On the 20 April, we are scheduled to attend trial in Chios after waiting
nine months, trapped on Lesvos, while 30 of our brothers unjustly have
waited in prison for this same time period. Our humanity has been
denied since we stepped foot in Europe, the supposed cradle of democracy
and human rights. Since we arrived we have been forced to live in
horrible conditions, our asylum cases are not taken seriously, and most
Africans are denied residency in Europe and face deportation. We are
treated like criminals, simply for crossing a border that Europeans can
freely cross.
Now 35 of us have been accused of rioting, destroying property, and
violence, however, it was actually the police who have attacked us in a
violent and racist raid on the African section of Moria Detention Centre
on the 18 July 2017, the day we were arrested. On the 18 July, a group
of migrants of many different nationalities and races gathered to
protest that we are being kept prisoners on Lesvos island in inhumane
conditions. To break up the protest, the police shot tear gas canisters
into the group of migrants who were protesting outside the main gate of
Moria Detention Centre. It was the police in full riot gear who attacked
unarmed migrants with stones, batons, and tear gas. More than an hour
after the clashes ended the police surrounded only the African section
of Moria Detention Centre. It was the police who damaged property by
braking the windows and doors of the containers where we were living.
Without concern for people who were inside they threw tear gas into the
closed containers. They dragged people by their hair out of the
containers. They beat anyone they found with batons, their boots, their
fists, including a pregnant woman. It seems we were targeted only
because of our skin colour – because we are black. It was in this
violent and racist attack that we were also beaten and arrested. The
police continued to beat us inside the police station, while we were in
handcuffs, and they denied us medical attention for days afterwards.
The week after we were violently arrested, the police returned and again
raided Moria Detention Centre, arresting many Africans who were notified
that their appeals had been rejected, and who were then deported to
Turkey. We believe that this raid was in order to continue to terrorize
migrants and silence any resistance. With coordination of UNHCR and the
Greek Asylum Service, the pregnant woman who had been beaten was
transferred to Athens in the days after the police attack on our
community. We believe that her transfer to Athens and the deportation of
several Africans was also in order to get rid of any witnesses to the
police´s attack against us.
However, the authorities can not stop the truth from coming out about
how Greece and Europe treat migrants in Lesvos. It is the violent attack
by the police against African migrants which must be investigated. It is
the police who must be brought to justice. We and our 30 brothers in
prison must be freed. We do not trust that the authorities who have
treated us as less than human will treat us fairly in this case and we
know that we will only achieve justice in this case through solidarity
from Greeks, Europeans and other people who see us as their equals.