Back on the road: from the confinement islands of the Aegean Sea to the Balkan route

Since the beginning of the year about 50,000 people have managed to reach Lesvos, Samos and the Dodecanese islands. The migratory flow across the Aegean Sea has never completely stopped and due to the Erdogan led war in Rojava, migration over the last few months has continued to grow. A huge number of migrants are kept in “hotspots” and reception centers, where they are exposed to inhumane conditions. This is a real humanitarian emergency that according to Dr. Cristos Christiu, International President of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), is “comparable to what one sees in war zones or those struck by natural disasters“. The European Union entrusted Erdogan to keep migrants outside of the Schengen area and in March 2016, they signed a shameful agreement worth 6 billion euros. This agreement subcontracts migration management from the East, militarizes the borders of the Middle East and Greece, and strengthens patrolling capacity of the Aegean Sea coast. On the Balkan route, resources and funds were mainly used to hinder the all possible ways of human mobility and to criminalize active solidarity. Each country has adopted repressive policies with the acknowledged goal of preventing transit, temporary settlement and entrance into EU member states, as well as making independent solidarity action difficult and illegal. The raising barriers policy hides two new business models: the first, which is not well known, enables private companies to build walls and provide excessive security services. The second, which is more visible, restricts humanitarian agencies that in turn become subjugated to the current “border regime“. The islands of the Aegean Sea, in particular the Levsos and Moria hotspots, have become “confinement islands” where migrants suffer a “geographical restriction“, making it impossible to move to the peninsula. In the meantime, the new right-wing government of Greece seems to be waiting for a catastrophe in order to evacuate the hotspots. Balkan route borders, in particular the passage between Croatia and Bosnia, have been militarized. This measure is causing a considerable increase in refusals and violent interventions by border police, which act in a brutal way to discourage free movement. In Hungary and Bulgaria, paramilitary groups are increasingly patrolling the border. The case of Bosnia is symbolic: since the beginning of the year, around 20,000 people arrived between Bihać and Velika Kladuša. Humanitarian organizations were forced to hide themselves while distributing food and clothes. In such a difficult situation, in which all resources are focused on suppressing the free mobility of migrants, and where even the primary rights regarding international protection are denied or applied with extreme arbitrariness, we think it is essential to get on the road and travel from Greece to the Balkans. Shortly, we will leave for Bosnia and from the 3rd to the 8th of January, we will again visit the island of Lesvos. These journeys will help to organise and deliver humanitarian interventions to areas of need. We will keep monitoring what is happening on European borders and we will communicate updates through our media channels. We are aware that the situation could worsen at any moment. We think that our physical presence is fundamental in order to see what is happening on the ground. We will continue to look to Europe as an open space where we can act and build connections, find radical alternatives and build human solidarity and communal activism. For the right of free movement and free passage for all. Join the campaign! Write to [email protected] Promoters and supporters (in updating): Progetto Meltingpot Europa; Associazione Open Your Borders – Padova; Centro Sociale Bruno – Trento; Welcome Refugees – Vicenza; Talking Hands – Treviso; Casa dei beni comuni – Treviso; CSO Django – Treviso; Associazione Caminantes – Treviso; CS Bocciodromo – Vicenza; Non Una Di Meno – Vicenza; CSO Pedro – Padova; Scuola di italiano Liberalaparola – Padova; CSA Arcadia – Schio; Parole in Movimento – Venezia; Centro sociale Rivolta – Marghera; Scuola di italiano Libera La Parola – Trento; Bozen Solidale; Spazio Autogestito 77 Bolzano; Non Una Di Meno – Venezia; … – Sostieni il progetto: Un’azione solidale per le donne confinate sull’isola greca di Lesvos

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