EU: Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (4)
02 November 2015
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Greek conscripts: 'we won't take part in fighting migrants' (libcom.org):
"A collective statement on the migrant crisis from “Diktyo Spartakos” (‘Spartacus Net’), a far leftist formation inside the Greek army, and signed by conscript soldiers from 50 different units.
The following inspirational statement deserves the widest possible circulation. It is from Greek conscripts in 50 units of the Armed Forces. The statement is notable for linking all the current horrors inflicted on workers everywhere to a single cause – the ongoing crisis of the capitalist system. In this crisis, which demands sacrifices in lost and ruined lives, all workers, whatever their condition, have a common cause and a common interest.. "
- UK:
Otley aid worker could face jail for smuggling 4-year-old back to family (ITV News, with viideos link):
"Rob Lawrie tried to smuggle four-year-old Bahar from the infamous Jungle refugee camp in Calais to relatives in Leeds after her father pleaded with him to take her in his van. He persuaded a Yorkshire aid volunteer to try to take her to family in Leeds - Rob Lawrie's now due in court for this - he will appear in January in Boulogne charged with smuggling."
- News (2.11.15)
Berlin journalist 'hunted by far-right thugs' (The Local.de, link):
"A journalist for Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel said on Facebook he was tracked down and physically attacked on the street by right wing thugs in Berlin on Friday after writing a column about xenophobia."
Germany wants Greece 'hotspots' ready this month (ekathimerini.com, link):
"Tobias Plate, a spokesman for Germany's interior ministry, said the centers were at various stages of completion but “we expect this to proceed rapidly.” Plate told reporters in Berlin on Monday that Germany “expect that in November...the hotspots, particularly in Greece, will become fully operational.” Germany, meanwhile, is close to completing work on two “waiting zones” capable of housing 5,000 migrants each at its border with Austria, Plate said".
Czech helper says refugees face desperate situation on Croatia border (Radio Praha, link)
First refugee relocation from Greece to Luxembourg on Wednesday (amna.gr, link)
Austria:
Winter retreats from her anti-Semitic remarks (The Local.at, link):
"An Austrian far-right MP is rapidly backpedalling after making remarks on social media which were interpreted as supporting anti-Semitic views."
Norway copies Danish anti-refugee adverts (The Local.no, link):
"Norway has launched a campaign on Facebook and Twitter warning prospective refugees of the treatment they will face in the country, copying a negative advertising campaign launched in Denmark."
Sweden:
Activists fight closure of Malmö migrant camp (The Local.se, link):
"Campaigners are gathered at a controversial camp in Malmö that has been home to hundreds of mostly Roma people, but is set to be cleared by police and local authorities."
Hungary 'will not accept' refugees from other EU states (worldbulletin.net, link):
"Refugees should be returned to Greece where they first entered EU, says Hungarian minister, noit accept any refugees sent to it by other European Union countries. Janos Lazar, the minister in charge of the Hungarian Prime Ministry, told reporters on Thursday: "Western European countries want to send about 40,000 migrants back to Hungary; we will not accept them, [not] even one of them." "The migrants did not enter the European Union zone from Hungary; they entered from Greece, [to] where they should be sent," Lazar added."
7 Volunteers Whose Lives Were Changed By Refugees (The Huffington Post, link):
"HuffPost Greece spoke with members of MSF’s team on Kos about what motivated them to leave their homes and take care of others in a difficult situation -- one we could all experience at some point in our lives. Who did they meet among the refugees and whom will they never forget?"
After escaping war, asylum seekers in Sweden now face arson attacks (Reuters, link):
"* Sweden expects record migrant arrivals this year * Arson attacks on asylum centres remain unsolved * Minister attacks party over anti-immigration rhetoric * Sweden Democrats leader condemns attacks * But party publishes addresses of new asylum centres."
BULGARIA:
Refugees found in refrigerated truck in Bulgaria (Al Jazeera, link)
EU:
'Sharing the Burden of Rescue': Illegalised Boat Migration, the Shipping Industry and the Costs of Rescue in the Central Mediterranean (Border Criminologies, link)
EU:
The horrors of Lesbos: on the front-lines of Fortress Europe (ROAR Mag, link):
"Far from providing safe refuge to those who survive the crossing, Europe is subjecting refugees to dehumanizing, degrading and life threatening conditions."
German Village of 102 Braces for 750 Asylum Seekers (New York Times, link)
Germany limits refugee access from Austria (The Local, link)
Germany's refugee welcome wears thin (IRIN News, link):
"Images of Germans greeting refugees at Munich’s train station with cheers and teddy bears in early September were beamed around the world, but the welcome that asylum seekers receive after being dispersed to cities, towns and rural areas around the country is often quite different."
UK:
Yorkshire 'Football for All' project helping refugees (Al Jazeera, link)
A journey to a refugee camp in Slovenia (Press Project, link)
Greece:
Total of 19 dead recovered from Aegean Sea (ekathimerini.com, link):
"Greek authorities confirm that the bodies of four more migrants, all men, have been recovered north of the island of Farmakonissi in the eastern Aegean Sea. Four others were rescued and seven are missing. This brings the total number of dead recovered Sunday in the Aegean Sea to 19, in three separate incidents."
Merkel coalition still at odds on refugees (euobserver, link):
"German chancellor Angela Merkel faces further coalition rifts this week as talks over the weekend with party leaders on the refugee crisis failed to produce a common government policy on how to deal with the huge number of arriving refugees and migrants."
From refugee crisis to Stormont, unacceptable language of intolerance breeds hatred by Phil Scraton (.belfasttelegraph.co.uk, link)