13.000 people at least stranded at Idomeni after Macedonia closed the border, sleeping in the mud and cold. Some 70 children have been taken to hospital suffering from respiratory problems and diarrhea.
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Refugees at Idomeni camp near Greece-Macedonia border ... Aerial video footage shows the conditions of 14,000 people camped near the village of Idomeni, near the Greek-Macedonian border | |||||||
The Balkan Route is officially closed, Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary all closed their borders and there are new accords between Italy and Albania to stop immigration from there.
The Greek government want to put 50.000 people in a new detention facility, unless it is a hotspot, it is not clear what type of facility it will be, but critics think it will be like Amygdaleza, the notorious new mega detention centre of Athens.
The government said they will not use violence and tear gas but they would like to evict the camp at Idomeni, and who can believe them when they say they will not use violence? nobody want to move and all want to cross the border; refugees in Idomeni have been teargassed already including women and children by the Macedonian police, who were also very liberal with their batons; the French government promised there will be 'no violence and no bulldozers' in Calais! who can believe such liars?
The new deal with Turkey to stop immigration to Europe sharply criticized by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations.
According to Amnesty:
"The deal is wrought with moral and legal flaws, and the UK government should firmly reject it – here’s why:
1. It is dehumanising
The trading of refugees is abhorrent and completely lacks any concern for the human beings at the centre of this crisis. Unsettlingly, this plan would make every resettlement place in Turkey dependent upon another Syrian risking their life by embarking on the deadly sea route to Greece. This would be a serious erosion of refugee rights and have international legal ramifications far beyond Europe.
2. Refugees could end up back in a war zone
Transferring refugees to a ‘safe third country’ (i.e. a country of which they are not a national and where it is said they will be safe) relies on the ability and willingness of that country to provide a safe and secure place for people to live. But this is a serious concern in regards to Turkey – a country with a less than glistening human rights record, including when it comes to refugees.
Many refugees in Turkey live in desperate conditions without adequate housing. Hundreds of thousands of refugee children cannot access formal education. And we’ve even seen refugees detained and pushed back across the Syrian border by the Turkish authorities.
In fact, Turkey is not a full signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and although it has a temporary protection scheme for Syrians, other non-European refugees have no such protection in the country. Turkey cannot be considered a ‘safe third country’ that the EU countries can just outsource their obligations to.
3. It will empower the people smugglers
If the plans go ahead, people fleeing conflict and persecution who have been unable to find safety in countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey (which are already hosting far more refugees than EU countries) will beforced to take ever more deadly routes to reach Europe. The proposals will not achieve anything beyond further empowering and enriching the people smugglers – the very issue it is said the deal is intended solve.
4. Thousands will be left out in the cold
It is unclear what will happen to the many refugees now stranded out in the cold and squalor in other parts of Europe, with no access to even the most basic facilities. This is already a humanitarian crisis that risks escalating further to a disaster if EU leaders don’t put emergency response measures in place immediately.
5. It breaks international law
The plans brush over the need to deal with each person’s asylum claim. There is a high risk of people being returned to Turkey en masse, without proper individual assessments or safeguarding. This approach would fall far short of international and European law. The reality is that not all asylum seekers are coming from Syria, yet Turkey cannot – and is not – properly supporting all those who do and does not have a fully functioning asylum system for many others.
What you can do
Everyone has the right to seek protection abroad, but getting to Europe safely and legally is impossible for most refugees. European leaders must not sit by as more people are forced into the hands of people smugglers and to undertake dangerous – and often fatal – journeys.
Ask your MP to call on the Prime Minister to urgently amend the immigration rules to help more refugees to be safely reunited with family members in the UK."
Amnesty are also circualting a petition but I can only find it in French
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Right, if they were merchandise they would be let into Europe!
Down with Fortress Europe! Stop the mass murder!
Chiara
p.s. Sorry this is rather sketchy, if someone can do better than me please do!