A Dublin II Deportation Diary

8/9/2019 A Dublin II Deportation Diary

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Athens & Patras 28.06.-02.07.2010


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Based on European law, every day re ugees ngerprinted in Greece aresent back rom Austria, Germany,France, Belgium, Britain, Sweden,Finland in short all 30 countries thathave signed the Dublin II regulation.In 2009 one third o the applications

or trans ers back to Greece actually took place.2 Apparently, Greece iscurrently ollowing the strategy o not replying to the return requests

o other Schengen member statesresulting in the automatic acceptanceo the re ugees deportation a ter theexpiration o the deadline.

What all thesei n d i v i d u a lstories o ailure in the quest or asylumin Europe tell in common is that theresponsible authorities in the Europeancountries all assure the deportees o

their access to their rights in Greece:o a air asylum procedure, o accessto housing, social wel are, ood, work

etc. At the sametime, Greece hasbeen repeatedly condemned by

international organizations such as theUNHCR, AI, ECRE, Human Rights

Watch and NGOs rom di erentcountries such as Pro Asyl and NOAS

or not respecting re ugees rights andor not being a sa e host country, i.e.

since Greece is repeatedly violating theprinciple o non-re oulement3.

I have been deported rom Suisse, Italy and Austria! I have been deported romGermany! I have been deported romFinland! I have been deported romBritain! I have been deported rom Austria! I have been deported romBelgium! Te stories intermingle, ashooting re o voices outraged andin anger. Attiki Square, the centre o

Athens. Located in a part o the city

1 he Dublin II regulation was adopted in 2003 and has been rati ied by 30 European countries. It is European Union law that determines theEU Member States responsible to examine an application or asylum seekers seeking international protection and provides or the trans er o anasylum seeker to that Member State. Usually, the responsible Member State will be the state through which the asylum seeker irst entered the EU.It is the corner stone o the Dublin System, comprised o the Dublin Regulation and the EURODAC Regulation, which establishes a Europe-wide

ingerprinting database or unauthorized entrants to the EU and leads to thousands o inner-European deportations each year.

2 Amnesty International 2010: he Dublin II rap: rans ers o Asylum Seekers to Greece.3 he principle o non-re oulement is the cornerstone o international re ugee protection, and obliges states not to return anyone to a country where they would be at risk o serious human rights violations.

Hamid (24, rom A ghanistan) was deported rom Austria in 2010. Tey took me in the dark o the morning hours. I was brought to the airport. When I arrived in Greece the airport police gave me a paper. Tey said: Go to the aliens police. Tere was no interpreter. I went there. Tey just gave me a Pink Card.Ten they told me to go. I went to the Greek Re ugee Council (GCR), but they said the state is responsible or me. Tey also said that they have not been paid and that most o their lawyers are not working anymore. I went to the UNHCR,they said: We know that the situation here is bad. I slept on the streets. I ate in

churches, but some o them also closed recently. I got sick, but I couldnt pay my medicine. Ten I decided to return back to A ghanistan, but they said I have towait. Ten they said you have to pay your own ticket to A ghanistan i you want to return. How can I pay? So I cannot even return. I have only this Pink Card.What should I do with this Pink Card? It is nothing!

The frst two days in AttikiWhy did you want me back inGreece? Tis is the question Hamid,a young re ugee rom A ghanistan,asked a ter being deported back rom

Austria to Greece due to the DublinII regulation1. We didnt want youhere! was the simplistic answer o the Greek aliens police. Tey gavehim his temporary residence permit

or asylum seekers (the so called Pink Card) and that was it. No urtherhelp, no assistance, no guidance.

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I have been deported romSuisse, Italy and Austria!


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that apart rom the Greek neighbourshas been inhabited since some yearsby many A ghan re ugees. Tey ask:Who are you? - What are you doing here? - What di erence does it make i you report our situation? - Tere have been many journalists and NGOs coming here, but nothing changes! It just becomes worse. And then so many questions about asylum in Europe:How is the situation in other Europeancountries? - Where can I get asylum?

Will I be sent back again i I try once more? Where can I nd help or my sick child? Tere is no master plan, nogeneral solution, and no easy answer.Te re ugees are excited and stressed

rom the pressure o nding a sa ehaven, a uture or themselves andtheir amilies.I Greece does not want us, why dont they let us go elsewhere?

My eldest son lives in Sweden. He has been recognized and has a Swedish

passport now. On this ground we could apply or a Visa to join him in Sweden.Te Swedish embassy in Iran issued Visas or me, my eldest daughter (12), my second son (9) but not or my youngest child. She shows her passport with thethree Visas.I sent my two children whohad a Visa to Sweden, but I was orced to go with my small daughter illegally rom

urkey. What can I do? I dont know why they didnt give me a Visa or my youngest

daughter! What sense does it make? Each woman has a sad story to tell. Tey come with their children alone or withtheir husbands or brothers. ahera isanxious about the wellbeing o herthree year old girl.It is a ew months that I am in Greece. My daughter has been born sick, but since the six months in Greece her condition has worsened.She cannot breath, her lungs dont work well. For one week she has been inthe hospital. Ten the doctors said thechild has to be operated, but it cannotbe done in Greece. She should take it

to Germany that would be better. My daughter has to be operated within the

next 5 days, the doctor said. It is now 20 days rom these 5 days. I try very hard to leave, but how? Mariam is also

worried. We are trapped in Greece. My husband became depressive because o all our problems, because he cannot nd work. We have no place to stay, no money or ood. We live in riends houses, but

we can never stay or long. o eat we have to go to the church and to Caritas

or to collect ood rom the rubbish. We used to collect also other things rom the garbage bins and sell them once a week on a night market or one or two Euro.Tat was all our earnings, but now the neighbours protested against the market and the police closed it down. Ten, hereyes averted in shame, she whispers:My husband became drug addicted.What can I do? We didnt apply or asylum, because there is no asylum in

Greece. Without the asylum seekers card no organization can help him, they say. I have asked everywhere!

