Don't call me a stranger
Lesvos Island, Summer 2015
As expected, the arrivals during the summer months abruptly increased.
Apart from the apparent reason of the good weather conditions
another reason is the intensification of TRITON operation in the central mediterrenean
which pushed the immigrant flows to the gates of Eastern Mediterranean.
The increase of the arrivals was already clear from spring
but it peaked during the summer months and especially in August.
According to the police authorities statistic
for the first 7 months of 2015 in Lesvos
61.636 immigrants where arrested for illegal stay and trespassing
a number which represents about 39% of the total arrests in the Greek territory
Nevertheless, the numbers which are reported from the local media
exceed 85.000 only for August.
These numbers are unprecedented for the island of Lesvos.
Kara Tepe camp
The reactions against the increasing presence
of immigrants in Lesvos island peaked in May.
The basic arguments where related to the devastation of tourist product of the island
according to the claims of local press and the various trade guilds.
Local authorities responded to these racist voices
with the creation of an informal refugee camp at Kara Tepe
2km north of the capital of the island in the end of May.
The camp was created after the intervention of Lesvos Mayor
and was planned to host about 300 immigrants
in tents belonging to civil security agency offered by the N. Aegean Prefecture.
The immigrants where transferred there, after the installation of the port authority committee.
This committee is responsible for the initial registration of the arrested immigrants
so that they could after be transferred to Moria identification center.
In other words, it is established as an open informal structure
in which the immigrants are entrapped due to the bureaucratic procedures
until they receive the permission which allows them to book a ticket to Piraeus or Kavala port.
They are actually entrapped without the presence of police or barbed wire.
The result of the camp establishment in Kara Tepe was the "decongestion" of the port center
from immigrants waiting for their arrest and registration.
Unsuprisingly, the huge number of arrivals
combined with the lack of any essential infrastructure for people "living" in Kara Tepe camp
resulted in a very difficult situation which had as an outcome mass protests.
Various racist rants where published in public press
putting pressure on the local authorities, demanding a solution
for an issue that was created by their opportunistic and propagandistic actions.
At the same time, there were escalating reactions
from the migrants who counteracted against their degradation
they protested, they blocked streets and some times erupted violently.
It is impossible in this situation to sidestep the internal conflicts and confrontations.
Conflicts that mainly have to do with the priority
of the registration processing for the Syrians, compared to the rest migrants
but also the racial discriminations between them.
In an attempt to bend the various reactions of the in little number local people
also the local enterprises,
but also after the death of an immigrant on the 24/07
authorities announced a plan to shut down the facility.
As a matter of fact, they just separated the immigrants staying there
creating an informal split between the Syrians and the rest of the migrants.
They managed to keep the place only for the Syrians
with the decision to transfer the arresting and registration proccess to the city port
and the rest were directed to their accommodation at the detention center of Moria.
Taking into account the huge numbers of arrivals the last days
this plan consequently collapsed.
Groups of tents which where hosting migrants
started to appear increasingly in many different places of the city
especially in the port, St Irene park, and the space around the Municipal Theatre.
Moria Immigrants detention center
The facilities of the detention center are totally alloted
for covering the needs of the registration center
apart from a ward that was intended for an Information Center
and still remains closed due to construction faults.
The personnel for the identification procedures has increased during the summer months
and it is estimated that about 600-700 people per day finalise the process
whilst there are some articles referring to the delivery of new identification equipment.
The average time for the migrants in Moria is about 10-15 days
We have to note here, that the identification procedures
are enforced to all nationalities apart from the Syrians
who receive permission notes from the police authorities to travel to Athens
and finalize the process at Petrou Ralli Immigrant Office.
Around the detention center there is another informal immigrant camp
with hundreds of immigrants waiting for their turn to finish the identification procedure.
Similarly to Kara Tepe camp, there are a lot of exploitation cases from the locals
but also conflicts between the immigrants.
Some time before this bulletin was published
a Somalian woman was announced dead from natural causes on Monday 31/08.
According to the press, despite the orders of the medics to stay in bed
she decided to return to the detention center
where her mother and her two children where staying
in order to avoid the delay of the identification procedure.
Deterrence and refoulement operations
Detterance from turkish port administration
The new policy about migration started to be active again in the midst of July
when the front pages of the local press where full of it.
According to the existing information frontex
and port authority forces started to deter immigrant vessels approaching Lesvos island
whilst there is frequent reports about robbery incidents and refoulements of immigrants
by both unknown "hooded men" and the port authorities.
These operations are advancing in cooperation with the turkish coast guard
which without knowing exactly which where the favors in return
intensified their patrols at the eastern part of the borders.
