Because European countries refuse to accept asylum seekers, things could get so out of hand in the overcrowded Moria reception camp this week. So says Gerald Knaus, the German government adviser who is seen as the architect of the 2016 refugee agreement.
“For the past few months, people have been held hostage in dramatic circumstances to deter new migrants. This is not only illegal, but also immoral.”
‘For refugees, Moria is like Guantanamo Bay’
Several fires broke out in the migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, presumably started by frustrated residents. The fires reduced the camp to ashes, thousands of residents were left homeless. European countries, including the Netherlands, have committed to shelter some of the homeless, mostly children.
“Any person who is bailed out of hell who became Moria is of course a positive thing,” says Knaus. “But it is not a solution. There are more than 12,000 people in Moria, and politicians can ask themselves a simple question: why are we keeping them in Lesvos? There must be a quick solution and that solution will not be found on the island.”
This spring, more than 20,000 migrants lived in Moria. In the past six months, nearly half of those people have been brought to the mainland, but with a capacity of no more than 3,000 the camp remained heavily overcrowded. With hardly any sanitary facilities, clean water, space for it social distancing and perspective for improvement “it came to look like Guantanamo Bay to refugees,” says Knaus. “It was inevitable that the bomb would burst.”
The atmosphere on Lesvos today is grim. Thousands of asylum seekers are demanding to be removed from the island. Islanders are afraid that the migrants will build a new camp and are angry that the European Union is doing too little:
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‘This is not life here, the children sleep on the street’
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Knaus says Greece and the EU are keeping asylum seekers on the island in dire conditions to deter new migrants. “The message that it is better to stay in Afghanistan, Lebanon or Turkey than to come to Europe is the bankruptcy of our policies.”
Moreover, deterrence is a strategy that does not work, he says. Conversely, according to him, taking in more migrants does not lead to many more migrants making the journey to Europe.
New deal with Turkey?
Knaus calls for a new European long-term strategy and wants talks with Turkey again. This year, the 2016 deal with that country he came up with expired. In exchange for Brussels billions, Turkey received millions of Syrian refugees. Syrian refugees in Greek islands would be redistributed among EU countries. Migrants who were not entitled to protection in the EU would be returned to Turkey.
The deal cut the number of refugees, but the return and redistribution largely failed. Still, it seems sensible for Knaus to talk to Turkey again.
“Many aid organizations were dissatisfied with the deal, but the world saw a world without the deal for the past six months. We saw return actions and we saw people getting stuck to deter people. We need to work with Turkey to reduce the flow of refugees again. That worked for four years. “
The European Commission will come up with new asylum plans at the end of September, but Knaus is skeptical about this. “It seems very clear to me that we should not expect much. And that is absolutely not the fault of the European Commission. Some Member States are happy with the situation on the islands.”
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