Watch: “Dublin’s Trap: Another Side of the Greek Crisis” (2012)
by Bryan Carter
information with, about and for refugees in Greece
Tag Archive for 'asylum'
A young sans-papiers collapsed when the people were trying to enter the aliens police
While an increase in the numbers of asylum recognition rate are proudly presented refugees have no access to asylum in Greece.
Continue reading ‘No access to asylum in Greece’
Every night hundreds of sans-papiers go to Petrou Ralli police station to reserve a place in the long row. They are trying to enter the aliens police in order to apply for asylum. Despite the fact that the Greek government is announcing improvements in the Greek asylum system what we see is that access to asylum is not possible until today.
Press Release of the Group of Lawyers: Lacking access to Petrou Ralli Aliens Police
Under the blanket its a bit warmer, but some are without!
You never know at what time the officers will come to take a few of us inside. sometimes at 24, sometimes at 4am or at 6am. We wait here and try to be of the first. No chance! They only accept 20 persons per day. I don’t even understand on what criteria they chose. We stay out in the cold for nights and days. Without food. Many also without a blanket. You cannot move, if you do that your place will be lost. There is so much fighting about who will get inside to ask for asylum. The police watch us, but they don’t care. I am now since 4 days here. I have only one bottle of water. Thats all! Can you find the same situation in other European countries?
Today I am the first. It is my chance maybe.
No sleep, no food, cold...
Hundreds of people here every day leave behind their traces
Today I have some hope to enter
Is it the same in other countries?
No one care for us
In the last months police sweep operations take place every day: on the streets and public squares, in the homes of refugees and wherever they stay homeless.
The police invades regularly the private space of people, proceeding to arrests and sometimes beating people or also stealing their properties. 
Today in one more sweep operation, they arrested the 60-70 homeless refugees staying in the old fabric Columbia. Among the homeless are asylum seekers and vulnerable persons such as mentally sick. Instead of providing them with reception conditions according to law and instead of protecting the vulnerable the only answer to this issue by the government remains to arrest them.
A kurdish filmmaker from Iran is now the 5th month imprisoned in Evros – currently in Soufli. He has applied for asylum in Greece. With his hunger strike he is protesting against the inhuman detention conditions and he demands his freedom.
From Balkan Insight – news article, 4th of November 2011:
Bulgaria fails to integrate its refugees and routinely locks up asylum seekers, despite EU and national laws banning the use of detention centres, forcing even those who might otherwise stay to try their luck in western Europe.
What crime have I committed to be held a prisoner?
When will they set me free? They are telling me six months, why six months?” “On what grounds are they detaining me? I am a refugee, not a criminal.
Continue reading ‘Bulgarian Asylum System Pushes Migrants West’
The Greek government obviously is trying by all means – legal or illegal – to reduce the numbers of asylum seekers in Greece and parallel to increase the recognition rate. Obviously they are developing all kinds of tricks to achieve their aim and to show Europe the “progress” they are expected to make.
Since the beginning of the transitional period that will last until the implementation of the asylum law – planned until January 2012, there are five second instance asylum committees examining both new asylum claims and old ones from the huge backlog. The proudly presented increase of asylum recognition rates to 12,35% is a game of numbers though. It includes mainly second instance decisions and all kinds of status (asylum, humanitarian and subsidiary). Having a backlog of more than 35.000 open asylum claims it is not really difficult to find good cases in order to increase the asylum recognition rate suddenly. While it is a fact that the second instance asylum committees themselves present an immense improve in the asylum process due to their improved quality, statistics of recognition rates have to be analysed carefully.
However, the remaining backlog of asylum claims is disturbing the image of progress in Greek asylum policy. Thus, the Ministry of Citizen Protection has developed a variety of tricks to further decrease the number of asylum seekers in Greece. In October it announced that asylum seekers who had not been able to renew their papers since June 2009 would be given a period of two months in order to get back their Pink Cards. Anyway, taking into consideration the severe difficulties in entering the Aliens Police in Athens it is nearly impossible to actually make the renewal of the temporary residence permit for asylum seekers. Thus, there will be a huge group of asylum seekers who will fall out of the asylum process and whose files will be closed if they do not manage to enter the Aliens Police.
