Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe 17.11.16
Topic
01 November 2016
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
Many arrested after fires break out in and around Chios refugee, migrant camp (ekathimerini.com, link):
"Greek riot police forces detained several people at a refugee and migrant processing camp located in the area of Souda,on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, late Wednesday, after fires broke out on the camp and the vicinity."
But on the other hand Are You Syrious reports (link): Greece: Refugee camp in Chios attacked:
"Volunteers report 60 fascists descended onto the Souda camp from both sides, attacking refugees with fireworks and rocks. Many volunteers and refugees were arrested inside the camp, with refugees reporting incidents of police brutality. 4 to 5 people were forced to go to the hospital, a,d one man got his scull fractured by a thrown rock.
Yesterday night, a senior member of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party held a speech on the refugee crisis on Chios and an anti-fascist demonstration took place against the presence of Golden Dawn on the island."
Migrant crisis: Belgium withdraws its experts from Greece (Brussels Times, link):
"Shots against asylum offices on Lesbos
The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Theo Francken (N-VA), has decided to withdraw the Belgian experts present on the Greek islands due to the deterioration of the security situation. According to Het Nieuwsblad and De Standaard (16 November), he has called for urgent action by the Greek authorities.
In Lesbos, migrants fired shots at the European asylum offices because of the slowness of the proceedings. Staff is also daily threatened. Theo Francken has therefore decided to repatriate dozens of Belgian experts.
Francken requested changes to ensure better working conditions on the spot. He also demanded that asylum procedures, as well as deportations to Turkey, should be speeded up. Unless these conditions are met, the Belgian employees will not return."
EU-AFGHANISTAN "DEAL": NGOs Concerned About EU-Afghanistan Deal (pdf):
"The NGOs noted that:
The agreement may violate the principle of non-refoulement, and may hinder the protection against collective expulsions and the right to asylum;
The deal between EU and Afghanistan may cause an increase in returns of children with their families and unaccompanied minors;
The EU is wrongly presenting Afghanistan as a ‘safe country’ for return, whereas the situation on the ground is still dangerous, “as provinces such as Helmand and Kunduz fall into the hands of armed groups yet again.”
The open letter was signed, among others, by Médecins du monde, Save the Children, International Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Emergency, Terre des Hommes, Pro Asyl."
Are You Syrious (16.11.16)
At least 240 died in the Mediterranean this week
"Reuters reports at least 240 refugees died in the Mediterranean this week while another 580 people were pulled from overcrowded boats."
Situation in Bosnia
"Bosnia remains one of the countries in the region that was not part of the so called Balkan route, but this changed with the tightening of the EU borders. However, even the limited number of people who entered the country are not receiving protection they are entitled to.
All the refugees who are found by the police are forcibly taken into the Centre for immigration where they are investigated, and while they stay inside, closely watched by the police. The center is of semi-open type."
Italy: Refugees evicted in Rome
"Baobab Experience says that refugees were yet again evicted, this time from Piazzale Spadolini. They were also threatened by police, with officers saying “Don’t dare building another camp in the area because we’re going to throw everything away and you’re going get into trouble”, “we have the order from the police headquarters to evacuate you, from now on, in every place you’re going to be”, “we’re not going to let you fuck around with us”."
Germany and Sweden meet over response to refugee crisis (Dalje.com, lnk):
"As asylum seekers continue to stream to their countries, the leaders of Germany and Sweden were to meet Tuesday to discuss the need for a European Union-wide response to the refugee crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven have both called for a coordinated and mandatory system for the redistribution of asylum seekers within the EU.
Germany, along with Sweden and Austria, has also requested more help from neighbouring countries to cope with the throngs of people. "
FRONTEX: Record number of migrants reached Italy in October (Press release, link):
"Nearly 27 500 migrants reached the Italian shores in October, the highest monthly number ever recorded in the Central Mediterranean and more than twice as many as in the previous month.
A key reason for the unprecedented number was improved weather that followed relatively poor weather conditions in September. Encouraged by this, people smugglers crammed even more migrants onto unseaworthy boats before the winter weather sets in, leading to a very high number of deaths.
There were 127 bodies recovered in the Central Mediterranean region in October and likely many more drowned."
Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.