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Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe 20.7.16.1

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01 July 2016

 Greece Prepares For Long Term Accommodation Of Migrants (News That Moves, link):

 

"The Greek government appears to be preparing for long term accommodation of the migrant population currently in Greece.

Greek media reported this week that the Greek government plans to close 70 per cent of the country’s migrant reception centers by September, replacing them with small sites with better living conditions, more suitable for the longer term accommodation of the migrant population....

The Ministry of Defence is responsible for the construction of the new camps."

 Electra (Facebook, link): Greece: Unaccompanied children: :

"This is the camp where the Government intended to "host" the unaccompanied minors in the Sh.D. case. I refused to cooperate in something which I thought would violate these children's rights and was ultimately harassed by authorities for not "taking the children to them". I answered that they can contact the children themselves, if they wanted to take them there. The case has been communicated by the ECtHR to the Greek Government and amazing legal entities have intervened as 3rd parties, among which Statewatch and ECRE."

 Günther Oettinger: No visa waiver for Turkey this year (politico, link)

‘Erdogan has to make concessions to us regarding the respect of the rule of law, and it doesn’t look like it is happening now,’ the digital commissioner told German media.

European Commissioner Günther Oettinger has ruled out visa-free travel to Europe for Turks this year, after Friday’s failed coup prompted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to launch a purge in the administration, the army, the police and the judiciary, German media report.

“Erdogan has to make concessions to us regarding the respect of the rule of law, and it doesn’t look like it is happening now,” Oettinger, the EU’s commissioner for the digital economy and society, told Funke Mediengruppe. “It is not possible to strip MPs of their immunity to bully them. It is not possible to intimidate journalists. And it is not possible to withdraw thousands of unwanted judges from service.”"

 Are You Syrious (Link)

Who are the Mobile Info Team, what can they do for you and what you can do for them

"The Mobile Info Team are a group of volunteers dedicated to bringing refugees reliable information and up-to-date news on asylum. Based in Northern Greece, MIT makes weekly visits to 8 different camps in the Thessaloniki area, as well as taking on some specific cases they feel they can help with and bridging the gap between on-the-ground needs in camps and other groups who can meet them. Their aim is to give refugees enough verified info that they can make the informed decisions that best suit them....

If you can help them with either, please write to: https://www.facebook.com/mobileinfoteam/ or mobileinfoteam@gmail.com"

Serbia: Are deportations from Serbia to start soon?

"Last Friday, the AC Krnjaca started to be emptied. First to be kicked out were the refugees without valid documents. Thereafter, all the rest were moved to Sid, Adasevci and Principovac. These places now hold about 600 refugees, while there are less then 100 in Krnjaca. This is a really strong indication that these refugees may be transferred to Croatia."

Austria: Refugees started a hunger strike to protest inhumane conditions of the food they are given

"The food given to refugees is of sub-human condition. For example, a bottle of an expired juice and 200g of the worst quality mortadella makes a lunch for 3 children and 2 adults!"

France: Welcome to Our Jungle — Refugee Voices, a participatory photography project by the refugees of the Calais camp

‘Welcome to Our Jungle’ is a participatory photography project based in the refugee camp known as the ‘Jungle’ in Calais, giving a much needed platform for the voices of those directly affected by the crisis.

Participatory photography involves empowering participants by putting the cameras into their hands and giving them the skills to tell their own stories."

 Greece must end migrant kids detention, says human rights group (ekathimerini.com. link):

"The rights group Human Rights Watch is calling on Greece to immediately end the holding of unaccompanied migrant children in police station cells, saying the country must find space for them in facilities where they can receive adequate care.

In a Tuesday announcement, HRW said a shortage of places in shelters had led to “arbitrary prolonged detention in places unfit for children.” The group said that according to Greece’s National Center for Social Solidarity, about 18 children were awaiting transfer in police stations, and hundreds were in detention centers."

See: Greece: Migrant Children in Police Cells: Dreadful Conditions; Transfer Them to Open Facilities (HRW, link):

"Greek authorities regularly detain asylum-seeking and other migrant children traveling on their own in small, crowded, and unsanitary police station cells, Human Rights Watch said today. They are held there for weeks and months, waiting for space in shelter facilities.

Greece should immediately end this practice and find space for unaccompanied children in open facilities with decent living conditions where they can receive care, counseling, legal aid, and other basic services."

 News (20.7.16)

South Tyrol braces for outcome of Austrian election (The Local.at, link): "The migrant situation at the Brenner crossing point is not as intense as it was in 2015, Arno Kompatscher, the governor of South Tyrol said on Wednesday. But that could change if Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party claims victory in the country’s upcoming presidential election re-run."

More than 3,200 boat migrants rescued: Italian coast guard (The Local.it, link): "The latest arrivals take the number of migrants to have landed in Italy this year to more than 80,000."