Tag Archives: Hotspots

HarekAct Reporting, News Digest

HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 16/04/2019

8th – 16th April 2019

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Restrictive policies towards Syrians post Municipality Elections | Increased securitization of Turkey-Bulgaria Border | Numbers of Migrants Crossings | Syrian Opposition Journalism in Turkey | ‘Voices from Samos’

News

Continued politicization of anti-Syrian sentiment following municipal elections

Representatives of both the AKP and CHP parties, newly elected in the 31 March municipality elections, continue to use anti-Syrian sentiment as a key platform to gain popular support. The recently appointed CHP Mayor of Bolu, Tanju Özcan, has followed through on delivering his two pre-election promises of 1) Cutting off municipal financial aid to Syrians and other asylum seekers and 2) Not granting them municipal permits to open businesses in Bolu. In doing so he is privileging so-called economic tensions created by Syrians as the main “issue” to be resolved, despite the economic revenue generated by unregistered businesses opened by them.

Continue reading HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 16/04/2019 →
HarekAct Reporting, News Digest

HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 21/03/2019

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EU-Turkey Deal, three years on | “The European Refoulement Industry at Sea” | Anti-Syrian election campaigning | Against Racial Discrimination | Eight years on from conflict in Syria | A special Issue of International Migration Journal: Syrian Refugees –Facing Challenges, Making Choices

News

EU-TURKEY DEAL: Three Years On

18 March 2019 marked three years since the controversial EU-Turkey ‘Deal’ was enacted. A number of NGOs have released statements to mark the anniversary in which they denounce the inhumane repercussions and immeasurable human cost of the deal. As a result of the deal, more than 20,000 people are being contained on Greek island ‘hotspots’, more than half of whom are women and children.

Continue reading HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 21/03/2019 →
HarekAct Reporting, News Digest

Harek Act’s Weekly News Digest 26/02/2019

We introduce you to our new weekly news digest on migration, asylum and border issues primarily in Turkey as well as on the general European context as far as it is connected to Turkey.

Anti-Migrant Violence and Discrimination///Exploitation///Border Region///Broader Discourse///Numbers///Further Information

Anti-migrant violence and discrimination

  • After mass attacks against the Syrian community in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul on the 9 February, reported here, the anti-Syrian attacks are continuing. Four masked individuals raided into the house of a Syrian family in Sultangazi, Istanbul. Among seven people living in the house, one was severely injured after being shot in the head.
  • Seven Syrian families living in the Artuklu neighborhood of Mardin were threatened with letters posted at their doors, three of which also had a bullet placed next to them, Evrensel reports. The letters read: “Respectful landlord, if you don’t leave the house in 10 days, a bomb attack will be organized. This is your first warning, the second one will hurt someone. We don’t want you in this neighborhood.”
Continue reading Harek Act’s Weekly News Digest 26/02/2019 →
News Digest

Oxfam condemns EU over ‘inhumane’ Lesbos refugee camp

Via The Guardian – Violence so bad that women wear nappies at night to avoid leaving tents, report says.

A child at the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos
About 5,000 people live in the Moria camp, where temperatures in winter can fall below freezing. Photograph: Giorgos Moutafis/Oxfam

The EU has been strongly criticised over conditions in Greece’s largest refugee camp, where Oxfam reported women are wearing nappies at night for fear of leaving their tents to go to the toilet.

This article was originally published by The Guardian.

News Digest

The Prison within the Prison within The Prison

Deportation Monitoring Aegean published a report about the detention complex of Moria camp on Lesvos Island.

The report describes the legal grounds for detention in Greece and the actual policy of detaining migrants, focusing on the situation in the pre-removal prison of Moria camp. It criticizes detention of migrants on arrival based on their national belonging and the conditions of detention, following individual stories of asylum seekers held in detention. Continue reading The Prison within the Prison within The Prison →

News Digest

#Moria35 finally free from prison

The Legal Center Lesvos reports that the remaining persons of the #Moria35 were finally released after 15 month of injust imprisonment.

If you want to learn more about the case of the #Moria35, the Legal Center Lesvos in cooperation with Joinda Production produced a short documentary about it: http://www.legalcentrelesbos.org/

HarekAct Reporting

Short Film ‘Silent Message’ – on the life for refugees in Lesvos

Photographer and filmmaker Ali arrived in Lesvos one night in spring 2018 and has since then been living in Moria refugee camp. Currently, Moria is ‘hosting’ triple its capacities with more than 7.000 women, men and children trapped in inhumane and life-threatening conditions. Many are sleeping rough, with not enough tents and blankets for everyone. Winter is approaching fast and there is no solution and relief to be expected!

Ali produced a short film called ‘Silent Message’ that focuses on the appalling conditions refugees are facing in the camp and the life on the island. His previous work focused on the situation of the Hazara minority in Pakistan. Lisa from HarekAct and Ali met in Lesvos for an Interview.

Ali, tell us about your film ‘Silent Message’!

The film is not as good as I wanted it to be, as I realized it with very little equipment but with a lot of help of friends.

With my film, I wanted to show the life for refugees in Moria: The food lines, the tents and the garbage everywhere. But the film is also a message to other refugees stuck on the island. I wanted to show that there can be a life outside of Moria: exploring the capital of Lesvos, spending time at the beaches, swimming or fishing – and thereby trying to forget the horrors of Moria at least for a moment. I see so many people in Moria thinking about their asylum decision all the time and are getting depressed from waiting. So, I decided to do a documentary without any interviews, a silent film to give some hope!

Continue reading Short Film ‘Silent Message’ – on the life for refugees in Lesvos →

News Digest

Deportation Monitoring Aegean and Legal Centre Lesbos Publish Joint Report

STOP DEPORTATIONS TO TURKEY

People trapped on the Greek Islands are deprived of basic rights

Via Deportation Monitoring Aegean and Legal Centre Lesbos – Since the EU-Turkey Statement, more and more people seeking protection in Europe are deported directly from the Greek Islands to Turkey. According to the European Commission, at least 2,224 people have been deported to Turkey since the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal on 20th of March 2016.

This article was originally published by Deportation Monitoring Aegean, Legal Centre Lesbos.

News Digest

UNHCR urges Greece to address overcrowded reception centres on Aegean islands

Via UNHCR – This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is today urging the Government of Greece to address the situation in Aegean Sea Reception and Identification Centres (RICs), commonly known as ‘hotspots’.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

This article was originally published by UNHCR.