BBC News | Why I used holiday to understand Greek migrant crisis BBC News I'm on a plane to Athens, my stomach churning as I try to focus on what's ahead of me. A few days ago, I made the decision to do this and suddenly here I am doing it. When I land I will meet a woman called Zena, a refugee from Iraq and for the next few ... |
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Why I used holiday to understand Greek migrant crisis - BBC News
Germanys Social Democratic (SPD) leader Martin Schulz warned Sunday that another wave of uncontrolled immigration could hit the country if it fails to act.
Schulz accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of ignoring the refugee issue during her campaignto secure a fourth term in office in Septembers general election. Schulz, who has fallen far behind Merkel in polls, argued hes better prepared to lead when the next migrant crisis strikes the country.
In 2015 more than 1million refugees came to Germany, mostly without government monitoring, Schulz told Bild in an interview published Sunday. The chancellor opened ourborder with Austria for humanitarian reasons but unfortunately without consultingour partners in Europe. If we dont act now, that situation could repeat itself.
Andreas Scheuer, the general secretary of Merkels allies the Christian Social Union, called Schulz untrustworthy and dubious for criticizing Merkel when his party has opposed measures to cut the migrant influx in the past.
More deportations, more secure countries of origin, border controls and transits SPD and Martin Schulz have blocked all thisforcefully, Scheuer said, according to Die Welt.
CDU leaderHorst Seehofer told Welt that the government has to acknowledge that the migrant crisis will continue with more and more people attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea from Africa.
Right now the situation is quiet, Seehofer said. But we all know: the migration wave will continue.
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Merkel's Election Opponent Warns Of New Migrant Crisis In Germany - The Daily Caller
As the European Union seeks a long-term solution to the refugees crisis, tens of thousands of migrants continue to pour into Italy setting up makeshift camps in cities across the country.
Since January, 110,000 immigrants landed in Europe via the Mediterranean.
Saddam from Sudan fled to Italy hoping to move north, but encountered problems. Ive tried to ride with the train, but there were policemen, he said. They said that the ones with no ticket should get off the train.
The huge numbers of refugees have caused large-scale debates in Italy. The enhanced control of stations and trains by police has also brought many setbacks to refugees.
Once theyve reached Italy, most refugees should also stay here, due to the terrible sharing system, explains Francesco Cherubine, a refugee expert. Sometimes, the Italian government doesnt take their fingerprints and simply sends people onwards to other European countries.
Refugees like Saddam are willing to stay in Italy. But Italian police have recently banned the refugee camp from the station leaving sleep a problem for the migrants.
Austria has repeatedly threatened to close its borders with Italy saying it will send soldiers to block any migrants trying to head north.
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EU indecision worsens Italy's migrant crisis - euronews
A lot has been happening in the midst of the European migrant crisis. Most notably, the political debate between EU member states is widening on how to best handle this significantly deteriorating crisis. Specifically, the Visegrad Group, consisting of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, have opposed Brussels quota system on accepting refugees from war-torn areas. Criticism of the Visegrad countries, known as the V4, specifically on this ground, is unjustified, and rather than focusing on efforts to distribute thousands of migrants, Brussels must focus on helping resolve the crisis so that people are not forced to undertake this journey to Europe.
First, there is no guarantee that all migrants seeking refuge in Europe are indeed coming from war-torn regions in Syria and Iraq, and this is highlighted by the lack of documentation on hand during the current crisis. Countries might have significantly effective vetting systems but these fail to work if documentation is unavailable or can be forged. With the risk of stating the obvious, no country desires an influx of unidentified individuals.
Second, and most importantly, the V4 countries are correct in their decision on the grounds of ensuring safety and security for their own citizens. The migrant crisis in Europe has been correlated with a huge influx of crime. In Germany, which has accepted the largest number of migrants, this has increased by more than 50 percent since the previous year. This was manifested in the Cologne New Years Eve sexual assault incident, where most of the perpetrators were migrants.
In parallel, Europe has witnessed some of the worst attacks of terrorism on its soil since the beginning of this crisis. While most of these attacks have been conducted by their own citizens who have either fought for or supported ISIS, some attacks have seen the involvement of foreigners who have taken advantage of the migrant crisis to enter Europe. Two of the terrorists in the November 2015 Paris attacks, who eventually blew themselves up outside the Stade de France, had entered Europe on fake Syrian passports. A year later, a Tunisian man murdered a Polish driver and drove his truck at a Christmas market in Berlin, leading to Germanys worst terror attack since the start of the crisis. In light of these events, the V4 countries have been reluctant to accept migrants. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who heads the ruling PiS party in Poland, has asserted that security considerations are the reason for Polands stance. And as recent events have shown, he is right.
