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Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe 22-23 10.16

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01 October 2016

 UNHCR: (22.10.16): 319,826 arrivals in the Med in 2016: 168,873 in Greece, 145,982 in Italy. 3,654 dead/missing.

 

Greek Ministry statistics: 21.10.16 number of refugees/"guests" in camps and their capacity (pdf): Greek islands: 15,378 refugees/"guests* and capacity 8,030. Voluntary" returns in 2016: 5,010 and Departures to Turkey 2016: 724.

 Greece in 2016: Vulnerable People Left Behind (MSF, link):

"The unwillingness or the inability of the Greek government to take the lead and to ensure proper cooperation with the other actors involved is having a serious impact on the quality and speed of the response. 

Likewise, the deliberate negligence of the EU and its member states in providing an efficient relocation system for those seeking safety and protection is prolonging and intensifying the suffering. MSF urges the EU and the Greek authorities to immediately address the needs of the most vulnerable and to facilitate legal and safe ways for those who are entitled to enter into the relocation scheme to be quickly welcomed elsewhere in Europe."

 Are You Syrious (22.10.16, link)

MEDITERRANEAN

"11 people, including 7 adults and 4 children, drowned during the rescue this morning according to MSF. 250 refugees were saved by SeaWatch2 vessel alone in the past 24 hours. At 8am a small wooden boat carrying a single family was located and all passengers were brought on board the Dignity1 rescue boat. At 8:30am another rubber boat arrived carrying many men & two bodies. With the deck full Dignity1 could only hand out life jackets. The Aquarius has brought 261 people on board this morning, including some rescued last night and some from a tiny wooden boat this morning."

Greece

"194 new refugees have been officially registered in Greece, including 96 on Lesvos, 78 on Samos and 20 on Kalymnos. According to volunteer sources, one boat carrying 20 refugees arrived to Skala Sikaminia north of the Lesvos island this morning (Oct 22)."

Research reveals systematic mistreatment of pregnant women and mothers with newborns in Greek camps

"The reproductive rights of refugees are firmly rooted in international law, but they are often neglected, if not completely disregarded on the ground. In Greece, many refugee women are forced to undergo C-section, even if they are perfectly capable of delivering their babies naturally. They are quickly stitched up and sent back to filthy camps with wounds on their bellies and crying babies in their hands. The volunteer community needs to put pressure on the authorities to provide better support to refugee mothers and their kids and we can’t do it without international support. This is why our friends from Pleiades law group led by Electra Leda Koutra have conducted an important field research about reproductive rights of refugee women in Greece, in cooperation with Human Rights in Childbirth and with tje humble support of AYS." [see below]

 Greece: HELLENIC ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - Pleiades: PLEIADES REPORT ON REFUGEE MOTHERS – Preliminary findings on antenatal, perinatal and postnatal care of refugees in Greece (link)

 'Libyan coastguard' speedboat attacked migrant dinghy, says NGO (Guardian, link):

"Sea-Watch says at least four people died after crew of vessel with coastguard insignia attacked rubber boat carrying about 150 people off Libyan coast."

 Travelling in hope - The flow of Africans from Libya to Italy is now Europe’s worst migration crisis (THe Economist, link):

"BEFORE dawn the Dignity 1 has completed her first rescue, scooping 114 migrants without lifejackets from a rubber dinghy adrift in the Mediterranean. The crew, who include a doctor and two nurses from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the charity that operates the boat, check the arrivals to see who needs immediate care. No sooner have they finished than the ship is called to assist the Samuel Beckett, an Irish military vessel also engaged in search-and-rescue. Several migrants she has picked up need urgent medical help: they have chemical burns from fuel leaking in their sinking boat. In the evening the Italian coastguard brings 196 more people on board. By midnight the Dignity 1 is carrying 417 migrants."

 Greece, Lesvos: Customs Authorities seize several cars operated by NGOs (Keep Talking Greece, link): "Several vehicles operated by international non-governmental organizations on the island of Lesvos have been seized by the Greek customs authorities. According to Athens News Agency, the vehicles had been violating Greek and European laws, according to which license plates should be changed if a vehicle operates for more than six months in a different country than the one that issued the plates. The vehicles had plates of several EU countries and were operated by persons that had no private or labor relation with the owners who were “unknown EU citizens.”"