From the 3rd to the 8th of January the activists of the Lesvos calling campaign were on the Greek island Lesvos, inside Moria camp.
“What we saw – they say – is the forced segregation of about 21.000 people on the island (as others hotspot islands in front of the Turkey shores) under inhuman conditions. This obligation has clear responsible: the migration policies of the European Union and Greek Government”.
For today, with this firts protest, we have decided to denounce the serious responsibilities of the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conservative government. With the new law on international protection (Greek IPA), approved by the Parliament on the 31st of October 2019, the right of freedom of asylum seekers is put at risk, empowering places, periods of detention and assuring faster repatriations to Turkey.”
The hard line of Greek government regarding migrations is confirmed by a disquieting news that has been announced yesterday: the construction of a floating barrier of 2,7 kilometers on the Eastern Aegean to delimit the arrivals of people from the near Turkish shore.
“Hot spot island is not a solution. Freedom of movement for everybody” reports the banner that was hung, during the occupation, on the balcony of the Greek Honorary Consulate in Venice.
We report the public statement that has been diffused during the demonstration.
Stop hotspot-islands!
Humanitarian corridors now! Empty Moria now!
#lesvoscalling #opentheisland #stopeuturkeydeal #safepassage
Right now about 43.000 people are blocked on the Greek islands Lesvos, Samos, Chios and Leros.
Their conditions are dramatic: they live in refugee camps, named “hotspots”, under despicable conditions, deprived of everything, without possibilities of asserting their rights.
MSF has compared these camps to the typical ones of war zones.
Nonetheless, despite an obvious humanitarian crisis is going on, the Greek government keeps on ban the transferts to the mainland. The organisation of medical assistance denounces that even sick kids in need of urgent therapies are obliged to stay confined on the islands.
Besides, it is from last July that the government has revocked the access to the public sanitary assistance to asylum seekers and to people without identity documents that reach the country, promoting an unprecedented general contraction of rights. With the new law on international protection (Greek IPA), approved by the Parliament on the 31st october 2019, the right of asylum seekers’ freedom is put at risk, while places and periods of detention are strengthened.
As activists of the campaign #Lesvoscalling we recently came back from Moria camp, in Lesvos, where we did a supportive action: there, more than 21.000 people are confined. The majority of them are forced to live inside tents, without access to drinkable water, to hygienical services nor to electricity.
What we have seen confirms that the migration policies of European Union have declared more and more openly and ferociously a war against men, women and kids seeking for a safe place: in the case of Moria, the armed wing is the Greek government!
To the point that it has ordered, by the 31st of January the closing of “stage 2” camp, one of the few places offering to people disembarked a momentary safe place before being transferred inside Moria camp by the authority. With this initiative we want also to reply to the call for mobility promoted by some associations and NGOs that we met in Lesvos. They are asking not to close “stage 2”, the only transit camp left on the island.
We clearly declare that those are not the welcoming places to be closed: refugee camps like Moria are!
The islands must be open, while the restriction of freedom of movement of asylum seekers must be interrupted, guaranteeing to them an adequate hospitality on the mainland, outside any detention structure.
An immediate evacuation is needed, alongside the opening of humanitarian corridors towards the mainland and towards other European countries to give dignity and hope again.
Rights and freedom of movement for everyone!!
#Lesvoscalling Campaign