Te issue o health is a basic problemamong the undocumented as much as

or the asylum seekers. Te economicalcrisis is de nitely a worsening actor

or the living conditions not only orGreeks but also or others, especially thedisadvantaged parts o the populationin Greece i.e. re ugees.We are so t, sowe break rst, tells Adam rom Sudanconcerning the economical crisis o

Te Attiki Square is flled up with o a mixture o people, some

have just arrived and seek a way out, others have been already returned back. In one o the corners the women sit together, thechildren play on the grass behind the benches. Adela is worriedabout her child. Her eldest son Wahid (15) le t on his own toGermany to increase his chances o getting asylum and becausethey did not have enough money to leave all together. Next to hersits Fatima. She came to Greece with her ve year old daughter.

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Greece. Access to medical treatment isalready an obstacle but it is even moredi cult to get ree medicine. Usniya,mother o two children, has diabetes.It is now our years she is unable tobuy the medicine she needs. We mether the rst time on the Friday eveningbazaar where she was sitting on thepavement, leaning on a wall next to themetro line selling second hand games,clothes and other things ound in therubbish. Her ace was pale, her wholebody in pain. Te rst time I went tothe doctors, they told me to come back with a translator. Te second time they gave me a receipt to buy the medicine I need mysel but I have no money. She

lives nearby Attiki Square in an A ghanhotel. We are looking or her, but shedoes not appear on the square. When

we ask the others about her wellbeingpeople tell us her hotel had just beenraided by police. She is living with her

amily on the streets now.

A bit urther away rom the womena group o deportees romG e r m a n y , Austria andS w i t z e r l a n dare chatting inGerman abouttheir shared

plight. How long were you in Germany? Almost a year. And you? I was deported rom Austria a ter a period o 14 months. Schubha t is an Austrian term used

or the practice o detention: the biggestgroup o Dublin-deportees at Attikicomes rom Austria.

Simin Ahmadi (30, A ghanistan) and her amily were deported rom Austria in September 2009. In 2001 she had ed together with her husband rom A ghanistan toIran when she was about to be orced into an unwanted marriage with her cousin. In Iran she gave birth to her twolittle daughters (now 3 and 5 years old). Te amily was under constant threat o their relatives who persecuted the escapees also to Iran in order to kill her. Te scars o the assault that almost killed her still show signs o the stabbing on her body.Te rough road to Europe cost them not only their wedding rings that they had to sell among all their other belongings,but put their lives repeatedly into danger. In Greece the whole amily was detained upon arrival and then reed only to nd themselves homeless and without support onthe streets o Athens. It was a question o survival to leave Greece and apply or asylumsomewhere else. In their case it was Austria,the country, which a ter a period o 13 months never gave them an answer to their asylum request, the country that deported them back to Greece. When my children play withother children they ask each other: rom where have you beendeported? I was deported rom Austria. And they always ask:when will we return to Austria? Simin her husband and her two little daughters lived in raiskirchen, Hain eld, Ramsauand Payerbach. But they had no luck: Tey came in the morning and brought us to Vienna. We had a lawyer romDiakonie, he just said I am sorry. In Athens they had tostay or three days imprisoned at the airport, where the police gave them a pink card upon release. Tey have been waiting since more than nine months now or a shelter, that the Greek

Re ugee Council is trying to nd or them. Te rst days a ter our deportation we had to sleep in the park. Te smaller daughter was bitten by insects and had an allergic reaction.We went to the Doctors o the World. Tey just laughed whenwe asked or medicine and said we had no money to pay or it. Another A ghan then gave us the money or the medicine. It was a documentary in German television that has helped us to survive till now. Tey collected some money to pay or our rent.4 Now we collect garbage. We go to the market and

search the dustbins at the end o the day.We wash the vegetables and pickle them. I am a raid my children might become sick.We try to eat two times a day at places

o the churches. A break ast is not possible. Te people they ght or the best place in the cue. Sometimes somebody stepson the children. In Austria Simin lost a third child in aspontaneous abortion in the th month: I was so stressed about the deportation to Greece. In the back o my head there is a shrapnel rom a bomb attack. Te doctor in Austria said they could not deport me like this, but nobody cared. Her husband who is most o the time silent nally speaks: We had a long journey. We both did not have much chance to goto school or to learn. I wish another li e or my daughters. Tey should be ree and go to school, this is my biggest dream! Simin adds, and in this moment her ace looks much younger than be ore.

4 Report about the situation o the amily rom March 2010 see: http://www.welt.de/die-welt/politik/article5364663/Gestrandet-in-Athen.htmland http://www.wdr.de/tv/bab/sendungsbeitraege/2010/0303/ luechtlinge.jsp

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I wish another li e or my daughters.


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German Dublin II cases are more seldombut still many. A ter years o campaigningand documenting the ailing asylumsystem in Greece, the German HighCourt suspended Dublin-deportationsto Greece in nine cases. On this basisit is still possible to avoid deportation with the help o lawyers at the moment.Te whole procedure is not easy toexplain, there is no simple to answer tothe question:Where can I go? For eachcase there are other opportunities andother di culties. It makes a di erencei someone has amily, i he will berecognized as under-aged or not etc.

