Reception and Identification Centers in Greece, also called a hotspots, are refugee camps for the processing of foreign nationals who come to Greece without the necessary legal formalities. In October 2019, there were a total of six such camps in Greece: five at the islands of the eastern Aegean (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos) and one at the Fylakio of Evros at the northeastern border of Greece. The total capacity of the five camps on the islands was 6,178 people (the total occupancy was 38,423 people), while the Greek government was planning to create new closed structures with a capacity of 22,000 people. These structures would replace the camps of the islands and would function both as reception and identification centers and as pre-departure centers. [1] [2]
In September 2020, a fire at the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos temporarily displaced 12,500 refugees. [3]
In 2019 the New York Times reported that the Samos camp was housing 6000 refugees, equivalent to nine times its maximum capacity. [4] In 2018 Human Rights Watch called the Moria camp on Lesbos an "open air prison". [5]
In 2021, the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum has estimated that they would need a total of 270 million euros for the creation of new or the expansion of the old camps on the islands, while for the expansion of the capacity of a pre-departure center at the Fylakio of Evros, they would require 30 million euros. [6]
Mytilene is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was founded in the 11th century BC.
Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival, as well as those subject to deportation and removal until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Mandatory detention refers to the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people seeking political asylum, or who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorized arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention.
Lesbos or Lesvos is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of 1,633 km2 (631 sq mi), with approximately 400 kilometres of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the eighth largest in the Mediterranean. It is separated from Asia Minor by the narrow Mytilini Strait. On the southeastern coast is the island's capital and largest city, Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη), whose name is also used as a moniker for the whole island. Lesbos is a separate regional unit with the seat in Mytilene, which is also the capital of the larger North Aegean region. The region includes the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Ikaria, Lemnos, and Samos. The total population of the island is 83,068. A third of Lesbians live in the capital, while the remainder are concentrated in small towns and villages. The largest are Plomari, Kalloni, the Gera Villages, Agiassos, Eresos, and Molyvos.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex, is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, exercising in coordination with the border and coast guards of member states the border control of the European Schengen Area, a task within the area of freedom, security and justice domain.
Syrian refugee camp and shelters are temporary settlements built to receive internally displaced people and refugees of the Syrian Civil War. Of the estimated 7 million persons displaced within Syria, only a small minority live in camps or collective shelters. Similarly, of the 8 million refugees, only about 10 percent live in refugee camps, with the vast majority living in both urban and rural areas of neighboring countries. Beside Syrians, they include Iraqis, Palestinians, Kurds, Yazidis, individuals from Somalia, and a minority of those who fled the Yemeni and Sudanese civil wars.
This is a timeline of the European migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016.
Kara Tepe is located in the area of Mavrovouni about 2.5 km north of Mytilene, the capital of the island of Lesbos. The camp is managed by the Municipality of Mytilene and UNHCR in collaboration with the NGOs that operate there. The Site Manager is Mr. Michail Batzakis.
The Greece–Turkey border is around 200 kilometres (120 mi) long, and separates Western Thrace in Greece from East Thrace in Turkey.
Events in the year 2020 in Greece.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Greece was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case in Greece was confirmed on 26 February 2020 when a 38-year-old woman from Thessaloniki who had recently visited Νorthern Italy, was confirmed to be infected. Subsequent cases in late February and early March related to people who had travelled to Italy and a group of pilgrims who had travelled to Israel and Egypt, as well as their contacts. The first death from COVID-19 in Greece was a 66-year-old man, who died on 12 March. Since the opening of the Greek borders to tourists at the end of June 2020, the daily number of confirmed cases announced has included those detected following tests at the country's entry points.
Martin Patzelt is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Brandenburg from 2013 until 2021.
Sebastian Brehm is a German tax advisor and politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Bavaria since 2017.
Mória Reception and Identification Centre, better known as Mória Refugee Camp, or just "Mória", was founded in January 2013 and served as the largest refugee camp in Europe until it was burned down in September 2020. It was located outside the village of Moria near Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Enclosed with barbed wire and a chain-link fence, the military camp served as a European Union “hotspot”. It was described by Human Rights Watch as an open air prison.
Pikpa camp or Lesbos Solidarity, was a privately-run refugee camp near Mytilene on Lesbos.It had a capacity of 100-120 people, though it hosted hundreds more during times of acute need. Its aim was to support the most vulnerable refugees who pass through Mytilene: families with children, the disabled, women who are pregnant, and the injured. The camp focused on humanitarian aid and on providing for the various needs of refugees, including food, medical assistance, clothing, and psychological support.
The temporary Kara Tepe camp is a refugee camp located in the area of Mavrovouni, north of Mytilene on the island of Lesvos, Greece, which was constructed following fires which destroyed Moria refugee camp on and after the 8th September 2020. It is located next to, although separated from, the other, longstanding Kara Tepe Refugee Camp which still houses a number of asylum seekers.
Aegean Boat Report (ABR) is a Norwegian NGO that monitors and shares data about the movement of people in the Aegean Sea. As well as sharing data with aid organisations working directly with men, women and children seeking safety, Aegean Boat Report works to ensure the safety and security of those people, and shares regular updates with the public, to ensure the widest possible group of people are aware of what is happening to people attempting to reach safety from war, terrorism, violence and other oppression. ABR uses its data to lead on advocacy and legal challenges to promote and safeguard international law, and to protect the lives of men, women and children crossing to the EU.
Mortaza Behboudi is a Franco-Afghan journalist and documentary filmmaker. In 2019, he was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 in the category of Media and Marketing for his work on Guiti News. Mortaza Behboudi is Bayeux Calvados-Normandy War Correspondents Prize and Prix Varenne winner in the year 2022. Since January 7, 2023, Behboudi has been detained and imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan, from where he had been reporting for a variety of international media since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Since at least 2008, Greece has pushed back tens of thousands of migrants, especially at the Evros border with Turkey and in the Aegean Sea. On land, the pushbacks involve taking people who have arrived at the Greek side of the border and transferring them to the Turkish side; most cases involve some form of abuse. Maritime pushbacks typically involve taking migrants who have either entered Greek territorial waters or landed on Greek islands and depositing them in Turkish territorial waters on craft without any means of propulsion. The number of pushbacks has increased following the European migrant crisis and breakdown in EU–Turkey relations in 2020. This incident occurred as a result of Turkey ceasing to prevent migrants from leaving for the European Union in February 2020, and in some instances actively encouraging them.
Sarah Mardini, alternative spelling Sara Mardini, is a Syrian former competition swimmer, lifeguard and human rights activist. Fleeing her country in 2015 during the Syrian civil war with her sister, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, they pulled their boat with other refugees towards the Mediterranean coast of Greece, saving themselves and the other passengers. Continuing their journey across the Balkans, they reached Berlin, Germany, the same year. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023, alongside her sister.
Seán Binder is a German-born human rights activist and certified rescue diver who has spent most of his life in Ireland. The son of a refugee father from Vietnam and a German mother, he grew up in Ireland and later studied at universities in Dublin and London. From 2017 to 2018, he volunteered with a humanitarian non-governmental organization on Lesbos island, Greece, assisting refugees arriving in small boats from the nearby Turkish coast.