W2eu Info Guide Greece
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WELCOME TO GREECE! D UPDATE N! VERSIO 15 JULY 20 www.w2eu.info AN INFO-GUIDE FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS 2 We are a group of people of whom some live in Greece and some others come from and (usually) live in different Euro - pean countries. We support refugees in the places we live and elsewhere as activists, because for us all human beings are equal. We believe in the freedom of movement as every - body’s right and a world without borders. In order to sup - port you we would like to give you some useful information about your rights in Greece and the overall situation here. We don’t ask for money, we don’t take money and we don’t ask for any reward. We just wish you a safe journey to a bet - ter place and tell you from our side: WELCOME TO EUROPE! If you need any further information not provided in this fly - er or if you have more specialised / personalised questions please ask us directly or contact us via mail: 8 CONTACT @W2EU .INFO W2EU _INFO @YAHOO .COM Last update: July 2015 3 WELCOME TO GREECE! WHAT IS THE CURRENT der for some months now, while SITUATION IN they seemingly continue at the ?THE AEGEAN land border. NEW GOVERNMENT: In February ATTENTION: If you have been 2015 Greece elected a new go - pushed back from Greek territory vernment which is much more (sea or land) to Turkey, specifi - friendly to refugees and migrants cally in the period after February than the governments before. 2015, it is important to report The implementation of the an - this incident(s) to an indepen - nounced new migration policies dent organisation as this might which should introduce some help in halting these kinds of hu - improvements has turned out for man rights violations in the futu - the moment to be difficult, as re. You can directly contact us there is not enough funding and also for that purpose via email: as the deeper state structures are 8 CONTACT @W2EU .INFO or you can more or less the same like before contact organizations named be - (i.e. civil servants and officers low in the contact list. It will not have not changed). change what happened to you but it might improve conditions What has improved is that the for the ones following. It is also detention duration of persons la - important to report this during cking documents has been redu - your asylum application as well ced from 18 months and more, to as all other human rights violati - maximal six months (and under ons that occurred to you in your specific conditions for another 1- home country and during your 3 months). Additionally, the go - journey out. A push-back took vernment also announced to place when you reached Greek fight against the illegal push- territory, clearly crossing the backs (“immediate deportations” border line, and the Greek autho - upon arrest on Greek territory) of rities sent you directly back to refugees at the sea and land bor - Turkey – most of the times wit - ders to Turkey. Push-backs have hout registering your name, age in fact gone down at the sea bor - and nationality, without hearing 4 INFO-GUIDE FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS N O I T your claim for asylum / pro - first arrest and held until their A M tection and your wish to stay in registration is completed. The - R O Greece. At sea this usually hap - se detention centres are cur - F N I pens directly while refugee bo - rently all overcrowded. Usually L A R ats are in Greek waters. On the the completion of registration E N land border it might happen doesn’t last more than one E that you are kept for a few month, but things can change G hours or a few days before if the number of arrivals conti - being illegally returned. nues to increase in summer. All the other islands in the Ae - HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: You gean have no special places S N E should know that numbers of where refugees are held for re - H T refugees arriving in Greece are gistration. Therefore, you A currently (May 2015) six times might stay in very different higher than last year. The go - places, for different periods of vernment is not able to res - time and under very different pond to the growing numbers conditions depending on the of refugees arriving. There are place of arrival. There is also a no adequate places where you big problem with transportati - S E S will be hosted until registrati - on, as most people are left to S E on is completed. There is not walk from the place where they R D A sufficient staff paid to offer arrived to the capital city of the / E C medical and legal support and island. N A to do registration procedures. T S I Upon arrest you will be trans - SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT: On S S ferred to provisional detention the islands of the Aegean you A facilities, such as fenced areas might sometimes encounter inside the port, container people who are not nice to you, rooms, police stations or tent but there are many activists camps. On the islands Lesvos and volunteers who will try to S (Mytilene), Samos and Chios help you and who are friendly E S A there are detention centres people, who live there or stay R H P (“camps”), where the ones arri - there as tourists. On some is - K ving are transferred to after lands there are even self-orga - E E R 5 G WELCOME TO GREECE! nised solidarity groups who try fights, especially in any place of to help arrange provisory accom - self-organised housing and soli - modation, food, clothes, infor - darity. Sexist and racist behavio - mation provision, or transport urs are not welcomed as well as people with their private cars or any form of exploitation of ot - otherwise. Be aware that many of hers, for example by persons in - these people are helping on a dai - volved in selling overpriced fer - ly basis by investing their time, ry-tickets and SIM-cards. energy and often also their mo - ney to help many hundreds or even thousands of people who ar - WHAT HAPPENS UPON MY rived and will be arriving this ARREST AT THE SEA OR year on the Greek islands. They LAND BORDER? even might risk conflicts with ? the authorities in order to sup - Upon arrest you will be brought port you. Try to be co-operative to a coastguard, borderguard or and patient with all people try - police station for a first registra - ing to help you. Please under - tion of your name, family name, stand that help is limited to the age and nationality. In some ca - persons who are available and ses the European Border Police their time. We understand that Frontex might make an additio - you might want to leave the pla - nal estimation of your nationali - ce you arrived as fast as possible, ty and age in an interview that is but you will be soon enough in usually conducted by a bordergu - Athens anyways. So try to be ard from another EU-member supportive, too and help out in state in English, together with a organising, fair distribution of translator. If they don’t believe any goods and food provided, that you say the truth about your cleaning the areas you are tem - nationality, they might ask you porarily staying at and be re - different questions about your spectful to each other. Please stated home country (flag, geo - don’t use any drugs or alcohol in graphy, culture, history, politics, order to avoid any form of point - etc.). Sometimes they also con - less aggressions, conflicts and duct more detailed interviews in 6 INFO-GUIDE FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS N O I T order to learn something about Georgians, can be deported A M smuggling networks. After the back to their countries of ori - R O first registration in certain pla - F gin from Athens. Also persons N I ces of arrival you will be L who can prove that they were A R brought to a detention centre asylum seekers or recognized E N (if you arrived in Evros, Lesvos, E refugees in Turkey are in dan - G Samos or Chios) and there you ger of deportation to Turkey, if might be registered a second they present documents! time (by the First Reception The only ones who cannot be Service (FRS)). deported for sure are the ones S who seek asylum. If you are not N E H released from the detention T WHY AM I IN PRISON / centre / first reception centre A CLOSED CAMP / “FIRST and you are brought to a prison RECEPTION CENTRE”? in Athens and if the police ? transfers you to your country’s You are detained for having en - embassy, you might be in risk tered the country without pa - of deportation. S pers – which, according to the E S S law is illegal. You are detained ATTENTION: Greece does not E R with the aim to be deported D deport refugees from Afgha - A ! / back to your country of origin. E nistan, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, C N Eritrea and Palestine as well as A T ATTENTION: But most of the S I people from other war torn S nationalities cannot be de - S ! countries. There have been A ported or sent back to Turkey. only some very few reported Iranians, Iraqis and Turks are cases of deportation to these in danger of being deported countries.