11 EU border migration policy and unaccompanied refugee minors in Greece: the example of Lesvos and Samos hotspots
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Marina Rota
Abstract
On the night of 8 September 2020, the Lesvos’ Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) – better known as Moria-hotspot – was set on fire by its inhabitants. After two days of consecutive fires, ‘the worst refugee camp on earth’, according to MSF, was burned to the ground. At that moment, the camp and the surrounding olive groves were the residence of circa 12,500 people, among which more than 400 unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) living in inhumane conditions. A few days later, the URMs from Moria were poised to be relocated to other EU countries, providing an Aristotelian catharsis after the ongoing tragedy. This event was followed by another attempted arson, that of the overcrowded Samos Reception and Identification Centre. It started from the URMs’ quarters, a desperate attempt to make themselves visible by setting their living space on fire. The purpose of this chapter is to see how international, European and national legislation on unaccompanied minors are translated into actual reception practices in the RICs on the Greek islands. We hereto examine relevant international, EU and Greek legislation, describe the evolution of the Greek refugee camps on the islands of Lesvos and Samos, and analyse interviews with URMs about their experiences in these hotspots.
Abstract
On the night of 8 September 2020, the Lesvos’ Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) – better known as Moria-hotspot – was set on fire by its inhabitants. After two days of consecutive fires, ‘the worst refugee camp on earth’, according to MSF, was burned to the ground. At that moment, the camp and the surrounding olive groves were the residence of circa 12,500 people, among which more than 400 unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) living in inhumane conditions. A few days later, the URMs from Moria were poised to be relocated to other EU countries, providing an Aristotelian catharsis after the ongoing tragedy. This event was followed by another attempted arson, that of the overcrowded Samos Reception and Identification Centre. It started from the URMs’ quarters, a desperate attempt to make themselves visible by setting their living space on fire. The purpose of this chapter is to see how international, European and national legislation on unaccompanied minors are translated into actual reception practices in the RICs on the Greek islands. We hereto examine relevant international, EU and Greek legislation, describe the evolution of the Greek refugee camps on the islands of Lesvos and Samos, and analyse interviews with URMs about their experiences in these hotspots.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Introduction 1
- The contribution of social work research to promote migration and asylum policies in Europe 5
- Participatory art in social work: from humanitarianism to humanisation of people on the move 25
- Grasping at straws: social work in reception and identification centres in Greece 47
- Migrant girls’ experiences of integration and social care in Sweden 64
- “Come to my house!”: Homing practices of children in Swiss asylum camps 80
- Transnational dynamics of family reunification: reassembling social work with refugees in Belgium 95
- Open or closed doors? Accessibility of Italian social work organisations towards ethnic minorities 112
- Refugee children and families in the Republic of Ireland: the response of social work 126
- Sense of place, migrant integration and social work 146
- “If not now, when?”: Reclaiming activism into social work education – the case of an intercultural student-academic project with refugees in the UK and Greece 161
- EU border migration policy and unaccompanied refugee minors in Greece: the example of Lesvos and Samos hotspots 177
- Epilogue: Time to listen, time to learn, time to challenge … because there is hope 198
- Index 201
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Introduction 1
- The contribution of social work research to promote migration and asylum policies in Europe 5
- Participatory art in social work: from humanitarianism to humanisation of people on the move 25
- Grasping at straws: social work in reception and identification centres in Greece 47
- Migrant girls’ experiences of integration and social care in Sweden 64
- “Come to my house!”: Homing practices of children in Swiss asylum camps 80
- Transnational dynamics of family reunification: reassembling social work with refugees in Belgium 95
- Open or closed doors? Accessibility of Italian social work organisations towards ethnic minorities 112
- Refugee children and families in the Republic of Ireland: the response of social work 126
- Sense of place, migrant integration and social work 146
- “If not now, when?”: Reclaiming activism into social work education – the case of an intercultural student-academic project with refugees in the UK and Greece 161
- EU border migration policy and unaccompanied refugee minors in Greece: the example of Lesvos and Samos hotspots 177
- Epilogue: Time to listen, time to learn, time to challenge … because there is hope 198
- Index 201
