No Entry: Greece shuts borders as Turkey ships refugees in loads

Menna Abdelrazak

In July 2019, the Greek Parliament passed an asylum law aimed at curbing the rising number of migrants arriving on its shores as more than 35,000 men, women and children are stuck on Greek islands after Erdogan allowed them to pass illegally into the neighboring borders.

Before the vote, it was declared that Greece was acquiring “a clear and functional asylum system” that would protect refugees but would not “throw its gates wide open” to all.

We will protect our borders, no one will enter Greece illegally. And those who do pass after last Sunday will not be registered, will not be able to apply for asylum and will be returned to their countries of origin,” government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said on Friday in a press statement.

The plan to protect the borders includes using new technical means and intensifying land and sea patrols in cooperation with the European Union, the use of modern devices to prevent smuggling and illegal immigration, and excluding families with children as well as other vulnerable social groups with a commitment to stay in their homes.

Greece has also established a new category of detention facilities in which asylum seekers may be held. These are referred to as “Closed Temporary Reception Facilities”. The program had also referred to asylum procedures being conducted within six weeks in those centers.

On Feb. 28, the Turkish government announced Ankara would cease controlling its land and sea borders with Europe and open the passage for migrants wishing to cross.

With the tragic humanitarian situation that displaced Syrians currently suffer and their inability to undergo tests to detect the infamous coronavirus, Greece fears began spreading about the possibility of the virus being transmitted through them to the country.

More than 13,000 immigrants and the number is increasing, Erdogan shipped them in sea boats to the borders of Greece, which suffers from suffocating economic crises since 2008, prompting it to reduce the services provided to new refugees.

In July 2019, the Greek government revoked access to public healthcare for asylum seekers and undocumented people arriving in Greece, leaving more than 55,000 people without medical care.

Since March 2019, doctors in MSF’s pediatric health center outside Moria camp on Lesbos have seen more than 270 cases of children suffering from chronic and complex illnesses, such as heart disease, epilepsy and diabetes.

Since March 2019, doctors in MSF’s pediatric health center outside Moria camp on Lesbos have seen more than 270 cases of children suffering from chronic and complex illnesses, such as heart disease, epilepsy and diabetes.

Nearly 47,000 asylum-seekers remained trapped in Greece due to the closure of the Balkans migration route and the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal in March 2016. By the end of the year, 29,716 people had arrived by sea from Turkey in comparison with 173,450 in 2016, according to Amnesty.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says the EU-Turkey migration deal is dead. In an interview with CNN, he said Turkey has “decided to completely violate the agreement because of what happened in Syria.”