It starts with a couple of us on the team who have going down to the town’s police station each night to serve tea and cup noodles to those in the prison. A few of those detained have actually been charged with smuggling, including the boat smugglers that I wrote about in my last blog entry.
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Two smugglers were caught on this boat, which was brought safely
to shore with more than 200 refugees aboard.
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But that’s a sidebar. I’m really writing about the majority of those who are in the prison. A group of men who are being detained not because of what they’ve done, but because of where they were born. As the Greek government tries different approaches to deal with the ongoing migrant situation, one decision has been to detain and jail any migrants of North African nationalities.
The local police station has a prison cell that is sized appropriately for this small and peaceful island. So needless to say, it is not large. The numbers of detainees vary, but last night for example, there were 31 in the cell which I think has 6 beds, and the remainder were cuffed to the seats in the waiting area.
There is also no system to properly feed all those detained, hence we are permitted to go and hand out a simple cup of tea and cup noodles to each person every evening.
The men are generally polite, appreciative of us, the food we bring, and also just the short exchange of greetings and words. A few of them speak quite fluent English and it’s tough, among the conversations, to continually be asked questions like: WHY are we in here? How long are we going to be here? and When can we leave to go to Germany?
The truth is, A. They’re in prison because they’re Moroccan and Algerian, if they held Syrian passports, they might already be halfway to Germany. B. We have no idea how long they’ll be in prison but some have been over a month, and C. They most likely are not heading to Germany or anywhere else in Europe, but instead, for deportation to Turkey.
We’ve been told that once there are enough people in detainment, they’re sent to Athens to be officially processed for deportation Turkey. They’ll have a chance there to either purchase a flight ticket back to their home country (which I’m sure the majority won’t have the money to do), or be further imprisoned in Turkey, which has a reputation for below standard facilities.
So along with the Syrians, Afghanis, and Iraqis who are fleeing to the Greek shores, please remember the Moroccans and Algerians, who come from places that have their rightful share of problems as well. Like the other migrants, these have people sacrificed and left their homes in hopes of a decent life only to be met in Europe with handcuffs and deportation papers.
It is a difficult discussion between who is truly a refugee in the sense that they’re fleeing from war, and who is "just" an economic migrant seeking the opportunity of a better life. I don’t think that Europe in its current state is able to accommodate everyone who would like to live there. However, I hope and pray that we would be able to give more consideration to each person, for who they are, rather than make sweeping verdicts over whole groups of people.
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| Drawn by a refugee and posted on the wall of a housing unit. |
You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall.
- Isaiah 25:4
I was concerned that there wasn’t much media coverage about this situation, so was happy to see this fairly objective and well written article published a few days ago. I share many of the same sentiments as the author. http://www.globalresearch.ca/locked-up-refugees-from-north-africa-on-samos-island-wed-rather-die-eaten-by-fish-than-eaten-by-worms/5500617
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