Two more dead immigrants near Evros river

The bodies of two immigrants were discovered yesterday in Peplo area – one on the bank of the Evros river and the other in a rural area of Thymaria village near the town of Alexandroupolis.

Leaks about planned gigantic detention centers, racist attacks on the rise

According to  Eleutherotypia newspaper,  the “Ministry of Citizen Protection”, taking advantage of the new coalition government in Greece, where members of the far-right LAOS party participate, is planning to create two gigantic detention centers for immigrants in Athens. The two new detention centers “should be in the area of Attikovoiotia (close to Athens) with a capacity of about 5-6 thousand people, to offer real relief to the capital city”.
LAOS also demands the withdrawal of the citizenship bill, voted 1,5 years ago.

Meanwhile, racist attacks are on the rise again. Last Saturday, in Mylopotamos in Crete, 3 immigrants from Pakistan were beaten up in their own home and a car owned by another immigrant was set on fire.
In Athens, two Kurds from Iraq were beaten up by 15 policemen while held in custody, awaiting their trial. They were brought back to the prison, where a prison warden, realizing how badly they had been beaten up, ordered their transfer to the prison’s hospital.
(photo here)

Migrant influx peaks

Even as the repercussions of the debt crisis make the prospects of a new life in Greece less than rosy, the influx of undocumented immigrants into the country has increased significantly over the past year, according to figures released on Wednesday by the European Union’s border monitoring agency, Frontex. However, a top agency official has told Kathimerini that Greece woefully lacks the infrastructure to accommodate the would-be migrants.

Detentions at the Greek-Turkish land border increased by 20 percent in October compared to the same month last year, according to Frontex, which referred to “an absolute monthly record of 9,600 illegal border crossings.” “Average detections were over 300 irregular migrants crossing that border on a daily basis,” a statement issued by the agency said.

The agency attributed the “dramatic development” to a combination of factors. These include the absence of sufficient detention facilities both in Greece and Turkey, and the lack of adequate agreements for the readmission of immigrants from specific countries of origin.

Frontex’s deputy executive director Gil Arias Fernandez told Kathimerini at a press briefing on Wednesday that most of the 26 countries contributing staff and equipment to the agency’s operation at the Greek-Turkish border were increasingly reluctant to continue, largely due to the failure of Greek authorities to create new reception centers for migrants, particularly in Evros, a key main gateway for immigrants to cross into Greece from Turkey. Most of the current reception centers in Greece are “unacceptable,” according to Fernandez, who also criticized authorities for refusing to cooperate with nongovernmental organizations.

Additional contributing factors cited by Frontex appear to apportion a fair burden of the blame to Turkish authorities — the proximity of Istanbul airport (with low-cost connecting flights), Turkey’s liberal visa policy and the “numerous facilitation networks established in Turkey with links to Greece,” an apparent reference to cross-border smuggling rings.

Source: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_6926_16/11/2011_415122

Fire in Amygdaleza detention center: seven immigrants injured

On Sunday morning 7 immigrants were transferred to Attiko Hospital in Athens after the inmates of Amygdaleza detention center set fire on their beds and mattresses.

The immigrants were Palestinians, Algerians and Libyans, probably underage. Five of them were taken to hospital with respiratory problems and two with burns.
Source: http://www.tovima.gr/society/article/?aid=428847

24/10-3/11, 2011, Cyprus: Immigrants on Hunger Strike

On October 24, 52 immigrants held in the central prisons of Cyprus started a hunger strike. On November 1st, 15 more immigrants in the cells in Lakatameia began a hunger strike. A few weeks ago, in the same cells, a 28-year-old man from Georgia passed away. On November 3rd, the hunger strikers announced that they will end the hunger strike, as they managed to draw attention and the government promised to meet some of their demands.