Athens, Greece – In 2021, a series crisis highlighted the vulnerability of the European Union to irregular migration.
The member states responded by building fenced camps and pushing back at the bloc’s borders. Observers predict that 2022 will be the year of building this policy.
No hard borders
This year saw the construction of a string of steel camps and fences, mainly at the EU’s eastern borders.
During a March trip to the Greek islands of Samos and Lesbos, European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johannsson stated that 198 million euros ($224m), would be given to Greece for rebuilding or improving camps on five east Aegean island and one at the country’s border with Turkey.
These facilities will not be shut down. After inspecting the Mavrovounio tent city in Lesbos and the assortment of wooden-and-tarpaulin shelters that surround the Samos official camp, Johansson stated, “They will be humane and allow for areas for family and vulnerable people.”
Samos’s Closed Controlled Acces Centre, a grid made up of hard containers and surrounded by a double chainlink fence with barbed wire at the top, began accepting refugees in September. It looked almost like a concentration camp, according to aid groups.
Residents are required to come through turnstiles equipped with magnetic keycards. This allows those who have had their asylum claims rejected to be locked in. Basic amenities are provided by the camp, including shelter, heating and cooling as well as electricity and hot and cold water.
In late November, similar camps were opened on the islands Leros and Kos. Next year will see the opening of two more largest camps, on Lesbos (Chios) and Chios (Chios).
Each of the five islands camps can hold 13,000 people, more than double the capacity of the ones that replaced them.
Pushbacks
This system of refugee confinement was met with resistance at the borders.
Aegean Boat Report is a charity that monitors refugee boats. It has recorded more than 14,000 individuals being sent back to Turkey from the Hellenic Coast Guard. This practice, many legal experts believe, contravenes the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees which says that asylum seekers cannot be sent back in a location where they might be in danger.
The argument of Greece is that Turkey’s supreme court declared it a safe third-country for most refugees in 2017. In June, Migration Minister Notis Mitrarakis made Turkey safe for Afghans and Syrians as well as Pakistanis, Somalis, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Somalis. These nationals were interviewed by the European Asylum Support Office and the Greek Asylum Service to find out why Turkey is not a safe country. Only after they have passed the admissibility test will their cases be examined for eligibility to apply for asylum.
The decision was criticized by aid groups. Several organizations, including Refugee Support Aegean, have criticized the decision. In July, they stated that it had “already resulted in asylum seeker being denied protection within just a few days after their arrival” following asylum interviews lasting only a few minutes and without any assessment of their vulnerabilities. They also said that there was no access to information or legal representation.
Interview with Kyriakos Mitchells, the Greek Prime Minister, on July 4th, refused to recognize pushbacks as an idea. Kathimerini, a Greek newspaper, told him that he rejected the idea of a pushback and did not accept it as a term. “This word, and its meaning, do not exist in my vocabulary. We see a boat when it arrives and we can see its origin. Therefore, we have an obligation inform the Turkish Coast Guard. We will do all we can to ensure that the boat returns to its original point of embarkation.
In February Mitarakis stated that allegations of pushbacks were part of a wider strategy of fake news being promoted by Turkey through certain NGO’s and trafficking networks.
Indictments have been filed against dozens of people from five Greek search-and rescue organizations, including Aegean Boat Report. They are facing charges of trafficking in human beings and espionage. These cases could drag on for many years. The boats of the organizations were confiscated, and their activities were largely stopped.
The registration of the controversial RSA was also denied by Greece’s Migration Ministry in October. This organization offers asylum seekers legal assistance and documents human rights violations. The rejection effectively suspended RSA’s operating license. The ministry was urged by the Greek Ombudsman to reverse its December decision. It stated that it “infringes on the… acquis international, EU, and national law”.
