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Τρίτη 17 Μαρτίου 2015

[EN] ECRE'S VISIT TO FYLAKIO'S FIRST RECEPTION CENTRE SHOWS ASYLUM SEEKERS STUCK IN 'DETENTION CARROUSEL'

 ECRE Weekly Bulletin of 13 March 2015


Despite its potential, the Greek system of referral of third country nationals to the appropriate procedures (known as ‘first reception’), coupled with a dramatic lack of reception places, results in practice in asylum seekers and migrants, including children, being held in detention, often for prolonged periods. This is the conclusion of a report published this week following an ECRE delegation visit to the Fylakio First ‘Reception’ Centre and the adjacent Fylakio Detention Centre in the Evros region.
Migrants arriving irregularly in the Evros region may be detained for up to seven days in a police station, or in the Fylakio Detention Centre, before they are transferred to the First Reception Centre in Fylakio. Although the facility is called a ‘reception centre’ and the conditions are better than in the Fylakio Detention Centre, it is ECRE’s view that the situation is also one of detention as they are deprived of their liberty; people are not allowed to leave without permission and the centre is secured with barbed wire and permanently guarded by the Hellenic Police. From the ‘First Reception Centre’, many people are referred back to the Fylakio Detention Centre, or another detention centre, either for their removal, for the completion of their asylum application or because there is no appropriate open accommodation available.

Παρασκευή 6 Μαρτίου 2015

[EN] THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF FORTRESS EUROPE: HOW EU POLICY IS FAILING RECORD NUMBERS OF MIGRANTS

Just this week nearly 1,000 migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in a 24-hour period and the European Commission started work on new migration policy. 
Yet 3,500 people died trying to reach Europe in 2014, more than 700 unaccompanied children are still living in initial Italian reception facilitiesand the number of migrants risking their lives to reach the continent is spiraling.   
A Frontex officer in the Elhovo region of Bulgaria. Photo by Devin Yuceil.
Milène Larsson is the producer and reporter of the VICE News series Europe or Die. Here she looks back at migration into Europe as it reached record numbers last year, how we got here, and what lies ahead.