- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the decision on Friday to open his country's borders in order to put pressure on Brussels over the Syrian crisis.
- Several thousand people have since arrived in the five hotspots of Greece, in the Aegean islands.
- As an extraordinary meeting of EU interior ministers takes place this Wednesday, 20 Minutes questioned Maria Alverti, director of the Greek branch of the international confederation of Catholic organizations Caritas, present in Lesbos.
Overturned boats, scuffles between Greek police and migrants, use of tear gas and water cannons ... Accounts, images and videos of the arrival of new migrants in Greece have multiplied on social networks since Turkey opened its borders with Europe on Friday - to put pressure on Brussels regarding the situation in Syria -, testifying to rare violence. The arrival of thousands of refugees at the five Greek hotspots in the Aegean islands (Lesbos, Chio, Samos, Leros and Cos), raises fears of the appearance of a new migration crisis, similar to that which had shaken Europe in 2015.
The fears are such that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited the Greek-Turkish border on Tuesday with the Presidents of the Council and of the European Parliament, Charles Michel and David Sassoli, to visit the center of home Fylakio 1. An extraordinary meeting of the interior ministers of the European Union is also taking place this Wednesday in Brussels to help Greece and Bulgaria.
Maria Alverti, director of the Greek branch of the international confederation of Catholic organizations Caritas, called Hellas, is present in Lesbos. She testified for 20 minutes to the seriousness of the situation and the violence emanating from part of the local populations.
What are the practical consequences of opening the borders between Turkey and Greece?
It has prompted a massive number of refugees and migrants to try to get to Greece in the Evros region, in the north of the country. The Greek police and military gathered at the borders and used tear gas. There were tensions for three days [clashes took place this Wednesday morning, leaving at least one injured among the migrants, reports AFP]. Police and the military said they prevented 20,000 people from entering Greece. In the month 63 of them were arrested and imprisoned.
Regarding the five hotspots , more and more boats have docked on the Greek coast. Nearly 1,000 migrants have arrived in the past two days.
What about tensions on the five hotspots?
There is a lot of tension on the five islands. A large part of the local population is not favorable to refugees. Some people take the initiative to prevent migrants from disembarking. We feel a lot of aggressiveness and hostility. The media and government officials are also fueling an anti-NGO climate. There is no access to migrant camps, as residents have blocked the streets. New migrants are directed to other places.
The government has also announced the suspension of all asylum applications since March 1 for a period of one month. The migrants, who entered the country in an “illegal” manner, will therefore be arrested and sent who knows where. The government ensures that they will be transferred from the islands to the mainland, that they will not be documented and will not be returned to their country of origin.
Are far right movements like Golden Dawn taking advantage of the situation?
Golden Dawn is not officially present in hotspots . But there are civilians who patrol and stop the cars to control the people in the cabin. People hit journalists and dump their equipment into the sea in broad daylight and in plain sight.
NGOs have reported being attacked and said they cannot do their jobs properly *. What about Caritas?
So far, the Caritas team has not been targeted, but NGO members have been physically and verbally attacked on the hotspots .
Members of the European Union, such as the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, were in Greece on Tuesday. How did they react?
They fully support the Greek government in all its actions to keep the borders closed.
* An official of Refocus, an organization which gives courses to refugees, told AFP after carrying out this interview that "most (humanitarian) organizations have decided to suspend their operations" on the spot.
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