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Death trap EU border: Eight billion

2022-08-19T18:24:13.102Z


Greek security forces have been forcibly pushing refugees back to Turkey for years. The EU accepts the crimes. The death of a girl in the border river Evros could now change that.


»A five-year-old girl is dead, stung by a scorpion«, the woman sobs, »her sister was also stung, we urgently need help here!«

The woman is from Syria.

Together with 38 other people, she wants to continue to the EU via Turkey.

In mid-July, the refugees were brought to the Evros river on the Turkish-Greek border by Turkish soldiers.

They are signaled at gunpoint to cross the river.

But on the other bank, Greek border guards turn them away and drive them onto a tiny island.

There is no food, no water, no shelter from the heat.

The people wait there for two weeks, then the Greeks drive them to the Turkish shore.

Experts refer to this illegal practice as "pushback."

Then the border guards' game begins again: Turkish soldiers use force of arms to chase them towards the EU border.

The Greek officials push her back to the island where the girl, Maria, eventually dies.

The desperate voice message from the refugees reached SPIEGEL reporter Giorgos Christides, who informed the authorities about the plight of those seeking protection, as did other journalists, lawyers and activists.

The answer of the Greek authorities is: We cannot find any refugees.

“It's the most militarized border on the entire continent.

There are all sorts of fancy devices.

And then drones, helicopters, cameras, police, military cannot find a very large group of 40 people for a whole month?” asks Giorgos Christides.

'It's just an excuse.

And it's not the first time something like this has happened."

more on the subject

  • Refugees in Greece: Maria, five years old, died at the EU external border by Giorgos Christides and Maximilian Popp

  • Research reveals systematic exploitation at the EU's external border: Greek police use refugees against refugees

  • Confidential database: Frontex involved in illegal pushbacks of hundreds of refugeesBy Giorgos Christides and Steffen Lüdke

On August 16, a month after the refugees were banished to the island, the Greek authorities responded and took them in.

The pressure from the public had become too great.

"Once the Greek authorities became aware of this incident - and that was yesterday, August 15 - we reacted immediately, rescued these people and cared for them in accordance with Greek and international law," Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi claims cameras.

"It's not as if Greek border guards were active at the border all by themselves," says Maximilian Popp, deputy head of the SPIEGEL foreign office. "It's also the European border protection agency Frontex on site, which tacitly accepts all these crimes.

They are well documented and yet nothing happened.

Yes, it is the Greek authorities who are primarily responsible for this.

But the deeds are supported by all other 26 EU countries, by Frontex, by the EU Commission.

In this respect it is a pan-European crime.«

Maria's death could now change something: voices are increasing among the Greek public that condemn the actions of the border guards and hold the state leadership to account.

"For the first time in months, I see that public opinion in Greece is becoming more aware, paying attention to this issue and that people are asking questions," says Giorgos in this episode of the foreign podcast "Eight Billion", "they say: enough is enough .

We must not sacrifice all our values ​​just to prevent people from reaching our limits«.

Listen to the current episode here:

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-08-19

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