HRW releases briefing paper “Hidden Emergency: Migrant deaths in the Mediterranean”

Published on September 4, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , .

Hidden Emergency
Migrant deaths in the Mediterranean

by Human Rights Watch
AUGUST 16, 2012

The mothers of young Tunisian men who disappeared without a trace after setting off in early 2011 on the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean are still searching for their loved ones. In meetings with Tunisian and Italian officials, they are asking for help and for the truth. As one mother who travelled to Italy explained, “If I can’t find my own son, I will find at least one son. I want to be told what happened to them.” They hope their sons arrived safely, but the reality is that they may be among the thousands who have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
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Frontex to Increase again Sea and Air Patrols in Aegean at Greece’s Request

Published on September 4, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

Frontex to Increase Sea and Air Patrols in Aegean at Greece’s Request
by Niels Frenzen (via Migrants at Sea)

Greek news reports say that Greek officials have made requests to Commissioner Malmström and Frontex for assistance to respond to “increasing migratory pressures on the islands of the Eastern Aegean.” The Greek islands of Lesvos, Samos, Patmos, Leros and Symi in particular have reportedly seen an increase in the number of persons entering from nearby Turkish territory. According to the media reports the assistance will include the deployment of “four aerial vehicle[s], four patrol boats, three mobile surveillance units and eight expert officers, whose costs will be covered by EU funds the agency and the European Commission.”

to vima (in greek)
news now (in greek)

Samos – detained Syrian refugees on hunger strike since yesterday

Published on September 2, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

35 Syrians who are detained since 9 days on the roof of Samos Port authorities began yesterday a hunger strike including the 6 children among them. until today they were not given any access to the asylum procedure in Greece although some of them are even are already recognized as Palestinian refugees in Syria.
At the same time two Afghan families with 4 children where discovered by chance at the police station of Karlovasi.

Read the Press Release of the Solidarity Group of Samos (in Greek)
press release 1
press release 2

Migrants reverting to Aegean route?

Published on August 29, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , .

from eKathimerini

A crackdown on the influx of undocumented immigrants entering Greece via the land border with Turkey has apparently resulted in people smugglers changing their routes as increasing numbers of migrants are being intercepted on the islands of the Aegean, authorities say.

This month police and coast guard officers detained 146 undocumented immigrants on the islands of Symi, Farmakonisi, Samos and Lesvos, compared to 68 on the islands of the Dodecanese in the first half of this year. On Tuesday, 40 migrants — chiefly Afghans, Syrians and Palestinians — were stopped on Symi and 39 — mostly Afghans — on Farmakonisi.
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Irregular Migrants Face the Boot in Greece – by Apostolis Fotiadis (ips news)

Published on August 29, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , .

Irregular Migrants Face the Boot in Greece
By Apostolis Fotiadis

ATHENS, Aug 29 2012 (IPS) – A crackdown on irregular migration has entered its fourth week in Greece. The government is shutting the Greek-Turkish northeastern border across river Evros, and removing massive numbers of undocumented migrants from big urban centres into makeshift detention camps.

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Statisticians and magicians

Published on August 19, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

Statisticians and magicians
By Dimosthenis Papadatos – Anagnostopoulos
originally published in Greek in: Red Notebook

One out of five. These are the “illegals” that the Police discovered in the first 12 days of the (ongoing) “Zeus Xenios” sweep operation. And what does this ratio reveal to us?

First of all, the obvious: 6.344 persons were arbitrarily arrested, even though they legally reside in Greece and they have never committed any offence.
They were simply arrested because of the color of their skin – and probably on conviction that criminality does not exclusively apply to the “illegal” ones. In the end, those legally residing in the country are still aliens.
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more than 500 fascist attacks against migrants in the last six months!!!!

Published on August 13, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

While the police is operating a huge sweep in Athens and Evros since August 2nd, racist attacks are getting more. Migrants communities speak of more than 500 hate crimes in the last six months and an organised wave of hate crimes in the last days.
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Another racist attack: Iraqi refugee dies after being stabbed in Athens centre

Published on August 12, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed

A 19-year-old Iraqi died in an Athens hospital on Sunday after being stabbed late on Saturday night by five unknown persons riding motorcycles, police said. The assailants had earlier targeted two other immigrants, one from Romania and one from Morocco, who managed to escape.

ekathimerini (in english)

deportation flight

Published on August 11, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , .

on august 10, 2012 another 32 persons were deported from athens. among them: 4 chinese, 1 armenian, one lithouanian, 2 rumanians, one sierra leonian and 23 albaniands.

shocking images: the sweep operation in Athens continues on August 9, 2012

Published on August 9, 2012 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , .


the images remind of other times….

Greek police released this video of todays sweep operation in the early morning hours at Larissis Railway Station in Athens:

In a press release of August 10 the police summed up that amongst others within the frame of the operation “Xenios Zeus”:

– 6.690 migrants were arrested
– 1.555 were detained because they were lacking legal residence papers
– 52 private houses were searched

and by the economic police:

– 103 shops were controlled
– 23 brothels were controlled, 48 persons were arrested and 22 were ordered administrative deportation
– Another 172 street sex workers were arrested