In this page we archive all our statements and press releases. It is an testimony of the coherence and transparency of Samos Volunteers’ advocacy across time.
We do not, by this, imply that our position has remained the same — yet it is important to acknowledge what we have advocated for in the past, and where our current position comes from.
2020
PRESS RELEASE : Winterisation and living conditions of asylum seekers in Samos: five years on and the Jungle is still there
Samos Volunteers, A Drop in the Ocean & Glocal Roots
On December 18th, International Migrants Day, we want to speak of the systematic treatment that displaced people still have to endure on EU territory.
Further, we want to draw the attention on the incoming winter season, and the menace that this represents for the lives of the thousands of people and families now living on the slopes of Samos hill.
Our stand is simple: we stand for the dignity of every human being.
The EU has all the power and resources to change its migration policy and to move beyond the inhumane and shameful practice of massive camp reception.
We need to see real international protection and a concrete right to asylum. We have needed it for the past five years.
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Joint Statement signed by 73 NGOs in Greece
Refugees in Greece: risk of homelessness and destitution for thousands during winter.
As winter closes in, thousands of refugees in Greece still face homelessness and destitution. While winter always poses a challenge, this year is likely to become one of the most challenging yet due to the ongoing pandemic, a deliberate decrease in the length of support for refugees, and the lack of a comprehensive integration strategy and strategy against homelessness from authorities.
Around 11,000 people who were granted asylum were notified amidst a global pandemic that they were going to face forced exits from apartments for vulnerable people (ESTIA), hotel rooms under the Temporary Shelter and Protection program (FILOXENIA), accommodation in camps on the islands and on the mainland. These forced exits follow a government policy where refugees are forced to ‘stand on their own feet and fend for themselves’ within one month after protection status is granted, resulting in an end to accommodation, access to food support, and EU funded cash assistance.
Press release by Samos Volunteers: COVID-19, fires & appalling living conditions: reply from Samos Volunteers on the New Pact of Migration.
In Vathy, the same conditions that led to the catastrophe in Moria can be observed: years of inhumane living conditions, interaction of existing tension and frustration with fear of COVID-19, insufficient access to medical care and lack of communication from the authorities. Pressure is mounting as most NGOs that normally provide psycho-social support, education, food, shelter, medical services, legal support, hygiene services, recreational activities and clothing distribution are closed. Measures must be taken now, before it is too late.
We are thus calling on the Greek and European authorities to adhere to the Guidelines laid out in the European Commission’s 2013 reception conditions directive and improve living conditions in reception centres across Greece and Europe. We support the demand to evacuate the camps on the Aegean Islands to safe accommodation on the mainland or in other EU countries right now.
Fire Moria Camp: Call for urgent evacuation and radical change
The confirmation of the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the camp population of the infamous Moria camp on Lesvos, and the subsequent lockdown of the entire facility, compounded tension, frustration and hopeless that already permeated the camp. As a result, a massive fire broke out that destroyed most of the facility.
Moria camp was more than an overcrowded and unsafe camp. It had become a symbol of how Europe treats people on the move. It could have happened on Samos; the conditions are similar. For years, we have witnessed the harmful impact of European policies on people’s lives: appalling conditions in camps on the islands, numerous deaths at sea and pushbacks at the borders of Europe.
The petition is co-signed by 446 organisations, movements and politicians.
See the petition at Change.org.
NGO Registration in Greece
The Greek government is making it impossibly hard for many vital humanitarian groups to operate – but protecting the rights of vulnerable people must come first.
New rules introduced earlier this year require NGOs in Greece to register with the government, but by doing so they must fulfill a host of expensive and bureaucratic obligations. This new process will result in a vast number of small grassroots organisations, just like the partners we support, being prevented from doing their vital work.
Choose Love released a statement to Greek officials calling on them to reconsider this legislation and engage in constructive dialogue with civil society. Humanitarian work is essential work and must be protected and respected. The statement is signed by 68 organisations.
Joint Statement on the Extension of Restrictive Measures for Asylum-Seekers
Some 40 organisations working in Greece asked the Hellenic Ministries of Health, Civil Protection and Migration and Asylum’s for clarification about the extension of restrictive measures placed on all island Reception and Identification Centres (RICs) and a number of mainland camps.
While the Greek borders opened for tourists as of June 15, the lockdown in RICs around Greece has been extended several times, causing untold physical and psychological consequences for camp residents as they continue to suffer overcrowded living conditions, scarce hygiene facilities, insufficient medical access and a total lack of personal protective equipment.
8,300 refugees to be evicted from their homes in Greece - Joint Letter to EU and Greek officials
Signed by 62 organisations and initiated by Help Refugees, this statement urged the Greek government to reconsider their decision to stop supporting as many as 8,300 refugees and asylum-seekers with their rent and accommodation, and find a sustainable and safe solution.
Urgently assist Greece in evacuating the 38,700 people living in the camps of the Aegean Islands - Joint Open Letter to European Commission
Letter initiated by Samos Volunteers in the aftermath of the three fires that broke out in the Vathy RIC between April 26 and April 27. The letter was signed by 16 NGOs from Samos. In it, they express their frustration and frustration with the fires, explain the conditions that led to the increase of tensions which resulted in the breaking out of three fires, and urge the EU to assist Greece in evacuating the 38,700 people living in the camps of the Aegean Islands to appropriate facilities on the mainland.
You can find the open letter on our website.
Letter to Members of European Parliament - COVID-19 and a potential catastrophe unfolding in the camps on the Aegean Islands
While the governments of European Member States enacted emergency legislation to mitigate the threat of COVID-19, thousands of vulnerable people were still living in dangerously overcrowded conditions in the migrant and asylum-seeker camps on the Aegean Islands. Here, social distancing, ‘cocooning’ the most vulnerable and adhering to strict hygiene measures simply are not possible. A potential outbreak of Coronavirus would have devastating consequences for the residents of the camps, but also for the Greek communities, who have too long shouldered the burden of the EU’s inaction.
Our key points in this letter are:
The urgent evacuation of the 42,000 people living in the camps;
A sustainable political solution to ensure long-term decongestion of the Aegean islands; and
The safeguarding of the right to asylum.
You can find and download the letters, written in 10 languages (!!) from our website.
Statement by Samos Volunteers on the Deteriorating Humanitarian Situation along the Greek Border
Statement by Samos Volunteers about the rapidly deteriorating situation in Greece.
At the end of February 2020, Turkey decided to open its borders to Greece, while Europe’s borders remained closed. Meanwhile, on Chios, Lesvos and most recently, Samos, existing tensions surrounding the construction of new camps boiled over. NGOs and volunteers became the targets of violence, boats of new arrivals were forcefully blocked from docking, and the road to Moria camp was set alight.
Faced with mounting pressure, the Greek government decided to suspend its asylum applications for one month, and the immediate removal of anyone who crosses into Greece during this period without papers.
Samos Volunteers, shocked by this perfect storm of political chess-playing and diplomatic inertia, which resulted in human suffering on a deplorable level, stated the following:
‘We condemn the decision of the Greek Government to undermine the fundamental right to asylum. We condemn violence on the Aegean islands. We condemn the cynical use of human life to achieve political ends.
’But equally, we condemn the inaction of the European Union in the face of a growing humanitarian crisis. Once hailed as the defender of the liberal values of justice, equality and human rights, the European Union has turned its back on those founding principles.’
Here you can find our current advocacy page.
Have a look at our Twitter Feed @samosvolunteers
for more up-to-date statements.