AYS Daily Digest 22/7/21: Greek government’s pressure on civil society reveals others implicated
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Refugees, Europe, Human Rights Defenders, Digest, Greece

SEA

At least 17 people drowned off the Tunisian coast

A boat heading from Libya to Italy and carrying more than 380 people from Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Mali and Bangladesh sank off the Tunisian coast on Wednesday, July 21. In the shipwreck, at least 17 people drowned, while more than 380 were rescued by the Tunisian coast guard, Tunisian Red Crescent reported.

Meanwhile, IOM reported as many as 500 people intercepted by Libya’s coast guard in the last 24 hours, who are now being held in detention centers.

SeaWatch3 leaves Burriana for the Central Mediterranean corridor off Libya

Today, the SeaWatch3 prepares to leave Spain for a new mission in the Central Mediterranean.

122 days ago, the ship disembarked 363 people in Augusta, with a further 90 or so people assisted in the ship’s life rafts after onboard capacity was exceeded. In the meantime, the ship was held in a blockade, pretexted technical defects found in the so-called “security check”.

The following ships remain out of action in Burriana Port:

Open Arms and Ajita Mari (both under the Spanish flag) as well as Alan Kurdi and Louise Michel (both under the German flag).

32 people rescued off the Italian coast of Locri

People of various origin were spotted and rescued by Coast Guard’s patrol boats after their boat disembarked. They were temporarily taken to the first aid center in Roccella, the media reported.

BELGIUM

Over 450 people ended 2-month hunger strike after government announced willingness to renegotiate

The strikers demanded asylum negotiations, as most of them come from Morocco and Algeria, which are recognized in the EU as safe countries of origin. Most strikers lived in Belgium for years remaining unrecognized, their work and life situation worsened by the pandemic.

Abdeslam, 42, from Algeria:

“Despite all our skills and the fact that we are here to work, not to just collect money, the answer remains the same, to ‘go home.’”

The strike began May 23. After two long months, meetings between Belgian government representatives and those representing the striking people resulted in a breakthrough this Wednesday, when authorities suggested that all the cases would be reassessed without prejudice and that at least some migrants would be able to claim “exceptional circumstances” to remain.

About 300 people had announced earlier that they were refusing water, with MDM warning that death was possible “at any moment”. Some had even stitched their lips together earlier this month, challenging government inaction.

Pressure on the government increased days earlier, when some partners of the governing coalition threatened to withdraw their ministers if any of the hunger strikers died, which put the government at risk of falling.

At the moment it is still unclear how many people will ultimately gain the right to remain in the country.

Meanwhile, some people had to be wheeled out of the places they had been occupying, such as the Church of St. John the Baptist at the Beguinage; many required first aid or were taken to the hospital.

Each person will reportedly quickly be informed about his or her respective options regarding a residence permit in Belgium, according to reports.

SPAIN

240 people jump Melilla’s fences

Alarm Phone reported that around 240 people managed to jump Melilla’s fences this morning. More than 300 people attempted to cross the six-metre (20 foot) barrier early Thursday morning.

Cantabria agrees to host 20 unaccompanied minors from the Canary Islands

Related to the signing of collaboration protocols between the regional government and the authorities of the Canary Islands and Ceuta, Cantabria will soon take in 27 unaccompanied minors. The Cantabrian government will assume responsibility for their guardianship and comprehensive protection until they come of age, it was reported. This is in addition to 36 minors previously taken in by the Cantabrian government, but it still falls short of the number — 120 — that was agreed upon by the authorities in 2019.

Vice president and spokesman of the Cantabrian executive, Pablo Zuloaga, emphasized the decision of the autonomous community to be “supportive” and “sensitive” to the overflow situation that the care systems of the Canary Islands and Ceuta are experiencing. Zuloaga recalled the Spanish government’s commitment to distribute 5 million euros in the second half of the year to the autonomous communities taking in unaccompanied minors.

GERMANY

Deportation warnings

The “Flüchtlingsrat Bayern” warns that collective deportations are expected on the following dates:

27.7.21 Nigeria; 28.7.21 Pakistan; 10.8.21 Afghanistan

Follow them for more detailed information:

“Turkey is doing an outstanding job of taking care of Syrian refugees”

Wishing the agreement with Turkey to remain and collaboration to continue, German Chancellor Merkel stated she thought Turkey was doing a great job of “taking care” of Syrians stuck in Turkey as refugees. Meanwhile, she also mentioned that she did not anticipate Turkish entry into the EU.

UK

Lambeth agreed to take 100 children instead of 20

The London district Lambeth passed an amendment at last night’s full council that commits the council to take in 100 unaccompanied child asylum seekers instead of 20. The agreement was passed by the Green Party’s council, in deference to the Safe Passage pledge. The decision appears to be in line with other local authorities like Lewisham, Brighton and Hove.

Majority of people resettled in the UK between 2010 and 2020 were from countries affected by war

Contrary to the claims of government and politicians spinning yarns about people arriving as so-called economic migrants, the research reveals the majority came from Middle Eastern countries affected by war (75%); 68% of these were from Syria.

The data makes it obvious that anti-refugee claims by politicians like Home Secretary Priti Patel and Nigel Farage are part of a rh etorical strategy to spread fake news around asylum.

GENERAL

ISD published a report on Networks and Narratives of Anti-Refugee Disinformation in Europe

The Institute for Strategic and Dialog released a new report analysing different networks associated with anti-refugee disinformation and hatred in Greek, German and English.

The research highlights that networks of far-right extremists and elements of the political right sharing common audiences and using similar tactics do not work in isolation, and reveals the dynamics by which anti-refugee disinformation is spread.

Some key findings:

The Greek so-called “refugee crisis” attracted and activated an international cohort of extremist actors.

Anti-refugee disinformation has provided a crucial nexus for a range of far-right extremists, nativists, and conspiracy theorists to overlap with political actors.

Elected officials were found to play a role in the amplification of anti-refugee disinformation and hatred.

The Evros border incident and the fires in camps in Moria highlight how key events can act as flashpoints for transnational, multilingual spikes in anti-refugee mobilisation.

NGOs working with people on the move are common targets for harassment and disinformation, both online and offline.

As far as broader implications of the analysis, the authors state:

“The key findings outlined in this article highlight the way in which networks are activated around key crises, such as events on the Evros border or the fires in Moria, to agitate around long-established hostilities against refugees, minority groups, and the organisations who are deemed to have helped them. The fluidity of these networks helps keep migration consistently relevant to a multitude of different extremist ecosystems and makes clear that while migration to Europe has reduced dramatically, anti-migrant discourse has evolved to focus on the migrants already there.”

WORTH READING

New episode of The Civil Fleet Podcast: Josoor’s co-founder Natalie Gruber talks about monitoring human rights abuses, supporting people on the move, and the criminalisation of solidarity at the borders between Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria.

Second part of Statewatch’s analysis looking at the legal firewalls that create blurred responsibilities in cases of search and rescue and pushbacks, shielding EU border agency Frontex from accountability measures: