The Afghan community of Greece denounces about the critical health condition of Mohammad Hassan who has been transferred to hospital on July 2nd from Corinth detention centre and is fighting to survive now. He had been detained more than 11 months. His inmates had protested against the ignorant police guards who were not bringing Mr. Hassan to any doctor despite his strong pains.
afghan community (in english)
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Immigrants fleeing violence pay people smugglers thousands of dollars to enter Europe through Greece. The exodus includes children, alone and at risk. Their dreams are big, but the reality far different.
Story by: Irene Chapple. Film, Wojciech Treszczynski. Photo, Giorgos Moutafis.
Sisters’ tears for broken family
Arazu has dressed carefully for her morning flight. The petite, youthful 43-year-old wears summery white trousers and Jackie O-inspired cream plastic sunglasses. Her nails are painted deep burgundy and her hair sits in a soft bob above her shoulders. Her earrings are delicate twisted wire balls with little pearls buried inside, gifts from her two daughters at Christmastime.
But it’s the trousers and sunglasses that carry the most powerful memories for Arazu. She wore them the day she left Greece with fake papers more than two years ago. Now, as a legal resident of Europe, she’s wearing them upon her return as a symbol of freedom — and a message of hope.
Continue reading ‘3 Videos / CNN / Europe’s Lost Children: Journeys of pain, despair – and joy.’
Yesterday the 159 migrants from Afghanistan, Syria and Egypt had started from turkey some days earlier heading towards italy when their ship got at distress at sea close to the Calabrian coast. Among them were 8 children, one newborn and four women. Four migrants had to be transferred to hospital.
On January 21st, 2013 nine Afghans were found in the region of Mandra, Didimotixos in Evros (five women, two minor boys and one minor girl with one man). One of the minors – a 16-year-old – had died. Some of the arrested had to be transferred to the hospital, the rest of them was brought to detention.
The interview was held by Ilias Maravas for EPA Aigaiou
I remember that I arrived at the shore. I looked for them but I couldn’t find anyone. Then I remember that I woke up in the hospital.
The only survivor of the refugee tragedy of Friday near Lesvos island is a 16-year-old from Bamiyan in Afghanistan. He had entered a dinghy with 28 other Afghans on Friday when after one hour the dinghy started getting into distress and water entered the boat. It turned around and they all fell into the sea.
Continue reading ‘Accounts of the only survivor of the ship tragedy nearby Lesvos on Friday 14th’
CALL FOR SOLIDARITY
Since yesterday (28.11.12) the civil society has managed to temporarily win the struggle for an open first reception centre with the authorities agreeing to transfer all the unregistered to PIKPA – a place also used once before during noborder Lesvos 2009 for the same purpose. About 70 refugees – among them pregnant women, small children and even a 10-day-old baby. Immediately both police and citizens started bringing even a few more freshly arrived. PIKPA is a summer camp construction, which is now not in a condition to be inhabited, thus, the local population together with the refugees try to make it more comfortable, to re-store the water connections etc. and to bring food for the persons hosted there. This ad hoc solution still needs a lot of support in order to become an official open reception centre, now still being a temporary solution.
There is a great need of support of any kind!
Foto: K. Koukoulis
An afghan refugee who is being detained in the new detention centre in the former Xanthi police academy sew his lips in protest against the new maximum detention periods. The authorities immediately called state run KELPNO doctors who examined the health condition of the Afghan and opened the stitches.
Continue reading ‘Afghan detainee of Xanthi in protest’
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
Two dead refugees were found inside a bus that arrived on June 23, 2012 in Ancona, Italy. The heat and lack of oxygen lead to the death of the unfortunate refugees and to the devastating health conditions of the others.
According to the news 18 refugees from Afghanistan were hiding inside the vehicle.
Last Tuesday another 7 refugees had lost their lives when trying to reach the Italian shore on a small boat.
A big sailing boat with 60 migrants on board was discovered on May 13 at 4am by an airplane of Frontex flying over the Ioanian. The sailing boat was heading towards Italy. The coast guard of Kerkyra arrested 58 Afghans and two Iranians, as well as two Russian citizens. The boat had collected the migrants from different points near Parga.
Frontex is since months patrolling the Ioanian Sea.