as of May 2022, there are 100 million displaced people in the world
72% are hosted in neighbouring countries and 40% are children
I’ve recently finished 5-weeks of volunteering in northern Greece with InterEuropean Humanitarian Aid Association (IHA). This grassroots NGO is based around Thessaloniki, Greece. They have a Community Centre in the village of Lagadikia which supports the nearby camp and a warehouse near the shareflat in Diavata. The IHA Warehouse is partnered with eight organisations and delivers basic needs (food, clothing, and hygiene) to twelve camps.
I discovered IHA through Indigo Volunteers, an amazing organisation that finds a volunteering program catered to you.
Since crossing the Greek border 5 weeks ago, my perceptions on asylum seekers and refugees have changed immensly. Here's some of what I've learnt:
migrants don’t owe us their stories; we don’t need to understand their actions or decisions in order to accept them
During my time as a volunteer, I took on the roles of child carer and English teacher. I learnt quickly that many of the visitors suffer from trauma and that games involving blindfolds, or discussing your dream holiday, etc. in an English class are both triggering and inappropriate.
TERMINOLOGY
At IHA, we treat everyone equally. Rather than labelling people by their asylum status, we refer to the people we support at the Community Centre as ‘visitors’.
People On the Move (POM) is the general and polite term for anyone who has left their country of origin. This includes:
Undocumented people
People with Subsidiary Protection
These people are from SCOs (safe countries of origin) and their situation is reviewed every 3 years. Usually, people who seek refuge from war are instead offered Subsidiary Protection with the reason being that one day, the war will end and they can go back to their home country. The same goes for LGBTQIA+ members, as it is possible the laws in the home country will change.
Asylum seekers
People who have lodged an application and have a ‘white card’ (ID). Applying for asylum is not easy and in many cases, it's the choice between detention or deportation.
These people are usually from ‘refugee-producing’ countries. If they are from SCOs, then they have proven they’re at risk of persecution in the home country.
If your application is rejected, you can make an appeal, but once you receive your second rejection, you have 30 working days to leave the EU nation before being expelled.
The most common nationalities of asylum seekers in Greece (as of 2021) are: Syrian, Afghan, Iraqi, Somalian, Turkish, Bengali, and Iranian.
Refugees
People who have received a positive outcome of having a well-founded fear of being persecuted. They are granted a 3-year residence permit which can be renewed after a decision by the Regional Asylum Office.
Refugee status is not all good; while you receive a passport, you also loose your monthly payments and often end up homeless.
TIMELINE
Since the 2015 So-Called EU Refugee Crisis, the UNHCR were managing the system in Greece, however, they handed it back to the Greek government at the start of 2020.
The signing of the EU-Turkey Deal in March 2016 - which is still in effect - has had devastating impacts on POMs being violently 'pushbacked' between countries. The agreement is that Türkiye will accept more POMs, and that for every Syrian refugee, the EU will host one Syrian refugee who is already in Türkiye. The EU also pays Türkiye €6 billion and allows Turkish people visa-free travel in the EU. Bottom line for POMs is: wait patiently in Türkiye and don't attempt to travel to Greece.
Currently, 32,472 Syrians in Türkiye are still waiting to be let into the EU.
Many camps opened in 2016 as emergency, temporary accommodation…six years later, they are still being used. From what I’ve heard, some are like prisons, others are substandard at best. Most are remote, away from urban centres and opportunities.
Volunteering can be dangerous. The act of people smuggling, driving boats, and conducting sea rescues is criminal; the penalty can be 100 years in prison. In addition to search and rescue, distributing food and water, and advocacy can also be criminalised due to the undefined law against ‘assisting’ POMs.
Greece received EU support in Feb 2020 after not letting in thousands of POMs who were pushed out of Türkiye. Among many casualties, three people died. Greece then shut down the asylum program.
As a result of Covid in March 2020, the program was kept closed. Homeless POMs were fined up to €300 for not being at ‘home’.
From September 2021-January 2022, camps still received catering, but people in private accommodation went without government-distributed food and money for 5 months.
Previously, refugees had one month to find accommodation and work after receiving a positive refugee status, but after the UNHCR/Red Cross stopped funding the ‘Refugee Crisis’, the Greek government refused to fund the Cash Card system from October-December 2021 and the one-month period to source a home and work was reduced to one day.
With the Greek monthly Cash Card back up and running, here’s how it compares with other countries:
Greece individual with catering = €75 (€210 for a family of 4+)
Greece individual without catering = €150 (€420 for a family of 4+)
UK individual without catering = €170 (£36/week)
Germany individual without catering = €450
The EU has funded billions of euros for the installation of sound cannons on the soon-to-be 120km wall along the dangerous Evros river border which is expected to be completed by 2027. These canons will cause physical pain to people attempting to cross via high-pitched signal.
CONCLUSIONS
Earlier this year, I began this blog as a way of helping others navigate the confusing bureaucracy in Spain.
I found it a struggle and yet, it is difficult to imagine the sense of hopelessness and futility experienced by those not only coping with a foreign system and a foreign language but also with racism.
While I acknowledge the crucial role of volunteering, it is frustrating to realise that aid can only alleviate the symptoms of the asylum system, and that only through law reform can we change the system.
One morning at the Centre, I commented on how smiley one of the visitors was that day. While continuing to stir his coffee as though we were talking about the weather, he responded that it's the only option; he, and the others, have to stay positive in order to make it out alive.
The information above is specific to July/August in Greece 2022. To find out more about the migration systems within your own countries, please volunteer or research as we can't change anything without knowledge.
If you would like to donate to IHA, their details are as follows:
InterEuropean Human Aid Association Germany e.V.
GLS Gemeinschaftsbank
IBAN: DE86 4306 0967 8231 2437 00
BIC: GENODEM1GLS
For PayPal: info@iha.help
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