This article has been powered by We are Europe*.
Author: Tamara Ehs
There is no refugee crisis, but a crisis of solidarity and responsibility; no refugee crisis, but a crisis of politics.
As if war, expulsion and being on the run were not already terrible enough, the European Union turns this traumatic experience into a complete disaster. Since the agreement reached with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in March 2016, Turkey is more than ever a European border post. Two million mainly Syrian war refugees currently live on Turkish soil; to make it impossible for them to continue their journey to Greece, and to comply with the EU-deal, the Turkish coast guard engages the inhuman, life-threatening method of so-called push-backs. The militarisation of the EU's external border is accompanied by a reduction of refugee protection that should put us to shame. People fleeing war are caught in barbed wire fences on the citadels of Fortress Europe in Ceuta, Melilla, Calais; others sink to the seabed and inhabit the abyss, because we do not protect people, but borders.
Loïc Jaeger, head of MSF Greece, explains what the deal with Turkey has changed: Greek islands like Lesvos were only crossing station...
This content is restricted to subscribers. If you have already subscribed, please log in. New users may freely register below.