The Failures of Refugee Camps in Europe
In 2015, more than 900,000 starved and frightened refugees arrived on the shores of Greece. The European refugee crisis is not a new phenomenon but the number of people seeking safety has escalated significantly since 2015, the majority coming from Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey. Many of these refugees are escaping the Syrian Civil War, the second deadliest conflict of the 21st century, and were unable to enter neighboring Arab countries without proper legal documentation. Decade-long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have also forced millions of people to cross the Mediterranean Sea to escape violence and oppression. Europe is their best option for survival.
The European Union, a political and economic group of 28 countries, does not have a stable or systematic approach to assist this influx of people. The Common European Asylum System, an initiative that began in 1999, distinguishes migrants into two categories: “refugees” and “economic migrants.” Refugees are people escaping from war, natural disaster, or persecution from a political entity. Economic migrants, on the other hand, have relocated for economic opportunity and are not in immediate danger. Under this system, EU states are legally required to accept all migrants that qualify for refugee status. If states violate this law, they can either defend their decision in the European Court of Human Rights or leave the EU.
The Dublin Regulation, the core procedure of CEAS, requires the first country that a migrant enters to process their application for refugee status. A migrant cannot submit applications to multiple states and must stay within the first country they entered until their application is approved. Greece, Spain, and Italy hold the disproportionate burden of accepting larger quantities of illegal migrants due to their geographical location. This year, out of the 34,000 migrants seeking asylum in Europe, 16,292 entered in Greece, 12,064 in Spain, and 3,186 in Italy.
While migrants wait to be processed by their host country, they are sheltered in state facilities called “refugee camps.” The EU has raised the standards for the living conditions within the camps but most states have failed to implement these reforms. The management of the facilities is often corrupt and financially incapable of providing basic necessities for asylum seekers. The EU has allowed this mistreatment of refugees to continue by failing to pursue disciplinary action against countries providing inadequate living conditions. In fact, most refugee camps do not even meet the basic legal requirements; and yet, little to nothing has been done to implement change.
Refugee Camps in Greece
Since 2015, one million people migrating from Turkey have applied for refugee status in Greece. In 2016, Greece and Turkey signed the EU-Turkey Statement, an agreement that Greece would send migrants not approved for refugee status back to Turkey. After the statement was enacted, Greece created the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, assuming it would be the ideal location for temporary asylum seekers. The Greek government did not anticipate that 14,000 refugees would be living in a space created for 3,000 individuals.
Migrants from Turkey, Egypt, and Libya are crammed into small, inhospitable spaces and forced to wait more than 12 hours in line for food that is often spoiled. There is one shower and one toilet for every 70 to 80 refugees. Numerous accusations of sexual assault and knife attacks have been made by residents, but no investigations or disciplinary actions have been pursued. The lead psychiatric doctor is overwhelmed with cases of mental illness and has prescribed the majority of his patients with antipsychotic medication. Over one quarter of the children living in the camp have contemplated suicide.
Earlier this month, a protest erupted at the Moria camp after a refugee died in a violent fire and two children were killed. Moria has become a “death trap” instead of a safe haven from war, starvation, and abuse.
Refugee Camps in Germany
When migrants first arrive in Germany, they are placed in “holding and processing centers” that are hotbeds for disease and violence. The Fürstenfeldbruck center, located near Munich, has banned reporters from entering the premises. If media outlets wish to conduct interviews, they must meet the refugees outside of the center. A reporter from the state-owned network, Deutsche Welle, was able to conduct an interview with a group of refugees. The residents revealed that one toilet shared by 50 people, one room contains eight residents, and food is scarce. The doctor can only admit 70 patients per day and spends less than five minutes treating each individual.
When Deutsche Welle asked the Local Integration Commissioner if the center meets the legal standard of living, he answered that the facilities “are supposed to be uncomfortable and humiliating to motivate those who have no real need for protection to leave the country, preferably on their own accord.” The Town Councillor called the camp a “giant storage cupboard for human beings.” This “storage cupboard” is intended to house people for a maximum of two years, but most migrants are forced to stay longer because they cannot enter another state without legal documentation or money.
Refugee Camps in Italy
Italy has protested the Dublin Regulation because the system places a disproportionate burden upon its economic resources in comparison to other European states. Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has closed multiple refugee camps because the state’s economy cannot sustain such a large influx of people.
Earlier this year, Salvini displaced hundreds of refugees by closing the Cara di Mineo camp, a breeding ground for corruption and organized criminal activities. The leaders of the camp stole public funds from Italy and the EU, and provided little to no support to the refugees. According to locals, both the Italian and the Nigerian Mafia made the camp their headquarters for drug operations. A man from Senegal reported that these gangs forced women to engage in sexual activities both inside and outside of the camp. The ring-leader for the Mafia Capitale, Salvatore Buzzi, was caught on wiretap boasting: “do you have any idea how much I make off of migrants? They’re more profitable than drugs.”
Salvini also left 1,500 refugees homeless by bulldozing the San Ferdinando camp located in Catania. He has failed to fulfill his promise to find an alternative shelter as refugees report living in abandoned houses on the countryside. Numerous camps across Italy have come to a similar end, leaving thousands of refugees unemployed and homeless.
Refugee Camps in France
France has also closed camps to reduce their intake of refugees instead of improving the living conditions. In October 2016, the French government demolished the infamous “Jungle of Calais,” evicting over 8,000 refugees. Stefan Simanowitz from Amnesty International claims that “the demolition of the Jungle Camp did not end the plight of the refugees and migrants in Calais and things also got harder for those trying to help them.”
Two evictions of refugee families occur each week with sudden and unnecessary brutality. The police force enters tents without notice and secures a parameter to prevent refugees from taking their belongings. The Guardian reported an incident where French authorities stopped a mother from retrieving her own child. These evictions have caused over 1,300 refugees to cross the dangerous English Channel in an attempt to reach England.
The Grande-Synthe camp was opened in March 2019 to replace the Jungle Camp. Grande-Synthe may be an improvement from the Jungle, but the conditions are quickly deteriorating: 87% of refugees do not have access to toilets and over 50% are not adequately fed. Many refugees pay English smugglers to help them escape the camp.
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The European refugee crisis stems from the EU’s lack of financial means and political support to host the enormous amount of people entering the system each day. Immigrants of all ages are struggling to survive in a camp that promised them safety. The EU must resolve this crisis by enforcing better living conditions within refugee camps, increasing the speed of processing applications, and integrating refugees into their new states. Without the collective cooperation of all European states, significant and lasting progress will not be achieved.