Information on the immigration problem here in Patras

Since about a month after arriving here in Patra I was made aware of a very big problem that has only increased ten fold since we have arrived. The refugee situation in Patra is one that although try as they might, Greece must not pass a blind eye to. There are thousands of young men who have managed to get to this city in the hopes of getting on one of the many ferries that pass through these ports daily. They are desperate and are willing to do whatever it takes. This entails living in a shanty town they have created for themselves out of huts made of trash and old clothing. Chasing the trucks hoping to break into them and hide wherever they can. Climbing the barb-wired fences that line the port. They spend their days standing by the roads that outline the port staring either at the street looking for trucks with unlocked backs or staring out into the sea dreaming of what crossing it might provide them. There was an incident recently that I wanted to share. Here are two articles that we found and I have pasted them below:

March 3, 2009

www.nowpublic.com

"Hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan clashed with riot police for hours yesterday evening in the western Greek city of Patra. The disturbances were sparked off when an Afghan man was seriously injured while trying to board a truck entering the city's port. After the accident tens of fellow refugees attacked the vehicle throwing rocks and other objects.

Later the tensions escalated leading to protesters setting up barricades and closing streets near the port. In reply the police deployed riot units and used tear gas in an into the early hours of Tuesday morning as police attempted to confine the protestors to a shanty town that serves as a home for over a 1000 refugees in the city.

Unconfirmed eyewitness accounts reported on Greek blogs and Indymedia Patra speak of the involvement of residents including members of far right groups in efforts to put down the demonstration. Eventually the police were able to push back the refugees to their encampment and disperse far right groups.

Patra, which is Greece's gateway to Italy has become a way station for immigrants seeking to reach the rest of Europe. However, the Greek state has been reluctant to give official asylum status to all but a handful of immigrants entering the country without proper documentation. Greece's daily newspaper Kathimerini has reported that out of 20,692 asylum applications submitted in 2007, Greek authorities approved eight.

As a result refugees are forced to attempt the crossing to Italy illegally, often in the backs of trucks bound for the Italian ports of Brindisi and Ancona.

The riots are the latest in a series of clashes between refugees and the authorities in Patra, including a series of accusations of police abuse of Afghan refugees. In September 2008 there were also riots as refugees clashed with police and Customs officers inside the port following the beating of three immigrants."

March 6, 2009

www.athensnews.gr

"VIOLENCE between police and demonstrators erupted in Patra on March 2 after a truck driver was reported to have deliberately struck a 17-year-old Iranian migrant with his vehicle putting him in a coma.

A police spokeswoman told the Athens News the driver was arrested, but refused to say what, if any, charges he faces.

'Migrants and other eyewitnesses told me they saw the driver of the truck speed up and literally sandwich the 17-year-old between his vehicle and the truck in front of his,' said Mihalis Sidiropoulos, a member of the Patra-based Movement for Immigrants' Rights.

'Doctors at the hospital have told me the boy remains in critical condition,' Sidiropoulos said. 'We know he has a brother in Greece. We're trying to find him.'

The incident took place outside the port, in a traffic jam caused by a lineup of trucks waiting to enter port grounds. The trucks were to board ferries bound for Italy. Migrants often try to hide on or in these trucks in the hopes of reaching Italy and points West.

According to Sidiropoulos and various news reports, the driver of the truck spotted the boy trying to climb the back of the truck ahead of him. The driver then allegedly closed the distance between the two rigs, sandwiching the boy between the trucks.

The incident sparked a confrontation between police and hundreds of undocumented migrants, most from Afghanistan. The angry mob surrounded the driver and hurled rocks at his truck to protest what some migrants reportedly called attempted murder.

Police fired volleys of teargas to disperse the crowd.

Greece is under mounting pressure to crack down on illegal immigration and find a permanent solution for Patra, where a shantytown just north of the port houses hundred of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers.

The incident on March 2 spurred area residents to renew their demands that authorities drive the migrants out of town. But local human rights advocates say this will solve little. Instead they are calling on the government to grant migrants refugee status.

'This would solve the problem because it will legalise their status, which is what they want, and it will allow them to travel to Italy legally,' said George Kanellis, a member of the Movement for Immigrants' Rights.

The asylum-seeker approval rate in Greece is the lowest in Europe. Greek bureaucrats reject almost every application for refugee status, says the UNHCR, the United Nations' refugee agency.

Greece has faced an avalanche of Europe-wide criticism since November 2007, when the German non-governmental organisation Pro Asyl published a shocking report accusing the Greek coastguard of 'systematically abusing newly-arrived refugees.'

The European Commission is also challenging Greek asylum practices by taking Greece to the European Court over a provision in national legislation that allows authorities to withdraw an asylum claim if the applicant leaves Greece without authorisation.

The mast majority of people seeking refuge in Greece are Afghans and Iraqis.

The situation in Patra is not new. Patra Mayor Andreas Fouras has repeatedly called for a state-run centre for undocumented migrants. In August 2008, Greece announced it would create a reception centre on the outskirts of town - far from the port - to temporarily house undocumented migrants. The centre has yet to open, reportedly for fear the European Union could accuse Greece of facilitating illegal immigration to neighbouring Italy.

The situation in Patra attracted international attention in February 2008 when local authorities rounded up hundreds of migrants trying to find passage to Italy by hiding in our under trucks. Most were undocumented, though some have at least managed to apply for political asylum.

On February 23, hundreds of truck drivers blocked the port of Patra to protest the growing number of migrants trying to hide in and under their vehicles. They demanded the government take measures to put an end to illegal immigration."

The top photo is one I took of a couple of refugees trying to get into the back of a truck right in front of our car. They create quite a menace to the truck drivers b/c they stand in areas along the roads where trucks have to pass through and have to slow down either at lights or detours. I have mixed feelings about the situation here. The thousands of refugees that have inhabited this city have really affected the environment. They are homeless and are wanderers and squatters in parks that would normally be wonderful places for people to enjoy. While they don't normally pose any type of threat to anyone they travel in packs and are just intimidating to be around. Their main focus is finding a different life for themselves, and I respect that. Since most of them are from Afghanistan and Iraq I imagine they are fleeing the war situation and are choosing asylum rather then joining say the Taliban. For this I am grateful. I think Greece is in a precarious situation to do something and yet they are a country that does not like to ruffle any feathers. They want to maintain their neutral position in this world. I would love to hear what everyone else thinks about this so please post comments!