Deportees rom Germany we speak to,have in most cases been returned longtime ago. Others have been caught by thepolice or border guards in the trains closeto the Austrian-German border. Tey never managed to contact specialisedlawyers or support groups. In sum: theaccess to in ormation5 in advance to theirarrival but also a ter and the chance toappeal6 decides about their uture.

Attiki Square is a small place close to themetro line. It has a ew trees, a little bit o green. On the one side there are a hand ull

o co ee bars and a restaurant. Nothingspecial - neither nice nor ugly. Te squaremirrors the current police actions againstundocumented migration. Sometimesyou nd it totally empty meaning policecontrols have increased. Sometimes it is

ull o A ghan re ugees meaning policeis controlling less. Tese days it is very crowded. Still police is patrolling, butthere is no other place to go. Duringlunch time small groups o young men

hang around chitchatting with each otheror just sitting alone and thinking aboutthe uture that the next day might bring,about how to survive, about how to leavethis country. In the early a ternoon thesun is slowly disappearing into the smogo the city, it is not so hot and the square

lls with women, their small childrenand unaccompanied minors.

Yousou (39, rom Ghazni/ A ghanistan) was deported rom Austria in May 2010.He had travelled with his amily through Greece to Austria. He lived there withhis wi e and his child or 2 years - rst in Krnten then in Graz in a pensiono a mountain village. First he got a yellow paper, then a white one. Be ore his deportation he was brought to detention in Vienna, district 9. Fourty days ago he was deported without his amily. His wi e and his child were not at home, whenthe police came in the early morning hours to surprise them. He could warn them.

Upon his arrival in Greece he was directed to the Aliens police by the airport police and received a Pink Card. Tere was no interpreter to explain to him what was going on. Now he is homeless and without money living on the streets: I cannot even deport mysel back to A ghanistan. Tey now take 700 Euro rom everyone who wants to return. I am on a waiting list since the day I returned. I dont have any contact with my amily since I was deported. I have no idea where they are now! We applied or asylum in Austria, but we were rejected twice because o our ngerprints in Greece. I tried to tell them how bad Greece is, I showed them photos, I told them I could tell them more than 30 witnesses that would proove the truth o my words. But they replied that it was just bad be ore because we had not applied or asylum yet and the structures support only asylum seekers. Ten

they said: Tis time when you return, you will receive the Pink Card and all the support you need concerning housing and wel are. But it was not true.

Ali Jan (40, rom A ghanistan) was deported back rom Blankenburg/ Oldenburg,Germany in 2004. Upon his return, he ell victim to police orces who beat him.He was treated by the Centre or the Victims o orture. We met him a ter the hotel

he was living in was raided. Tey only gave me a Pink Card when I returned and then I experienced one o the most violent incidents o my li e. In Germany they told me that I will receive protection in Greece. Instead I was threatened and assaulted by state employees. I ed rom A ghanistan because o terror, and I was sent back to terror rom Germany to Greece. We look together at his papers. He has kept proo o everything he experienced in Greece, rom his time in Germany and his deportation, but he is very a raid to give us copies. Please dont show the papers anywhere. Use them and then destroy them immediately! Tis is how sa e re ugees eel in Greece!

Musta a (18, rom A ghanistan) was deported rom Germany in March 2010.He is very quiet in the beginning observing and listening to the discussions o the others. Only when the others leave he starts talking about his story. I was under-aged when I arrived in Greece in 2007, and I was under-aged when I arrived in Austria a ew months later. I wanted to apply or asylum, but they ound my Greek sim-card in my mobile phone and they told me they will send me back.Ten I tried to apply or asylum in Germany. I arrived at the Athens airport onthe 24th March o this year. Tey tore my documents rom Germany and just told

me: Go to the police station! On the paper they changed my birth date rom 1992 to 1990. I dont know why. I went to the police station or one week every day, but they never let me in. Ten it was my turn and the ofcer asked me: Do you want the Pink Card? I was so disappointed rom Greece. I said: No! Ten I le t. What should I do with this card? Since three years I am running around Europe trying to get asylum. I spent a lot o money which I have to pay back one day and now I dont have even money to call back home and tell my mother that I am alive.

5 A web-guide or re ugees was created to give access to understandable in ormation:http://w2eu.in o there are also lea lets to print that gatherin ormation about Dublin II in di erent European countries and give contacts to NGOs that can provide contacts to specialised lawyers.

6 he access to legal means or people who pass the Dublin II procedure is controversial in Germany. Some ederal states already decided thatthere has to be in ormation on a planned Dublin deportation in advance to make legal means possible. But there is no consistent procedure or whole Germany. he awaited decision o the German High Court will have to take a irm stand on this question.

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Reza (19, rom A ghanistan) was deported romGermany in 2010. He came to Greece the rst time in 2008. He was 17 years old and he decided to apply or asylum since he had severe health problems, being treated in the ollowing or one month in the hospital o Sparti or Hepatitis. He decided to leave Greece due tolacking medical support and because he was sure he had

no chance or asylum here. He had remained homeless,without work, money and ood. In summer 2009 he arrived in Hungary, where he applied or asylum. Whenthey ound his ngerprints in Greece he escaped and le tto Austria where he arrived in August 2009. Te police arrested him and he was quickly in ormed that Austriaasked Greece to return him there, because o his asylumapplication. When travelling rom Austria to Germany

he was caught in the train near Passau in November 2009. Te Bundespolizei initiated a medical age-assesmeand changed his date o birth rom 1993 to 1991. He stayed in detention until his deportation without having ato any lawyers. Be ore being deported rom Germany back to Athens, the German civil servants told him that he

