Archive for the 'Content' Category

Page 10 of 13

Faces and Fates

Published on October 21, 2009 in Detention and Photos. Closed Tags: , , , .

A friend in Lesvos collected the fates of people in Pagani. We document five of them here:

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Zaher Hostin has been imprisoned in Pagani four months. He is the longest staying prisoner so far.

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Daudze Zohra from Afghanistan, 12 years old, has already received the white paper, however, he has not been released so far. His father is also in Pagani, but they won’t release him either.

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Abdula Satari from Afghanisten, his got an injured leg and is in urgent need of medical treatment.

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Khan Shzad from Afghanistan has been imprisoned for 26 days. His right hand and arm is red and blue from infections, and he has several injuries. He is also in urgent need of medical treatment.

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Husein Hadar was injured during the revolt: the riot cops were beating him, but he was not brought to hospital for treatment.

These are only five stories. This day-to-day brutality needs to stop. Close Pagani, stop detention.

Who says a little revolt won't help?

Published on October 20, 2009 in Detention, Photos and Revolt. Closed

Yesterday we reported about another revolt in Pagani. Today, we hear that it was partly successful:

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At 4pm I got a phone call from one of the prisoners saying he was free, that he would go to the harbour totake the ship. When i came to meet him, I saw that 300 people had been set free from Pagani, both families and men. Most could buy tickets themselves and leave with the boat to Athens. Some others stayed behind, looking at the others waving farewell.

Local elderly men were asking what will happen with the ones that have no money for a ticket. The shipping company responsibles were not willing to take the 8 people without tickets. Although normally the tickets should be given from the state and the shipping company makes a big business with the refugees that have to leave the island and are their best clients.

Everyday around 100 new people arrive and hundreds of people are still imprisoned. Pagani is not empty. There is a lot of police inside the courtyard, the prisoners have the right to get out only once a week for 10 minutes and the next revolt is around the corner.

The bigger picture

Published on October 20, 2009 in Deportation, Detention, Dublin II, Featured and Insight. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

With the revolts going on in Pagani, what is the bigger picture? A friend wrote to let us know:

The minister of “citizen’s protection” (sic!, former ministry of public order) of the new socialist party government announced the liberation of 1.200 migrants from detention centers and police departments (from the total of 5.500 migrants who are kept in detention for illegal entry).

He presented this as a humanitarian move, but for sure this was necessary for the whole detention system, which was completely stuck after a summer with large police operations and arrests and the new arrivals. The released migrants will get the famous white paper (deportation decision with 30 days of tollerance to leave the country).

He also announced large scale repatriation with IOM’s help and with european funding and once again declared “zero tolerance to illegal migrants”.

You can also read an article in Kathimerini. So much for the new government (war is peace, citizen’s protection is repression, George is Orwell, etc). There was one incident in Athens were the police torture-killed a migrant. Occupied London has a report, and there was a demonstration afterwards which got attacked by the police. Another friend from Greece summarises the situation as follows:

Continue reading ‘The bigger picture’

Yet Another Revolt [1 Update + Photos]

Published on October 19, 2009 in Detention, Featured, Photos and Revolt. Closed Tags: , , , , .

This report about a new revolt just reached us:

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Today (19.10.2009) around 3 o’clock pm, prisoners in Pagani set fire to at least two cells. They protest against their continued detention, and especially against the principle that some prisoners are released after a few weeks while other are imprisoned for much longer. They also continue to protest against the unbearable living conditions inside the prison.

They say that right about now, 900 people are imprisoned in Pagani, including youth. There is the case of a young afghan boy of about 12 years who received his release papers while his father is still imprisoned. So he also needs to stay inside. More youth have been spotted amongst the prisoners.

The fire was quite strong, which made a large intervention of the fire brigade necessary. Two refugees fainted, and another six were beaten so badly by the notorious anti-riot police that they need to be admitted to hospital. We’re trying to organise photos documenting this.

At about 6 pm, the fire was out, the injured had been brought to the hospital, and supporters started to arrive. The prisoners were still inside the yard, telling a lot of stories. One of them explained that he had been imprisoned for over four months. Others told that they mothers, wives and sisters had been released earlier and have gonbe to Athens, so they are worried about them being well. It seems that the prisoners will spend the night in the yard.

We also saw two prisoners who had been injured during their flight and who have not received any treatment so far.

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Update 1: Another friend wrote to let us know:

After the previous revolt, the police told the prisoners that in any revolt they were going to arrest two prisoners each time. They don’t care if these prisoners have any relation with the revolts or not. And they did it the previous time: they arrested two prisoners in the previous revolt. They kept the one of them for some days in the jail and then they sent him back to Pagani, but until now we don’t know where is the other one. About today’s revolt, I don’t know if they have arrested any people or not yet…

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We have an image gallery:

Continue reading ‘Yet Another Revolt [1 Update + Photos]’

Shut down Pagani! Azadi!

Published on October 6, 2009 in eval { }, Featured and noborder lesvos '09. Closed Tags: , , , , .

Another evaluation of the no border camp in Lesvos. By transact!, October 2009. Published in german language in ak – analyse und kritik.

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Never before have we experienced a noborder camp on the outer borders of the EU at which political protests and social struggles for the freedom of movement were as intertwined as they were in Lesvos. International press coverage about the detention centre Pagani was considerable and we return with many new impulses for transnational networking. Even if meetings were characterised by strong disagreements, our evaluation of Lesvos is overwhelmingly positive.

Tomorrow when we continue our journey, we will be refugees again. But till the last minute we will be just people here tonight, friends celebrating together. Who would’ve thought that on this island we wouldn’t have to hide in the woods and that we would get the gift of a night of freedom amongst friends!

