SAMOS – Human Abysses in the Shadow of the World’s Public: The “Prison Camp” in Zero
On 10 April 2024, the EU Parliament adopted the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) - a dark day for Europe and human rights. However, parts of what the reform will soon bring have long been a bitter reality. For example, the "prison camp" for arriving refugees on the Greek island of Samos.
The forgotten Green Border
Can you imagine what -15 degrees feels like at night in the forest without a sleeping bag on frozen ground between branches, moss and swamps? Akram (32, from Yemen) and Mohammad (50, from Syria) were stuck in the border forest between Poland and Belarus for over 5 months. They often had no clean drinking water for days on end and filtered the polluted water from the swamps through a scarf.
A Crisis Becomes a Permanent Condition – What Happens in Europe’s Last Primeval Forest in the Polish-Belarusian Border Area?
Since last year, another wall has been stretching across Europe: Poland has erected a 186-kilometer-long border wall with Belarus. Here, people seeking protection are pushed back, their mobile phones destroyed and they are left unprotected and disoriented in the forest. We'll talk to a photojournalist, an activist and researcher, and a paramedic on the ground to answer your questions! - Register now for our online event on October 8, 2023 at 5pm.
Joint statement regarding the situation in the Central Mediterranean
Urgent warning: Increased deaths at sea, NGO vessels detained – European states must stop obstructing civilian search and rescue efforts in the Central Mediterranean
Kalamata: Request for recovery of the ship and recovery of the remains of the wreck of Pylos by relatives of missing persons
The lawyers of the relatives of the missing persons of the deadly shipwreck in Pylos, Maria Papamina (Greek Council for Refugees), Eleni Spathana (Support for Refugees in the Aegean) and Yannis Kastanos, came to the Prosecutor's Office of Kalamata today and submitted on their behalf a request for the lifting of the ship and the recovery of the bodies from the seabed.
After pushback video from Greece – charges against NGO instead of kidnappers
14 people held in a van with their hands tied and eyes taped shut on the island of Kos, Greece, only to be push-baked. This was shown in the video published by Aegean Boat Report last week.
Up to 600 people drown off Pylos, Greece – Open Letter
Up to 600 people drown off Pylos, Greece - only days after EU leaders agreed to further erode the right to asylum Open letter by over 180 human rights organizations and initiatives together with Tima Kurdi, aunt of Alan Kurdi.
Shipwreck Greece: 500 dead due to pushback attempt?
Did the Greek Coast Guard try to pull the boat out of Greek waters before it capsized? Journalists are not allowed to enter the hall where the survivors of Wednesday's shipwreck are located. But deputies were able to talk to them. According to former MEP Kriton Arsenis, they told that the Greek Coast Guard towed the overcrowded fishing boat before it capsized.
Forced food insecurity at the Lesvos Closed Controlled Access Centre
On the 17th of May, Greek authorities announced that starting the next day food and water would no longer be provided for people outside of the asylum procedure living in the Lesvos Closed Controlled Access Centre (C.C.A.C.).
Boat tragedy in Greece off Pylos: hundreds of people missing
A boat with 750 asylum seekers on board capsized just outside Pylos, Greece. The ship was sailing from Libya towards Italy. So far, only about 100 people have been rescued, hundreds are still missing - it could be one of the deadliest shipping accidents ever. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and survivors.