go to the Greek Re ugee Council to nd support upon arrival. On 16 th

o February 8:45 a.m. he was deported witha Lu thansa ight rom Munich to Athens. Back in Greece he arrived at the airport. Without being detained hle t to go with a Greek note to visit the aliens police within three days upon arrival to receive his Pink Card. Hissued the Pink Card on the 19 th o February 2010, with his age being changed to 18 and his date o birth too. Tey gave him some addresses o churches and other places to nd support. He went to GCR or support, but there tlaughed in desperation, as he says, because o the massive workload. Reza needed a means to survive, so hework in the seasonal work o Tiva, in the onion and potato harvest. Tere is no constant work, sometimes they oearn only 3 Euro a day or they dont even get paid at all while lacking legal means to claim their wages. I will noin Greece. I cannot stay in Greece!

Just another day o crisis in Omonia and At

Te demonstration is ading, it isone o these hot days, but the mood

is not boiling over. Protests continue.Tey need a long breath now. Butunder the sur ace there is a permanenttremor, like the whisper o cracking icebe ore it breaks. Some A rican workersmove orward with the rhythms o their drums not too enthusiastic,but smoothly swinging. Teir bannersays: Open the borders! Tey are only

ew protestors today the sleepy lionragmented but you can eel the

atmosphere at several places o the city.It seems just a matter o time until onesmall incident can start another revolt.

No taxi to be seen, on the way the Sudanese and Somali Communities in Omonia, Athens. It isstrike-time and so everybody has to walk many join the demonstration. It is one o these proteststhat became daily routine in Athens, since the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fond (IMF) dictates Greek politics. Te tear gas in the air cutsour breath.

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Te demonstration ends at Omonia. A step out and into the other world o those who say:

What do youmean by crisis?For us crisis ispermanent andthis is absolutely not new.

Te streets o Omonia are anothermirror o reality: Since the governmentaloperation secure the centre o Athensstarted, police raids every ew hours the

streets o downtown Athens. It is not

the rst time though. In preparationo the Olympic Games 2004 similarpolice operations led to the cleaningo the city centre or the tourists,

whereby expulsing all the unwanted be they drug users, dealers, migrants,homeless etc. - into the streets southo Omonia. Pushing migrants into thesame corner with the drug economy and consume increased the numbero addicted migrants and migrantdealers, thus making it easier or theMedia and the dominant discourse toillegalise and criminalise migrants.

oday the colour ul area beneathOmonia, ull o migrant and Greek

shops, callcentres, multi-ethnic oodstores andsmall A rican,

Kurdish and Arab restaurants, a placenormally overcrowded with migrantstreet-vendors seems abandoned andquite. Only those who are not ableto move anymore, lost in the abyss o heroine or other drugs, hang around

motionless. A big bus, surrounded

by riot police is standing at the nextcorner, already hal ull withsans- papiers . Testreets are now under controlo civil and riotpolice. Tey areswarming outto catch thelawless and lltheir bus with their preys, which willlater bring once again another loado undocumented behind the bars o one o the overcrowded police stations

in Athens. Te unknown detentionperiods they will have to ace belongto the many question marks o theGreek asylum policy. Most o them

will be set ree at some point, issuedanother white paper, an order to leavethe country within 30 days a smallprotection just until the next raid oruntil they manage, to nd their way tofee rom Greece.

Entering Omonia eels like puttinga burning glass between you and the

world, which con ronts you with a heavy load o violence, but also concentratedhopes and expectations - i you risk a deeper look. Later in the evening ayoung A ghan journalist talks aboutthe opinion o an Austrian colleague.He draws the picture o Omoniaas a place o war more dangerousthan Kabul. Te rule o competingwarlords who ght over the power o the streets is incomprehensible or theoutsider like the bush to the tourist.Te police orces are just another actorin this game.

A bit urther to the north is the co eebar o the Sudanese in a small side

street. A rican kids play on the streetnext to some drug users. Tey have become one with us in our amily , says

Adam talking about the drug users.We have no problems with them, they belong to our neighbourhood! InsideSudanese, Somalis, Eritreans andNorthern A ricans men are drinkingtheir tea while watching the Football

World Championship. Gregory turnsaround showing his papers: Tis is

the pink card. It is the card they give tothe deported, you know? I dont knowanyone who got it be ore his rst return. Here they give papers only or some short time a ter your deportation. Te pink card is a

5-6 months paper. When you go to renewit they will take it away rom you in most o the times and issue another white paper, which means leave the country.

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Omar ( rom Dar ur/Sudan) was deported twice rom Finland - the last time inOctober 2009. In 2005 he arrived through the land border to urkey and was rst arrested in Komotini. He le t Greece and went to Finland. A ter two months his ngerprints were ound. He was detained or our days and returned to Greece.Nobody listened to his asylum claim. In 2008 he tried again to apply or asylum

in Finland. A ter 11 months and an asylum application his ngerprints were ound again. Tey told me that Greece was a good country or re ugees. Tey said Greece is responsible or me and I am not allowed to apply or asylum here.I told them I was there be ore, and Greece does not help re ugees. I dont like Greece because they dont give anything to us! Tey replied: No problem! Tey will give you everything! Te court made its decision and I was sent back. In the airport they gave him a paper to sign that he didnt understand. Ten he went tothe police and got his Pink Card. Te Pink Card he received should have beenrenewed two months ago, but or some reason the police does not do it. I was deported 8 months ago. I went more then 15 times to renew my papers. Now my girl riend came rom Finland. We want to marry, but the municipality told me I need a passport to marry. I told them: I have no passport. I am rom Dar ur. I didnt come like a tourist to Greece with the airplane. I travelled through thousand dangers to ee rom my country! I am a re ugee and I have no passport! You know,they dont renew my paper; they dont let me marry now. What can I do? I sell CDs on the streets to survive. When I leave my room it is possible that I wont return,because the police can arrest me. I cannot even have a SIM-Card or open a bank account very simple things I cannot do. In the next days his girl riend will have to return to Finland. Tey have ought to get all the papers they need to marry but it wasnt enough.