Kos Island, Summer 2015
One possible outcome of these operations
was the diversion of the immigrant flows at other entrance points of Aegean Sea
leading to the well known situation on Kos island.
The reactions and the dead-end Kos island's management reached to
in combination with the publicity and the many videos and info that were posted
is a possible reason why the deterrence operations
where relaxed but surely did not stopped.
It has to be examined in what scale these operations
are both explicitly and implicitly correlated with the increase of the shipwrecks
and drowned people in the area.
There are more than four people on three different wrecks
that where hauled dead the last week of August.
Three more are declared missing.
Cannibalism
"You'll have a big problem"
"I will have a problem with you?"
"If I loose my job, you'll have a very big problem!"
"Ruthless networks take advantage of immigrants in Lesvos Island"
We have to dedicate an important part of our bulletin
to the exploitation towards the migrants passing through the island
from both local or not, merchants whom have raised an enterprise
adapted to the needs of the people arriving.
A recent developing phenomenon are the "crows".
They are local people that await nearby the shores of the island
and steal the outboard engines of the vessels and anything else useful to them.
Some press articles claim that the "crows" are part of a network
that return the outboard engines back to Turkey, so they can be reused in another trip.
Their appearance in not secret at all, since there is a lot of competition between them.
They are surely well known to the local society of the island.
There are a lot of mongers who try to sell anything to the people arriving
in very high prices such as water bottles, mobile phones, tents, food, mobile chargers
and also transportation services to the registration points in the city of Lesvos.
"Pillage to the boats of the immigrants"
At the same time, there are a lot of profits gained
from the detention, food and housing industry of the immigration management plan.
From the beginning, a lot of canteens suddenly appeared
without anybody knowing anything about their legal status
with many of them reported for profitereeing on the devastation of the immigrants arriving.
Huge amounts of profits anticipated
for the enterprises contracted for the feeding of the immigrants.
The agreed daily price per person is 7,45E (no VAT)
and especially in the summer were the need for feeding went up to 3000 people per day
There are a lot of complaints about ANEK shipping company
as they charged 60E per person for the economy class to transfer migrants
from Kos, Kalymnos, Leros, Lesvos whilst the other offers where at about 46E.
There are new funds from EU estimated at 30 million Euros
for the renovation and construction of detention centers
on the islands of eastern aegean with a big part of these
directed to the construction of the detention camp of Moria.
The fluidity of the political scene in Greece
makes it very difficult to evaluate what is going to happen during the following months.
There is a lot of information that refer to thousands of immigrants
waiting to pass to Greece from the litorral areas of Turkey before winter makes it really difficult
a plan which is directly related to the deterrence activities of Frontex
alongside with the port authorities in Greece and Turkey.
The hurdles raised in the area
combined with the change of the policies of the countries affected
result to the diversion of the immigrant flows from the standard route to alternatives.
We watch closely the intention of the EU
to establish an immigrant service hotspot in Pireaus
similar to the hotspot established in Sicily,
waiting to see how it will affect the current situation at the islands.
The questions arising about this modern cannibalism which spreads to Lesvos island
respectively to everywhere, are difficult to answer.
There is, on the one hand, the assimilation of ruling propaganda
about modern "asymmetrical threats" which refer to immigrants
on the other hand a part of the local merchant community
that considers them as a threat to the tourist enterprise of the island.
Apart from these, the initiatives of unilateral philanthropist characteristics
which obfuscate (independently from the initial intention) the essence of the politics
which lead to the broad illegalisation and derogation of these people
constitute one of the biggest obstacles for the resolution of this condition.
Also the desire of the large majority of the immigrants
to move to the mainland or to the rest of Europe
renders the creation of bonds (and the collectivisation of the resistance)
between them and the people in solidarity almost impossible.
The examples of former struggles in the island and elsewhere,
continue to influence the present and future struggles.
The struggle against detention centers and the anti-immigration policies
form an integral part of the everyday struggles from "below"
against to the devaluation of their life.
Against to the delusive discrimination of color, nation, sex, race,
the only route is the intensification and continuation of the struggle.
this present video refers to the events that took place this summer at Lesvos island.
We consider proposeful the attempt for a total coresspondance about what happened,
because it formed an preparing ground for the present events.
Every day we have immigrant protests, the presence of transfered armed corps,
We have the emerge of racist groups whilst a new general planning includes new detention centers,
leased ships for their tramsfer and special civil personell for the increase of the number of registrations.
At the same time there is the involvement of the army for the management of the situation.
All these constitute a mosaic where the immigrant issue is formed and evolved at the island of Lesvos.
A production of sine dominis collective (Heraklion Crete)
based on texts of Musaferat collective (Lesvos island)
subtitling and translation from Apatris media collective (GR)