The respective announcement of the Ministry said:
Announcement on renewal of asylum-seekers’ pink cards: Asylum-seekers holding a pink card which has expired since June 2009 are requested to proceed to the authorities responsible for receiving and examining asylum claims in order to renew their pink cards, within a period of two (2) months, from 5 October 2011 to 5 December 2011 (inclusive). In case of failing to show up within this deadline the examination of their cases will be withdrawn.
Additionally, the police started to arrest illegaly in sweep operation in the Athens centre asylum seekers with Pink Cards. Despite the fact that many of them had been given already a date for their asylum interview they proceeded their interviews immediately in an accelerated process. Thereby the asylum seekers were not informed that what was following was their asylum interview, the interviews did not exceed 30 minutes in any case, they were made sometimes in languages the asylum seekers could not understand, the asylum seekers were not given time to prepare themselves for the interview or to contact the UNHCR or any other NGO who could provide them with legal aid and they were not informed about the procedure and their rights concerning the appeal against the decision in case of a rejection. GCR Press Release on the 2nd of November 2011
As it seems, the Greek government is trying to proceed as many asylum cases as possible in the shortest period of time possible whatever it takes. Are these the achievements of the National Action Plan?
Human Rights Watch published today, on the 21st of September 2011 a report about the Frontex operation in Evros underlining the international responsibility on the human rights violations against sans-papiers and asylum seekers in the detention centres of the region.
paranoiex securitex frontex
The EUs dirty hands
The EUs Dirty Hands: Frontex Involvement in Ill-Treatment of Migrant Detainees in Greece
Frontex reacted immediately with a press release:
FRONTEX’S REACTION TO HRW REPORT
Warsaw, 21 September 2011 – Frontex welcomes the revised report of HRW and is satisfied to note that its comments on the original draft were taken on board. The report now highlights an issue, which we agree, is of great importance.
A Frontexian in Evros
We would like to recall that Frontex fully respects and strives for promoting Fundamental Rights in its border control operations which, however, do not include organization of, and responsibility for, detention on the territory of the Member States, which remains their exclusive remit.
Continue reading ‘Frontex heavily criticised by Human Rights Watch for their involvement in Evros – and PR response by Frontex’
Announcement of the protesting refugees (in Greek) 
The Afghan and the Irani hunger strikers call for a common protest infront of the Ministry of the Protection of the Citizen at the 9th of May 2011. 
In their common declaration they denounce the under-functioning of the asylum committees and the ongoing policy of zero asylum recognitions. Although the government had announced that 17 committees would start their work in the proceeding of asylum claims in the beginning of 2011 there are until now only 3 working and even these have additional technical and practical problems such as lacking money for ink!
Call for common protest by Afghan and Iranian refugees (in Greek)
Clandestina
- First migrant detention center opens despite protestsA detention center for undocumented immigrants in Amygdaleza, northwest of Athens, started operating on Sunday, despite vehement protests by local residents and rights groups, with the transfer of dozens of migrants detained over the past few days in police sweeps in central Athens. Police said they transfered a group of 56 migrants in the […]
Group of Lawyers – Athens
- Joint call to protest on Friday 30 March 2012For the sixth consecutive week, the undersigning entities and organisations hereby issue an open invitation to attend our solidarity protest outside the Attica Aliens Directorate at Petrou Ralli, from Friday evening, 30 March 2012 until dawn Saturday, 31 March 2012 (05:00- 06:00 am). The police authorities in Attica- following their usual practice of the pas […]
the border is the problem
- “Walls of Shame”Accounts from the Inside: The Detention Centres of Evros new report by Pro Asyl Obviously, Europe’s main concern is the creation of »walls« in order to hinder or to prevent the access to its territory. Physical walls like the fence, the moat and border controls in Evros but also invisible walls that are constituted by […]