What do you mean by crisis? For us crisis is permanent and this is absolutely not new.

Tis is the pink card. It is the card they give to the deported, you know? I dont know anyone who got it be ore his frst return.


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A young man steps in and asks or a

lighter. His gaze is aded away and hecan hardly walk or speak. He takesthe lighter and disappears again.He was not always like this, he was my riend and three years ago he made it toNetherlands. A ter his deportation, he gave up on his li e. His soul is broken. I see him sometimes when he picks up ood rom the garbage. Many get lost like him.

It is what happens with us, when we lose

our hope. It is only 15 minutes o walking romOmonia to Attiki Square. Te closeryou come the more obvious is thepresence o A ghans. oday everybody on the square is concerned about atragic story. One woman with threesmall boys has just arrived rom Evrosriver. Fatima lost her husband on the

border crossing.We were 50 or more,most o us were A ricans. We had to pass this river. Tere was one small boat, we put the children inside and choose the smallest women to join them in the boat. Most o the others had to walk throughthe waters that had risen because o heavy rain alls some days earlier. Tey linked their arms to a chain and started going.Te water was deep and when the rst person went head under water the chainbroke. Only a ew were able to swimand reached the other side. We tried to nd the others, but they were carried away by the river. Police came and we begged them to search or the others. But

they only ound the dead bodies o two A rican women. 7 One tear is nally nding its way to her cheek, but there

is no energy le t or grie :Now they let us ree to come here but I have to nd out i my husband is alive or i he is dead. I need to know. My children are asking me every day since. She sighs deeply: How can I nd him? 8

It is early in the night only a ew walking

minutes away rom Attiki Square. Treeyoung A ghan re ugees are walkingtogether on the street. Suddenly, twopolice motorbikes appear out o thedusk with turned on sirens. Te boysare surprised and a raid. Tey haveno papers. Spontaneously they runaway. Tis suspicious reaction alarmsthe state cowboys so they jump o

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Mary (25, rom Eritrea) was deported rom Norway in June 2010. She had arrived in Greece in 2009.She came in a dinghy to Mytilini and stayed or 1 months in detention. She remembers the protests o the noborder activists: And then the Germanembassy came. Freedom! Freedom! Although she soon made some positive experiences with her new

riends, she was out o luck rom then on. In Athens she was lucky or the last time: she got a place in ahotel or a ew days together with some Eritrean and A ghan women. But a ter a short time they were kicked-out by the owner. Tere ore she had to sleep onthe street or some days until her planned departure rom Greece. In these three days o homelessness she was sexually abused and raped on the streets o Athens. Although she cried or helpnobody stopped to help her. Bleeding and unconscious she was ound by a Nigerian passer-by. She managed to leave the country and arrive in Norway, where she lodged an asylum application. In

her asylum interview she spoke about her traumatic experiences in Greece. She was pregnant rom the rape and had an abortion. But the ofcers said only: You are a Dublin! A ter 9 months the police entered her room at 6 oclock in the morning and arrested her during sleep. She was deported back to Greece together with another Eritreanwoman. Tey resisted. Te policemen explained to them that they would be deported nevertheless and closed their mouths with tape. She cried all the time inthe airplane. Four policemen accompanied the deportation. Tey kicked her legs and eet when she was trying to move. Te police ofcer in Greece told me: Now you are ree! But where is the reedom? Greece is not reedom, it is garbage! She has now a Pink Card, no home and works or 10 Euro a day. She has to be happy about the act that she is not unemployed. But she cannot stop crying. I have nomoney to take the bus or the train and go to some organisation or help. I have no ood, no amily, nothing! She o ten orgets what she is about to do. For a ew days she can stay in a temporary shelter, a small room that she shares with a lot o other women. She leaves the room only to go to work. On her way to work she always eels someone being a ter her. I try to make mysel invisible.

Te police ofcer in Greece told me: Now you are ree! But where is the reedom? Greece is not reedom, it is garbage!

7 In the irst hal o 2010 at least 50 re ugees were ound dead in Evros river. See also report on this incident in June: http://so iaecho.com/2010/07/02/926788_migrant-deaths-on-turkish-greek-border-spark-unhcr-concern and http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/

june-2010-clandestina-report/8 Until today there are no proo s or his death and no ones or his survival. For the ollow-up o the quest or the lost amily members in Evrossee: http://in omobil-w2eu.blogspot.com/


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and one o them catches one o theminors. He grasps him rom his shirthighly aggressive. Te boy is a raid,

alls down. Te o cer beats him withhis st on hishead. An oldman comes outo a shop nearby and shoutsto the o cer:What are youdoing? Dont hit the small boy! Shut up, the o cer is outrageous. Dont beat him, the old Greek man is shocked by the rambo beating the small kid. Tepolice o cer turns to the old man now

threatening him verbally. Meanwhilethe other policemen hunt the othertwo. Te second o cer has stayed onthe bike and seems a bit anxious aboutthe state o mind o his colleague whomeanwhile stopped beating the boy.Still outraged he stands up, pushingthe boy to the other side o the street,

to the opposite direction o the policestation. His colleague drives next tohim shouting Panagioti, Panagiotias i he wanted to tell him: Dont!It seems as i he tries to look out or adark corner to continue the beatings

without witnesses. Te shouts bringhim back to reality and the o cerbrings the boy to his colleague. Whilethey put the youngster in handcu sanother Greek passant is asking:Why are they doing that? He is so young. A man passes by with his dog, he is angry:What did the boy do? Why do they beat

this child? Tis is all due to this horrible ascist neighbourhood movement. Tey believe they are the only real and clean Greeks, but in reality they are just

shit. Tey call the police and complain about the migrants.Un ortunately there are many o them and we

are only a ew. We cannot say anything! He leaves shaking his head seemingly

rustrated. Te three boys are broughtall together to the police station.