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The EU Can't Afford to Ignore Europe's Migrant Crisis | The National ... - The National Interest Online
Highlights
During the first half of 2017, close to 93,000 refugees and migrants arrived on European shores mainly through the Central Mediterranean Route - around half of them arrived in just May and June 2017. While barely one in six of sea arrivals this year are children, the number of unaccompanied or separated children (UASC) coming to Italy is on the rise with 11,406 newly registered UASC between January and June 2017.
During the first half of 2017, UNICEF helped identify and support a total of 9,190 children at risk through outreach activities in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; supported structured non-formal education for 4,256 children in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and strengthened the capacity of 2,674 frontline workers on child protection across Europe.
The situation in Europe is characterized by a spike in perilous, often fatal, sea crossings through the Central Mediterranean, continuous irregular movements in the Balkans and across Europe, as well as tightened border control and heated political debate on migration across the continent. Confronted with uncertain future, isolation, insufficient access to services and slow family reunification, relocation and asylum procedures, refugee and migrant children remain at high risk and require urgent action by national and European stakeholders to step up action for their protection.
Situation in Numbers
92,794 # of arrivals in Europe through Italy and in JanuaryJune 2017 (UNHCR, 7 July 2017)
1 in 6 Of all arrivals in January-June 2017 are children (UNHCR, 7 July 2017)
69,200 # of child asylum-seekers in Europe between January and May 2017 (Eurostat, 7 July 2017)
22,663 # of estimated stranded children in Greece, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia in June, 2017 (UNICEF, 7 July 2017)
7,379 # of children relocated from Greece and Italy under the EU relocation scheme by mid-June 2017- 6,737 from Greece and 642 from Italy. (IOM, Italian MoI, 23 June 2017)
UNICEF Appeal 2017 US$ 43,452,000
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
During the first half of 2017, a total of 92,794 refugees and migrants arrived on European shores mainly through the Central Mediterranean Route1 - over half of them were registered in just May and June 2017. While just one in six of all sea arrivals in 2017 are children, compared to over one in three during the same period last year2 , the number of unaccompanied or separated children (UASC) arriving in Italy remain significantly high with 11,406 newly registered UASC between January and June 2017 (compared to 10,640 in the first six months of last year). An estimated 300 children are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2017- a trend, which is on the rise with the spike in perilous sea crossings from Libya to Italy since May. Moreover, the multiplying reports of violence, abuse and exploitation, experienced or witnessed by children in Libya, suggest their high vulnerability and require urgent action for their protection.
The number of children stranded in Greece and the Balkans continue to decrease. As of June 2017 total number is estimated to be 22,663 of children (down from 25,602 two months ago). While this may be partly due to relocation and family reunification from Greece, there is constant irregular movements throughout the Balkans. The situation remains challenging in Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, where 40 per cent of all stranded refugees and migrants are children. Despite officially closed borders, Serbia is facing constant new arrivals, mainly from Bulgaria, coupled with reported increasing push-backs and returns from Hungary and Croatia. Confronted with uncertain future, isolation, insufficient access to services and slow and bureaucratic family reunification, relocation and asylum processes, many young people decide to resort to smugglers to continue their journey within Europe. During May and June, UNICEF observed an increase of newly registered refugee and migrant UASC along the Balkans route. Similarly, in Italy, a recent study found that the majority of Eritrean UASC arriving through the Central Mediterranean route drop out of the system shortly after registration as they want to reach family and friends elsewhere in Europe and do not have sufficient access to services and information on legal pathways and asylum procedures. According to the Italian Special Commissioner for Missing People, the number of unaccompanied children absconding from reception centres reached 28,000 children just last year- a trend that is continuing throughout the first half of 2017.
Detention of children for migration control purposes remains another issue of serious concern. In Greece, despite efforts to identify alternatives to detention with the creation of safe spaces for UASC in accommodation sites, the number of UASC in closed facilities almost doubled in just one month (reaching the total number of 94 children in those facilities), which is a reflection of significant increase in arrivals in June. In Bulgaria, both accompanied and unaccompanied children continue to be detained upon interception, and on average spend 13 days in closed facilities before being able to claim asylum. In Italy, according to a recent report, unaccompanied children (boys and girls) may stay in Lampedusa hotspot for over one month. A positive development in the hotspot is the presence of INMP3 that applies a multidisciplinary approach for the age assessment.
Despite the heated political debate on migration, 2017 has seen the adoption of a new law in Italy (n.47, 7 April 2017) considered one of the most progressive pieces of legislation on unaccompanied refugee and migrant children, and the EU Communication on the Protection of Children in Migration. Both documents define concrete measures and steps to improve the protection of refugee and migrant children in Europe, and help guide actions at European, national and local level. Other positive developments include a recent decision by the UK government to expand the Syrian Vulnerable People Resettlement Scheme, ongoing efforts by French authorities to improve the reception and protection of refugee and migrant children and actions to address bottlenecks related to the relocation of UASC from Italy and Greece.
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UNICEF Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe: Regional ... - ReliefWeb