The announced eviction of recognized refugees from accommodation in ESTIA flats and official refugee camps will lead to homelessness and destitution for many as very few steps have been taken so far by the Greek authorities in practice to secure the refugees’ autonomous living and equal integration into Greek society.

The situation on Samos island has reached the edge as the grim conditions under which hundreds of refugees live in Vathi hotspot are a humanitarian disaster. Meanwhile, reactions by local society including xenophobic voices are strengthened. PRO ASYL / RSA have repeatedly highlighted concerns over the toxic impact of the EU-Turkey deal.

Last July the Federal Constitutional Court stopped the deportation of a Syrian refugee to Greece. The ruling was based, amongst others, on a PRO ASYL/RSA legal report, which has been updated in the meantime. The case of an Iranian family deported from Switzerland illustrates the hopeless situation refugees find themselves in when deported to Greece

At the end of 2018, an estimated 570 unaccompanied refugee and migrant children who reached Greece seeking safety, find themselves homeless and exposed to the cold and uncertainty in Athens or other big cities in the mainland.

PRO ASYL and RSA welcome the German authorities’ recent decisions accepting the family reunification request of one of the three survivors and three family members of refugees who lost their lives last March after their boat capsized near the island of Agathonis, Greece.

On 9 August, the Aegean became once more a graveyard: Seven refugee children died in the attempt to reach Greece after a boat capsized off the coast of Aydin province. Three years ago, the image of a small boy washed up on a Turkish beach led to an outcry. It became a symbol of the consequences of Europe’s refugee policy.

At the beginning of July Interior Minister Seehofer bragged about the 69 men deported to Kabul . 51 alone had lived in Bavaria, the federal state that makes extensive use of the supposed new deportation possibilities. Potentially concerned Afghans should urgently analyze their prospects of permanent or temporary residence (»Bleibeperspektive«).

Afghan refugees deported from Germany are forced to flee again. Refugee Support Aegean met with four of the deported stranded in one of the Greek islands and Athens. They fled Afghanistan again as their lives were at risk. After many difficulties, they managed to arrive in Greece in summer 2017 where they are living under degrading conditions.

Despite repeated warnings thousands of refugees will be in danger as weather deteriorates. The Greek government has failed to react leaving people in Reception and Identification Centers (usually referred as RIC or otherwise the Hot-Spots) in the Aegean islands Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kos and Leros unprotected under restriction of movement.

RSA and PRO ASYL are deeply concerned about UNHCR’s decision to stay silent about the violations of basic refugee rights in the name of EU-Turkey deal, especially given the present regime in Turkey.