A ew hours ago it was a normal

neighbourhood with a high rate o immigrant population living nextdoor to the Greeks. Now it is nothingmore than a site o racist violence.

Just 15 minutes later, the neonazisare demonstrating at the AttikiSquare. here were 30 persons in thebeginning, then up to 200. Tey are

beating A ghans orcing them to leave what they think is theirs thesquare, theneighbourhood,the country. Forsome hours they attack everythingthey dislike:Muslim places o prayer, migrant hotelsand shops. Te policemen continuearresting migrants sharing the sameaggressive mood. Te haunt continues. Te square is empty. A cleaning

machine drives along the square,like a sarcastic symbol or the ascistinterpretation o cleanness. It is a termidnight. About 20 Bangladeshi standsilent in ront o their demolished roomo prayer in middle the shreds o theirreligion.It happens regularly. O ten the only thing we can do is to go and be at least witnesses. Te broken glass in themosque and all the destruction remindsone o the early 90s in Germany, o the pogroms directed against migrantsused by the politicians to abolish theright o asylum.

Since two years Greece has observed anincrease in anti immigrant behaviour,racism and organized right wing/

ascist groups. Teir propagandain ltrates the neighbourhoods andthe simple Greek citizens mind.In Athens the area round Viktoria,St. Panteleimon Church and AttikiSquare have become a site o strugglesrefecting these developments. Once alively neighbourhood, a meeting point

or the young and the old or bothGreeks and immigrants and close tothe city centre, it is now just a bit lessthan a war zone - a space o dispute

with increasing incidents o neo-Naziassaults and violence symbolic or theuprising o traditional ascist groupssuch as Chrissi Avgi. A core group o neo-Nazis and ar right residents o thearea organised a ascist neighbourhoodmovement in St. Panteleimon Church,

which uses stereotypical images suchas the alien as criminal, dangerousand dirty to win more combatants.It started with the expulsion o

immigrants rom public squares,c o n t i n u e d with threats,and peaked inassaults ands y s t e m a t i cdestruction o migrant shopsor religious

places. All this under the eyes o thegovernment whose le t hand, the police,has de ned their role diplomatically in protecting the neo-Nazis insteado their victims. Te 1st o May 2010,

8

What did the boy do? Why do they beat this child? Tis is

all due to this horrible ascist neighbourhood movement.

Since two years Greece has observed an increase in anti immigrant behaviour, racismand organized right wing/ ascist groups.


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the 2nd o June, the 8th o June, the 30th o June an endless list o racist and

ascist crimes that remain unregisteredand not reported. Te neo-Naziscontinue to righten the neighbourhoodand to bring violence and horror to thestreets o St. Panteleimon and Attiki tilltoday. In their own public statementsthe police just as Chrissi Avgi re ers tothe victims o ascist attacks as logicalconsequence o gang wars betweencompeting migrant groups. In a recentincident where a young immigrant wasbadly beaten by neo-Nazis the aggressorsdemanded rom the ambulance notto treat the illegal migrant, sincethey thought he was just threateningthe public health that we Greekspay and we are supposed to have,as they write, in times o economicalcrisis. Apart o migrants themselves allneighbours disagreeing with the neo-Nazi neighbourhood movement, theantiracist solidarity groups and even thehouse owners who rent fats to migrants

are personally threatened. Mariam says:Te Greek neighbours dont like us to be here. Tey say we are too loud. We are many people on this square every day. Yes, it is loud. But we are here because we dont have any place to go. We have no home, our kids cant go to school,and our men donot nd work.Where should we go? I cannot walk anymore into the centre o the city. I am a raid. I dont go out anymore because I am a raid. Tere are these racist groups, they sometimes attack us, they beat us without any reason.

It is long a ter midnight. Te strike isover. Te re ugees questions remain:What can you do or us? How can you help us? One should ask back: What exactly do you need rom us? How could we start moving together?

Ten the re ugees ask more practicalquestions and make concrete requests:How can I get out o here? Which country is best or me? It is not enough to report. Convince your government to accept more re ugees

and stop sending them back here! You should not come only or some weeks inthe summer or aNoborder Camp.

We need Noborder everyday! o eel ree,like these days last summer. And you must also come to Athens!

We will return, thats or sure. Wehope or the old and new riends they might also nd an exit, a way. We willmeet some o them again - hope ully somewhere else. We will spread theirstories and their hopes. And we willstay in touch the only realisticpromise or the moment.

It has been increasingly di cult toenter, but also to leave the country due to militarised borders and highinvestments in border control andmanagement through FRON EX 9 and border agencies o other Europeancountries. Tis development is strongly

connected to the newly elected PASOK government (October 2009) and theirmigration policies. Up to now we haveonly heard promises o improvementsbut what we see is a worsening o thesituation on many levels. Until now the Dublin II deported together with

all the other asylum seekers in Greecehave no chance or asylum. Tere ore,they will use every opportunity andtake every risk to try again and againto leave and some o them will loosetheir lives on their way in the trucksto Italy.