Continue reading ‘Shut down Pagani! Azadi!’

Of lies, more lies and some successes

Published on October 2, 2009 in Deportation, Detention, Dublin II and Featured. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Last week, we reported about the revolt going on in Pagani. In the immediate days after the revolt, there seemed to be some development favourable to the situation of refugees. Some friendly observers from Lesvos reported that on the very Tuesday of the revolt, there were

700 prisoners in Pagani, around 150 women and children and 150 unaccompanied minors. The minors living on the first floor set fire to matrasses in their cell, which produced a lot of smoke. To escape from the smoke they broke the bars of the window and went on the very small balcony in front of their cell window. They screamed for their freedom, some were very upset and the situation was very dangerous. The policemen of the prison managed to extinguish the fire. More policemen, fire brigades, journalists and observer in solidarity arrived. The tension spread to the other cells.

The prisoners broke the door with the iron bars and went out into the yard. They were absolutely peaceful and the police didn’t react. Around 400 prisoners were in the yard. The negotiations between the prisoners and the police and the prefect lasted until late in the night.

Continue reading ‘Of lies, more lies and some successes’

Pagani revolting

Published on September 22, 2009 in Detention, Featured, Photos, Revolt and Videos. Closed Tags: , , , , .

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Revolt at Pagani. We just heard that people imprisoned in Pagani have taken direct action. The three cells at the ground level are open, imprisoned migrants have flocked to the yard of the prison, shouting “Azadi, Azadi” (freedom). Also, women detained on the first floor are leaving their cells. Inside the cells, matrasses have been burnt, and the bars from some cell windows have been removed. More and more people from Mytilini are coming to Pagani, press and TV is there also.

Links: skip to latest update | twitter.com/noborderlesvos | always up2date: noborder09lesvos.blogspot.com | athens.indymedia: 1 2 3

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Continue reading ‘Pagani revolting’

Two new Videos

Published on September 14, 2009 in Detention, Featured, Frontex and Videos. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

They just went live: two new videos, one about the action day against Pagani prison, the other about the Frontex action day. They were actually supposed to come online earlier (apologies, esp. to the cutters), but there were problems with the video format. In the end, ffmpeg and ogg/theora saved us.

Noborder Pagani Action Day

Noborder Harbour Action

Stop deportations to Greece – suspend Dublin II!

Published on September 7, 2009 in Deportation, Featured and noborder lesvos '09. Closed Tags: , , , , .

Please read, spread and sign this Communiqué from activists of the international No Border Camp 2009 on Lesvos concerning the Dublin II regulations and deportations to Greece. You can sign using the form below (introduced due to popular demand). Let’s build pressure!

As activists of the international No Border Camp 2009 on Lesvos, we are witnessing a policy of systematic human rights abuse against migrants and refugees. As a crucial symbol for this policy stands Pagani, a detention centre, situated in the outskirts of the city of Mitilini, for migrtants and refugees, women, men, minors and children, who arrive in Greece without documents. People are imprisoned in Pagani for many weeks, even months. They are forced to share a room with approximately 100 people. About 1000 people are constantly locked up in a place normally designed for only 280 people. Sanitary and medical conditions are beyond any possible imagination. It is not even necessary to describe the further consequences of forcing people to under these circumstances, since the absolute lack of human rights is all too obvious.

Continue reading ‘Stop deportations to Greece – suspend Dublin II!’

New hungerstrike in Pagani

Published on September 2, 2009 in Detention, Frontex, Photos and Revolt. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , .

Some activists went to Pagani and learnt that there is a new hungerstrike on. 47 minors are on hungerstrike, and four are not even drinking. They don’t receive any medical support. Shut down Pagani!

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update 4.9.09 A lot has happened. The hunger strike in Pagani is still on, and as reported above, some people even took to a thirst strike. There was a solidarity action at the detention centre yesterday. What is really bad is that they still incarcerate women with babies in Pagani, as you can see on the pictures from yesterday, and the open camp at the airport will be closed tomorrow. So it seems that the authorities really do get back to business as usual. We will not accept this, for sure. In the meanwhile, there is a lot YOU can do. Our video Voices from Inside Pagani has been shown on several TV stations, we know of both German state TV channels, the Dutch TV and CNN (but they always falsly claim that a human rights organisation put the video online. Of course it was noborder). Indeed, the situation in Pagani made news globally, and the heat is still on. You can help by making a protest in your city at the Greek embassy or consulate (if there is), like our friends in Wellington, New Zealand (!) did. You can also follow our email campaign.

In the meanwhile, the Frontex boat from Romania has left, and has been replaced by some military style outfits, having even a special “Operation Poseidon” t-shirt. Last time, they were seen controlling (quite brutally) people that take the ferry to Athens (sic). So there is two conclusions you can take from that: either that Frontex is really doing much more than policing the borders, also starting to take their actions into Schengen mainland, or you are of the impression that Europe is one big border anyway.

About w2eu

This is the blog of the antiracist network Welcome to Europe. It was formerly known as lesvos09.antira.info.

 

The name Welcome to Europe expresses the discontent and anger we feel when looking at the fatal realities of the European external border: the long documented deaths and suffering have continued for years, and no end is in sight. We stand for a grassroots movement that embraces migration and wants to create a Europe of hospitality.

 

We maintain our focus on the European external border in Greece, but will not limit ourselves to that geographical area. The right of freely roaming the globe has to be fought for everywhere. Join us!

 

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Voices from the Inside of Pagani (2009)

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