Turkish president Erdoğan is pushing tens of thousands of migrants — mostly Syrians — towards Europe, where they are being turned back by Greece.
We have learned everything, or nearly everything, about the migratory flows across the Mediterranean, which concern Italy closely. We have slowly begun to discover the Balkan route as well — first through Hungary, now primarily through Croatia. And then, since last Sunday, we have discovered, or rediscovered, that the south-eastern borders of the European Union — those separating Greece and Bulgaria from Turkey — also represent a hotspot. A very hot one, in fact: according to the Turkish Interior Ministry, at least 135,000 migrants moved from inland areas of the country towards the European border in less than 72 hours, taking advantage of the free passage granted to them by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
These figures, it must be said, differ greatly from those provided by Greek authorities and some NGOs: Save the Children, on Monday evening, spoke of 13,000 migrants who had reached the official border crossings at Pazarkule and Ipsala, as well as the numerous informal entry points. Of these, a third are said to be minors. In any case, the free passage — which for now is temporary, valid for a 72-hour window — could be renewed, if not made permanent. Indeed, Erdoğan himself has warned: "The number of migrants heading to Europe is in the hundreds of thousands, and soon it will be millions."
But why has Turkey decided to open its borders, letting migrants through? There are two main reasons, and both concern Syria, where Erdoğan's army has long been engaged in a war that has left Europe divided and silent. In Brussels, Ankara has been asking (in vain) for concrete support in military operations in a highly complex theatre of war involving the loyalist troops of Assad, the rebels, and also Islamic State militants. The result is that three and a half million refugees from Syria — joined by Iraqis and Afghans — have for years found shelter in Turkey, and from there, prior to 2016, made their way to Europe, primarily Germany.
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In March 2016, however, the European Union and Turkey reached a deal under which the government of Ankara would take responsibility for stopping the flow of migrants, in exchange for a payment of 6 billion euros. Today, however, Erdoğan accuses Europe of having failed to honour the agreement ("That money has not been allocated — the European Union offered me one billion, I refused"), and responds by beginning to disregard it in turn: "They thought we were bluffing, but now the phone calls are starting to come in…" he said when meeting the Bulgarian prime minister — another border country, but one that for now has been "spared" by Erdoğan.
Along the border between Greece and Turkey, and on the Aegean islands that have for years served as genuine migrant hotspots, the situation is extremely tense. So much so that the new Athens government recently considered building a floating wall at a cost of half a billion euros. Islands such as Lesbos are, in fact, virtually at breaking point. But this cannot justify the violence perpetrated by the Greek police and coast guard against migrants. Dozens of photographs and videos have documented the way in which, on land and at sea, security forces push back refugees' attempts to enter Europe — their promised land.
Violence is also being reported on the part of Greek farmers living near the border, who attempt to push refugees back by driving their tractors towards them. On the islands of Lesbos and Chios, raids by far-right groups of citizens have also been recorded, during which food packages intended for refugees were destroyed. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has also warned the authorities: "Avoid adopting measures that could cause further suffering to the most vulnerable people." And to refrain from "excessive or disproportionate use of force." Adding to the drama is the news of the death of a child, drowned a few miles from the coast of Lesbos in the sinking of a dinghy carrying 48 people.
The island of Lesbos, with its enormous Moria refugee camp, is — along with the islands of Chios and Samos — the worst affected by the emergency: a network of 75 non-governmental organisations has signed a letter addressed to European Council president Charles Michel and European leaders, calling for action "to immediately decongest the Aegean islands. Since, at present, 42,000 asylum seekers are housed on Lesbos in a camp built to accommodate only six thousand, to support Greece in the procedures at reception and identification centres and to create a shared register of legal and medical practitioners." After 5 years "of an absence of policy, Europe must now act on the basis of its own values and defend the human rights of refugees," explains Matthias Mertens, coordinator of the Europe Must Act campaign.
The European response is, for now, entirely a work in progress: to discourage the flows, Greece immediately suspended for one month the acceptance of asylum applications, drawing criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: "Neither the 1951 Refugee Convention nor European Union asylum law provides any legal basis permitting the suspension of the processing of asylum applications."
Athens immediately called for Brussels' support: "Greece's role is to protect its borders, which are also the borders of the European Union, and so we expect tangible solidarity," explained Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mītsotakis. Frontex, the European border guard agency, immediately stepped up surveillance along the country's coastline, recalling personnel from other operations to provide immediate assistance. And European Council president Charles Michel, present at the emergency European summit convened in Greece, assured that Europe "fully supports Greece's efforts" and that "protecting borders in accordance with international law, human rights and dignity is essential."
Beyond the deployment of forces at the border, however, everything currently seems quiet on issues such as the redistribution of incoming migrants (to which Germany has already objected). The same applies to the possibility of resuming negotiations with Turkey, to opening humanitarian corridors covering at least minors — which is being called for by multiple voices in the world of non-governmental organisations — and, more broadly, to a comprehensive rethinking of migration policy. Indeed, for Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Greece is "Europe's shield" — words that have made those with a genuine concern for the human rights of migrants shudder.