9

Last exit Patras

It is not enough to report.Convince your government toaccept more re ugees and stopsending them back here!

According to FRON EX in2010 Greece accounts or morethan 88% o the undocumentedmigration into Europe. Althoughimmigration numbers aredecreasing this year the country is still a hub o immigration

with a growing population o undocumented being trapped

within its borders.

9 Frontex is the European Unions border agency and active at various points o the external border o the EU. Due to its ocus on border security,undamental rights o re ugees and migrants are o ten neglected in Frontex operations, while the agency is actively externalising the border through

its policy and practice o inhibiting migration already at its points o departure.


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Reza ( rom A ghanistan) was deported rom Germany in the rst months o 2010. His story sounds like a horror airy tale. On my way to Germany I had to ght with bears and Ma a, con ront rightened village population and aggressive border guards. He was rst caught inHungary, but escaped romdetention. Tenhe was arrested in Austria. ogether with other re ugees he was supposed to be deported back toGreece, but he and his riend went onhunger strike. He su ered hunger, thirst,cold and loneliness until he succeeded toreach Germany.He wanted to go to Germany rom the beginning. But in Athens, his money got lost in the very beginning. It was all the

money he had gathered to continue his journey, so he had to claim asylum inGreece. I really tried to live in Greece.But it is so difcult here. When I had nowork I slept on the streets. I had to go

to the churches to ask or ood.When I ound work in abakery, I was happy, but thenthe boss did not pay me. I asked him or my

money but he started shouting at me and pushed me against the machine that was pressing the loaves. My hand went intothe machine and I had to go to hospital.I had no health insurance and so I had to pay or the a ter treatment. I could not pay and since then my le t hand is weak and useless. I only wish to reach the day that I will stand on my own eet, the day

that I will know that here I can stay, nowI am sa e. Rezas asylum claim in Greece was rejected. Te asylum recognition rate in Greece by that time was with less than1% the lowest in Europe. Reza decided to leave.Tey ound my ngerprints also inGermany and again I escaped. I am inreal ear o my sa ety in A ghanistan. I cannot be returned. I tried everything to stay in Germany. I asked help romlawyers. In the end I lost control. I dont know what happened exactly. Returning back is not an option or me. I have noother choice to survive than staying inEurope. When I understood I was losing the ght or my rights everything turned black in ront o my eyes. I lost all eelings and started beating my head against awall. All the blood... I aded away. My body went crazy I think. I couldnt calmdown. Tere was no road, no help to nd, no exit. Tis is when I threw mysel

10

Good news or you: You dont need to make an asylumapplication, because we will send you back to Greece! (German civil servant at the aliens police)


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in ront o a truck. I just wanted to die.You know, i you start your li e as a small child having only problems and dangers,the latest when you become an adult you can throw away your brain. I never succeeded to reach my dreams and realize my hopes. Tere ore sometimes I have this thought that it is better to kill mysel inorder not to think anymore. But or some reason I was not hit by the truck that day.It was not my destiny. Te Bundesamt told me that it would take three months or them to see whether Greece would accept me back or not. It was a horrible time. I was not here and not there just waiting.When the three months were over we were so happy. With my riends we made a small party and I elt so releaved. I didnt know. In the end I could stay or some months more. My heart became warmabout Germany. It was very nice, I played ootball at Marl Hls and I went tolanguage classes. I had my own room and everything I needed - a normal li e.I didnt know. Until the night that they took me

rom my house, I didnt get any answer to my asylumclaim. I didnt even get the chance to claim or asylum.Tey didnt allow me to tell my story and they didnt want to hear about the difcult situation I su ered in Greece or about my problems in A ghanistan. When he starts speaking about his deportation he whispers nearly

without breathing:Tey came at 5 oclock in the morning. I saw police in ront o the door,I wanted to jump out o the window but there was also police. Gehen Sie zurck! Go back! they said. Tey brought me to the airplane: We will deport you now and you will be a good child and stay quiet and calm, okay? Te airplane was ull o tourists who were happy to go or vacationand we were so sad to be orced to returnbecause o Dublin.

When Reza arrived in Athens, he went to the aliens police and they gave hima Pink Card. He had no money, no place to sleep. Te only thing I brought with me rom Germany was a pair o ootball shoes. I didnt need themanymore here, soI gave them as a present to one o my riends. A ter a ew days sleeping in a park he decided to try again to returnto Germany. He has not lost hope. Here in Patras li e is very hard. We have no

shelter; there are mosquitoes everywhere.When we enter the trucks, they nd us and beat us. Tey come in the night and arrest us. I am here since one month, we never know i we can sleep in the night

or i police will catch us

and in the worst case they might deport us to urkey.I we have

ood, it spoils in the heat. I we want toclean ourselves, wash our clothes and take a shower at the beach where the Greeks spend their summer time, people tell us it is not our turn and it is not our right.Te people o Patras dont perceive us as equals. We are not wanted here. We are the ones they blame or everything bad.Tere are many reasons why Patras is

very bad or us, but I have seen so muchworse in my li e, that I cannot think anymore about my problems here or I will go crazy one day. Te worst thing inmy li e is not Patras, it was the day o my

deportation! I will return toGermany, thats sure! Reza says.In Germany I ound riends and I could imagine to have

a normal li e. I loved Germany ever since I was a child and rst heard about it.Here I eel like someone whose hands

and eet are cut o .Until now my li e was like the li e o a small child. I had no chance to take it in my ownhands. I had so many difculties that I dont eel at all as i I had ali e until today. I want to become independent rom peoples money, rom the state, romsocial workers. Tere was never somebody on

my side to stand by me. I was always alone on this road. I just want to start to build up my own li e

at a place where I am sa e.

