Update from Athens

Winter is finally coming to an end here but the nights are still cold and there is often heavy rain and wind.  It is especially difficult if you have arrived from the islands or from the Evros crossing in the North of Greece, fled war or whatever other dangers stalked you, only to discover yourself or your family, homeless on the streets of Athens.  Even people who are officially transferred from the island hotspots on Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros, may find that their situation has not actually improved. A large number of people, who were recently sent from the islands to Skaramangas camp near Athens, were once again put up in UNHCR tents, further overcrowding an already full facility.  The main difference is that there is less media attention on the mainland camps (not that there is very much more on the islands). These humans are treated as a problem to be hidden.

There are also still cases of people being transferred for medical reasons and then becoming homeless upon release despite their need for ongoing medical care.  The youngest homeless person I met recently was four months old, a Rohinga girl from Mynamar, and a very long way from home.

We are also about to see the first phase of the ESTIA Evictions which will effect up to 12,000 people by the end of the year.  The ESTIA programme was designed to provide adequate emergency housing for vulnerable families or individuals. It has always been very hard to get into, and now it has been decided that the people who were initially housed must leave and shortly after eviction they will also lose their cash card (living allowance).  The majority of these people do not have bank accounts, let alone jobs and as a result many will face homelessness. We await with bated breath the HELIOS 2 project, a long promised and funded “integration” programme which is supposed to equip people for their future lives in Greece. It is due to start in June, its predecessor HELIOS 1 never saw the light of day.  And even if it does come to fruition, it is far too late for those who face eviction now.

This March also saw the 3rd anniversary of the EU-Turkey deal which continues to legitimise the containment of over 15,000 children, women and men on the islands, a policy which has always been, and remains, illegal under the 1951 Refugee Convention.  And despite this deal, people still risk their lives to cross, 1,896 people have come just this month. In the last week alone, 2 people have been lost at sea and 4 people, 1 baby and 3 women, are known to have drowned.

Please, wherever you are, raise your voice about the systematic mistreatment of people seeking sanctuary in the EU and in the external countries which member states collude with.  The border regimes that create and continue this situation of precariousness and danger, that injure people both mentally and physically, that cause death on a weekly basis as if it is no longer problematic to take a human life, will only ever change if we make them.  Together we are strong!

Article by: Emma Musty (Are You Syrious, Khora, MASS Action Trustee)