in Moria and other Hotspots and also for the treatment of press and civilians in general, and for following national and international law on these sites. I want to point out the whole registration process is nowhere close to what the Commission has tried to make the public believe it is and the situation of the people arriving from the coast of Lesvos can only be labeled as disastrous and desperate.
Treatment of Migrants
With steady numbers of incoming migrants, dropping temperatures and hardening weather situations during the coming winter months, it has to be assumed that we are nearing a humanitarian catastrophe on Lesvos and the campsite of Moria. As the European Union labelled the Moria registration camp a EU hotspot it bears direct and full responsibility for this.
I advise drastic measures to improve the situation on site. This includes the following:
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A functioning and quick registration process is required. Until this can be implemented an option to leave the island without full registration is necessary. A temporary method for quickly issuing legal papers needs to be implemented immediately.
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Migrants are to be informed at all times about their rights, their situation and the status quo of their procedure. There should be a sufficient amount of interpreters of the languages commonly spoken by people arriving on site.
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Migrants are to be treated with respect and dignity. That includes no unprovoked and unnecessary shouting or clapping with batons and other objects to produce sounds, no mistreatment and abuse. International observers must have full rights to view the process in the camp.
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The registration procedure has to be organized in a manner that gives way to the need of vulnerable migrants. There may not be a way of „Survival (or in this context ‚registration‘) of the fittest“.
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During the unavoidable waiting periods, migrants are to be provided with acceptable shelter, food, water, medical and psychological treatment. Volunteers and UN organizations cannot be left alone with this task. Additionally, information of contact persons for all relevant fields, including psychological treatment, has to be available for migrants and volunteers.
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A fast-track way to deal with unaccompanied minors has to be implemented immediately. If the Greek authorities cannot provide enough guardians to accompany minors from the island this should be deemed an international task and there should be calls for qualified guardians from all over Europe to come to Lesvos and accompany minors to the Greek mainland and/or other European countries. Detainment of lawful migrants and especially of minors must be avoided at all times!
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Greek authorities have to be urged to and supported in following these points to avoid suffering, long term psychological and physical harms or even deaths of migrants on site.
Treatment of Press
Furthermore the European Commission should urge Greek authorities and other European authorities that the treatment of press, foreign politicians and other observers on site is compatible with international law and treaties. This especially means:
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Actions by masked, ununiformed and / or unidentified personnel acting with state consent and in the name of Greek or EU authorities are not acceptable.
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Arrests or in that manner any police actions without giving the exact legal grounds on which basis this action is based are not acceptable.
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Arrests without the right to call a lawyer and interrogations without an adequate translation are not acceptable.
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Attempts to gain access to cell phones or other communication devices or to view, manipulate or erase video or photo material are not acceptable, especially not from international press and without a legal basis.
[1] http://www.statewatch.org/news/2015/jul/eu-com-commissioner-letter.pdf
[2] http://www.statewatch.org/news/2015/jul/eu-com-hotsposts.pdf
[3] http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/proposal-implementation-package/docs/communication_on_managing_the_refugee_crisis_annex_2_en.pdf
[4] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5799_en.htm
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Further information here: https://n64.cc/category/outsideberlin/
On Wednesday, November 11th, Fabio and Chucky talk about their experiences on the Balkan route: https://n64.cc/?p=1401
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Die deutsche Version finden Sie hier: https://fabioreinhardt.de/?p=438116>