Greece’s reception system for migrants has collapsed in light of a spike of arrivals over the past few months. Turkey’s recent police operations, that involved removing refugees and asylum seekers from its western coastal cities and sending them back to the regions where they were registered, has pushed Greece’s current accomodation to capacity.
Between September 2019 and January 2020, figures released by the Greek government pertain to the transfer of 14,750 from the islands to the mainland. At the same time, 36,000 new arrivals crossed the Aegean to Greece from Turkey.
The current system is unable to absorb any more people and efforts to establish additional camps in the mainland and new detention centres on the islands have been slowed by strong resistance from the local communities.
The conditions on Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Kos and Leros – the north-eastern islands which have become known as “hotspots” – have become intolerable, with more than 42,000 people currently living in shanty towns built to hold a few thousand.
“It’s a powder keg ready to explode…Things have reached a limit, especially on Lesbos where we have 25,000 migrants.”
Kostas Moutzouris, the Northern Aegean regional governor
These islands have acted as a barrier since the EU-Turkey deal of March 2016, which has meant that no one reaching the Greek mainland can be returned to Turkey. This deal has become widely blamed for establishing an inhumane system as Greece actively tries to ensure no one reaches their mainland.
Under Syriza, who held power in Green between 2015 and 2019, conditions on the island were precarious. The government failed to establish a functioning reception and asylum system which led to reactionary policies to ease pressure rather than a concerted effort to improve the system. However since the New Democracy party came into power last summer, policies have been punitive, and focus on deterring people from arriving on the islands in the first place.
A new asylum law, introduced last October, has made it impossible to keep up with procedures in the absence of constant legal aid, which is a very limited service offered by only a few organisations. The Government also plans to requisition land to establish massive detention centres on thee islands – where asylum seekers could be restricted for lengthy periods – in order to enable far more deportations. Other plans have included the creation of a floating sea barrier to keep out asylum seekers.
Speaking about this new asylum law, Eva Cosse, Greece researcher for Human Rights Watch said:
“The Greek government should instead prioritise resolving the humanitarian crisis that the deeply flawed deal with Turkey has caused for asylum seekers,”
Opposition from the island communities, who don’t want these policies imposed on them, has been widespread. Tensions reached boiling point last month with large-scale demonstrations taking place on Lesbos, Chios and Samos calling for asylum seekers to be transferred from the islands. Similar protests by asylum seekers have resulted in rough treatment by police and security services, while vigilante groups have been attacking asylum seekers and NGO workers.
The New Democracy party’s approach has been widely criticised. Opponents say the strategy will inflict great human costs with little chance of producing results. Resistance from local communities will slow down the implementation of the plan. And once Turkey starts transferring refugees back to so-called “safe zones” in northern Syria, the push factors on the other side of the Aegean will be much stronger. People will choose going to Greece over getting back to Idlib, no matter how difficult it is.
However, many have also criticised the European Union for increasingly leaving Greece to handle the practical issues alone. Some have suggested that the EU should consider creating an EU reception and protection system at the external borders of Europe – and sending doctors, nurses, social workers and interpreters there. As it stands, Frontex, an EU super-agency, is increasingly meant to be taking over control of those external borders. Yet, the responsibilities of actually receiving and protecting migrants are being left to Greece, a small member state.