DODECANESE NETWORK OF SOLIDARITY GROUPS
On Saturday, the 22nd
of April 2017, on the island
of Kos, the Solidarity
Groups that supported the vast refugee and immigrant movements, which in the
last two years had turned into a humanitarian crisis, held a meeting.
There had been previous attempts to coordinate our efforts which had
been fruitless due to the heavy workload we faced. The geographical
fragmentation of our islands however, did not impede us from having a substantial
collaboration from the first moment of the refugee flows which pertained to the
exchange of experiences, moral support and mutual help of our groups in basic
items.
At our first meeting, we were
given the opportunity:
-
For all those of
us, the poorest people of Europe, who shared
the despair and expectations of the people who were persecuted by war and hunger, who showed solidarity in the face of these
world changes along with the invaluable help of people from around the globe,to
become acquainted up close.
-
To evaluate our
efforts thus far.
-
To convene our
common action, to stand, even more efficiently, by the side of the victims of
war and wretchedness and against
war, exploitation and racism
which bring forth these victims.
We have lived and continue to
live, at a different pace and different
circumstances, the attempted genocide of the Syrian people, who are decimated
by a vicious imperialistic conflict and the despair of the peoples who
experienced before Syria, the “smart” bombs, the instigation of civil wars, the
deep regressions and fundamentalism of theocracy, political or racial
discrimination and savage class division.
We witnessed the mass death scattered by the mafia circuits, protected
by the political analgesia of a Europe
entrenched in a fortress of inhumanity and extreme conservatism at every level.
The sea, which gave us life and
raised us, the last two years has become a mass watery grave which buried along
with the thousands of persecuted Aylans, any delusions for a new necessary European enlightenment contrary to
the new middle age of vicious exploitation and unending wars.
We felt proud, with historic
awareness, because we became an impediment to a new genocide and an embankment
to the European partnership of inhumanity and neofacist intolerance.
Aproximately 400,000 people passed through our islands and with the
support of an unprecedented wave of solidarity, they received some necessities
for survival. Furthermore, they found comfort when they buried their dead,
healthcare when giving birth and in their illness, assistance with beauracracy
and protection from neo-facist attacks.
We
felt even more proud because all these efforts honor the history of refugees
and immigrants of our own land, and spring from a grass-roots self-organisation
without petty political protectionism. Thus, this experience gave us the
courage and the hope to fight back against the great capitalistic crisis that
is devastating the land and the rise of facism that accompanies each such
crisis and becomes more and more lethal.
However, today’s refugee
situation leaves no room for pride.
Today, 3000 refugees are trapped on our islands in subhuman conditions
due to the abject agreement between Europe and Turkey which was co-signed by our
country.
These people endure the modern
version of concentration camps under the euphemism of “Hot spots”.
The substandard living
provisions in accomodations, fare, the non-existence of healthcare, the
non-existent or thwarted school integration for their children, become
unbearable because they leave no margin for hope.
With the transgressions against
all international lawful agreements the refugees are enduring, perhaps for the
first time in modern history, the annulment of every self-evident right to
apply for and interview for asylum. Apart from the mass rejections, there are
infinte cases where the right to apply
for a secondary examination is violated. The cases where the official
procedure is observed, there is no assurance for the basic respect of the need
for the granting of asylum.
Families that dwell in the same
space of enclavement, are separated with asylum granted to only one of the two
parents. The reunion of families has become practically impossible, minors
become unaccompanied and from the beginning of their Odyssey up until today
remain just as unprotected.
Thus the mass deportations have
become more and more commonplace with authorities who are indifferent to how
fatefully a deportation can affect the life of a refugee and the “Pre-departure Center”
on the island of Kos
is in effect the Guantanamo of the Aegean.
This whole situation, along
with the lengthy imprisonment with everything that it implies, has led to
dramatic psychological tensions, many suicidal attempts and mass depression. We
have also confirmed that in many cases, there have been attempts of the
penalization of refugees, with “searches”, which, up until now, have produced
no result except to make covert intentions clear and definitely bring to mind
related practices.
One of the very dangerous
consequences of all these circumstances is the acclimatization of society with
the new type of concentration camps. Unfortunately, with the perception that these only concern “someone
else”, “the foreigner”, concepts and conditions enter our daily life as normal,
when they should, instead, awaken our reflexes and indicate to us that the
darkest experiments in history have always had generalization as their main
objective.
The existing status of school
integration for the refugee children in our area remains a big thorn as only in
Rhodes and in Kalymnos have children been enrolled in the official state
school. In Kos and in Leros, the absence of
refugee children from the schools generates a lot of questions, especially with
the publicly expressed opinion of school directors to not admit any of the
refugee children.
Given the experiences we have
had till now and the present needs, the Dodecanese Refugee Solidarity Groups,
as a Network, have co-decided:
1.
The immediate
and continuous communication between the groups for the notification of crucial
issues and their management.
2.
The consistent
publicising of all outstanding cases for
the sensitization of the public and broader support.
3.
The handling of
deportations as an issue of precedence with emphasis on the cases of minors and
refugees whose lives are directly endangered.
4.
The integration
of all refugee children in school, which is not the possession of any
individual, and is necessary not only for their personal adjustment into
society but is required by law for all the children of the world.
5.
To ensure
healthcare, without discriminating behaviors on behalf of authorities and
beauracratic obstacles.
We
appeal to our islanders, who have been refugees themselves and for whom
immigration is not only part of the past but also the present of an extortioned
country, to stand up to the height of our history.
We appeal to the medical, legal and educational sectors, to honor the
oath they have given, to testify their part in history. We request from all of
their collective instruments to take over the safeguarding of the right to
health, education and the protection of human integrity, as is designated by
the constitution of our country and international agreements.
We request from international
organisations such as the UNHCR, Amnesty International, Doctors Without
Borders, the Greek Council for Refugees to put the issue of deportations and
the necessary legal coverage as their first priority.
We request the immediate
employment of staff (administrative officers, nurses, psychologists, social
workers, technicians and janitors) wherever there is a refugee population (army
camps,hotspots or hosting structures as in the Leros Pikpa) given that the
contracts of the staff of the Reception and Identity Service expired on February 28, 2017. They
have not been renewed nor has there been any proclamation for the appointment
of new staff and as a result, the needs of the refugees are inadequately
covered in spite of the constant and unlimited offers of the volunteers.
We request from every thinking
person to not settle for the Guantanamos, nor tolerate prejudice and
inhumanity.
The Dodecanese Network of
Solidarity Groups will continue to struggle to ensure life and hope to the
victims of war, poverty and social segregation and for our Aegean
Sea, from a watery grave, to become a sea of humanity.
Kos, April 22, 2017
Dodecanese Network of Solidarity Groups
