2022 Tag - Blog Posts

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The Migrant Shipwreck Near Greece Is a Horrible Tragedy. But It Wasn’t an Accident.

Hundreds are missing, presumed drowned after a shipwreck off Greece, which European officials have called the “worst ever tragedy” in the Me

EU officials have deemed this “the worst ever tragedy” in the Mediterranean. But this shipwreck is not an aberration or an inevitable accident. It is the direct result of Greek and EU practices and regulations that have made entering Europe and seeking asylum increasingly impossible, forcing people to take more and more dangerous routes. It is the product of years of political decisions that have turned the Mediterranean into a graveyard.

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“When you see a dead body and next to it a serial killer, you know what happened. When you see a shipwreck and next to it the Hellenic Coast Guard you should know too.” Wrote lawyer Dimitris Choulis on Twitter. He has spent years representing asylum seekers on the Aegean islands who have made the journey by boat.

In a statement, Alarm Phone similarly pointed the blame to Greece’s practices on the border: “People on the move know that thousands have been shot at, beaten, and abandoned at sea by these Greek forces. They know that encountering the Hellenic Coast Guard, the Hellenic Police or the Hellenic Border Guards often means violence and suffering,” they said. “It is due to systematic pushbacks that boats are trying to avoid Greece, navigating much longer routes, and risking lives at sea.”