P.S. Reza arrived back to Germany at the end o July 2010 and was sent tothe deportation-prison in Ingelheim. Anyway, he still thinks he is lucky. Te rst time he managed to enter a truck in

Greece it was a ridge and he run out o oxygen a ter some hours so that he could have died. A ew hours later he woke upin an Italian hospital, where they kept him or one night only to deport himback to Greece the next morning. He says it is a big miracle that he survived and that he nally managed to escape again rom Greece. He hopes the Bundesamt will listen to his story this time.

I only wish to reach the day that

I will stand on my own eet, the day that I will know that here I can stay, now I am sa e.

Te airplane was ull o

tourists who were happy to go or vacation and we were so sad to be orced to return because o Dublin.


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In February 2009 Finland resumedthe returns, having halted transfersof asylum-seekers to Greece sinceJune 2008. Despite a judgment of theSupreme Administrative Court, that gavethe base for this decision, the FinnishImmigration Service still refrains from

transferring certain vulnerable groups(women, medical cases, unaccompaniedchildren) to Greece. Families with childrenand unaccompanied children registeredas adults in Greece were neverthelesstransferred until May when the Finnish Administrative Court decided sevencases regarding the transfer of familiesto Greece and ruled that families withchildren should not be returned.

On 7 May 2009 the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board resumedconditional returns to Greece, havingtemporarily halted them in February2008 to gather further informationabout possible violations of the rightsof asylum-seekers. Henceforth the Appeals Board will determine in eachcase whether or not return to Greeceis appropriate, taking into particularaccount the asylum-seekers vulnerability(Conditional returns to Greece: www.cisionwire.com/utlendingsnemnda/conditional-returns-to-greece).

In the Netherlandsthe transfers hadbeen halted by Dutch courts, whichexpressed their concern about the Greek asylum procedure. At the end of 2008,however, the Council of State ruled

that a Somali asylum-seeker could betransferred to Greece, since there wereno concrete indications that she would berefouled from Greece (Council of State,Ruling No. 200805917/1, 29 December2008). On 28 May 2009 the Dutch StateSecretary for Justice announced thatthe Netherlands would resume Dublintransfers to Greece. On 23 June 2009the Minister of Justice informed the

House of Representatives of the DutchParliament about agreements, withthe Greek authorities, that they will be

informed with at least 10 days notice of the transfer of asylum-seekers; no morethan 40 asylum-seekers are transferredwithin one week; and a Dutch official willbe present during the transfer. Moreover,it is ensured that the asylum-seeker canfile an asylum claim at the airport. For

Somalis from South and Central Somaliadeportations from Netherlands to Greece

are generally suspended after a generalinterim measure by the European Courtof Human Rights in June 2010.

From Austria, deportations accordingto Dublin II happen regularly. While theFederal Asylum Agency reportedly statedthat it would make use of the sovereigntyclause in particularly vulnerable cases,the Asylum Court does not systematically

allow such persons to stay in Austria buthas an increasingly restrictive approach,even against families with smallerchildren.

In Germany, particularly vulnerablegroups such as unaccompanied minorsand families with small children andseverely sick persons are not sentback to Greece. In September 2009

the constitutional court stopped adeportation in a summary proceeding,so as to enable the court to assess

precisely what legal standards apply tointerim measures in Dublin cases so as toguarantee the right to asylum and to aneffective legal remedy. Since September2009 there were more suspensions.In the latest decisions the court refersspecifically to the Lisbon Treaty and

the principle of solidarity among Statesand emphasizes that it might also be an

obligation for the transferring country toabstain from transfers to Greece underthe principle of solidarity among MemberStates. A ruling by the Court is expectedin the coming months.

InSwitzerlandleading decision is pendingbefore the Swiss Federal AdministrativeCourt as to whether and under whatconditions it is mandatory for Switzerland

to apply Article 3(2) in the context of Dublin transfers to Greece, which meansto take the responsibility for Greekcases. While this appeal is pending, thecourt has suspended all such transfersto Greece if applicants lodge an appeal.This has led to a series of cour t decisionssuspending transfers to Greece, but the jurisdiction is not consistent. Notablyvulnerable persons are generally not

deported to Greece, this means familieswith very small children, unaccompaniedminors and severely sick persons.


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ImpressumPublished in August 2010by Salinia Stroux and Marion BayerHartino Karavi In omobile/ Welcome to Europe Network Pictures by: Salinia Stroux, Chrissa Wilkens, Hinrich Schultze, Marily StrouxGraphics: Lilli BirnstinglDownload at: http://w2eu.net and http://schengendangle.jogspace.net/contact: in [email protected]

Associated projects: http://w2eu.net Welcome to Europe Network http://w2eu.in o Webguide or Re ugees and Migrantshttp://schengendangle.jogspace.net Blog or re ugees on the move in Patras, Igoumenitsa and Calaishttp://birdso mmigrants.jogspace.net - Blog or minor re ugees

Donations or Hartino Karavi: Wohnschi projekt Altona E.V.Cue: xartino karavi

IBAN: DE06 2005 0550 1257 1227 37BIC: HASPDEHHXXX

Within Germany:HASPA (Hamburger Sparkasse)BLZ 200 505 50Kt.-Nr.: 1257 122 737

Documents

A Dublin II Deportation Diary