Tag Archive for 'scary shit'

Open day in Pagani

bed

Tuesday morning: The local newspapers reported that Pagani would be reopened after a period of two or three months as a open centre with no police guards. This is at least what local politicians and police authoities stated officially. The damages have been estimated, it is being cleaned thesedays and if or when the reparation is funded by the ministry works will go on.

living in the dark

Tuesday noon: Pagani has open doors.inside cleaning staff is trying to fullfill wonders for the prefecture. Empty rooms full of clothes, dirt, abandoned beds covered with black plastic bags some days ago the only method for some “privacy”, a cat playing freely inside the former prison. Former? The last cell is already clean. Matrasses a prepared. It looks as if Pagani was expecting “guests” again.

wc

Outside three FRONTEX employees inspect carefully the closed???? prison.

cell "cleaned up" for the newcomers of today

Tuesday afternoon: The weather forecast foresees rain and wind. The sky is grey. Pagani has turned on some lights in one of the cells. A police car is controlling the outer area. Clothes hanging on the fence. Tomorrow there should be a ship leaving to Chios in the morning. Tuesday end of the day: Is Pagani now closed or isn`t it?! We will read it in the newspapers of tomorrow.

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10 people survived boat accident

A boat with 18 refugees drowned tonight close to Lesvos, Greece. This is what the Media reports about.
eure meere stinken nach tote flüchtlinge

18 refugees crosed the sea between Turkey and Greece with a Boat. The sea was very stormy tonight. The boat crashed against a rock and the boat drowned. Some fisherman rescued them, for eight people the rescue came to late.

Our source in Lesvos reported that some of the survivors are still in the hospital, the minors are accommodated in a Hotel in Mytilini, Lesvos and on Man is in Pagani. arif khani soldier survivor 27.10

My name is Arif Khani Soldier. My wife, my daughter and me survived the accident. My family is in the hospital but they brought me here to the prison. I can not see or talk to them.

Police repression in Pagani increasing

Unlike the Noborder Camp in Lesvos 2009, the revolts in the Detention Centre of Pagani have not stopped jet. Almost every day we are informed about new revolts and also about new discharges. Police Brutality is increasing in the same manner. The Greek newspaper ΕΛΕΥΘΒΡΟΤΥΠΙΑ (= Free Press) published an article today about one case of police brutality and bribery:

burned cell of minor refugees

A 17 old boy from Palestine was beaten up very badly three days ago in the Detention Centre of Pagani. That happend during the Revolt after the Vice Ministers visit. They did not stop hitting the refugee until he lost his consciousness. He was lying on the ground behind the Medical container for more then two hours. As it is known now, all 40 witnesses of the beating were among those released yesterday.
Since the beating the 17 old boy and five other prisoners are being brought daily to the Police station of Mytilini. They have to spent the whole day there, being interrogated and threatened over and over again.

For the time being they are back in their cell in Pagani. They are very frightened and thus announced that they will not leave their cell at all, only if the vice minister him self would come to escort them into freedom.

The Vice minister on his side declared his aim was to close down Pagani as fast as possible and that he expects the respnsables to submit a report about the events after his visit by the end of the week. NGOs like RED (Rights Equality and Diversity), the network Raxen and FRA are worried about the increasing police brutality against refugees and human rights activists in Greece.

Our faithful source in lesvos also reports about another development concerning the police repression in Pagani.
hands reaching for welcome to europe information

Activists who wanted to distribute leaflets containing Information about legal rights of refugees and aslyum assistance serives in Europe, were hindered by the police. The police forbid the the contribution of flyers, talking to the underage or other imprisoned refugees and even standing in front of Pagani.

Good news followed by bad news

Some 200 people where released from Pagani today. While those at the harbour are missing their ferry, another revolt started in pagani.

We will give everyday revolt to you to come here!

After yesterdays good news about the release of 100 prisoners, we discovered there is also a bad one. They where brought to the harbour a little to late, as a consequence they missed the ferry and had to spent the night in the harbour. What seemed like a coincidences yesterday was continued today. 200 people where released from the detention center of Pagani. Again to late so they will also have to spent the night outside. The release papers are supossed to legalize them for 30 days, the problem is that most of the papers are predated 10 days. Altogeher it is far away from justice.
day at the beach!?
Another incredible news has reached us today.

All the witnesses from the police brutality where kindly released today. That implicates that there will be no one left to witness. A coincidence?

plenum nach dem sturm

There was also another revolt in Pagani. Yesterday one of the cells was on fire, today another cell burned. The underage refugees are very angry. Since along time, no minors where released. One of them was injured during the fire and he was not brought to the doctor.

There is a rumor inside Pagani that it will be closed down on Wednesday, maybe because all of the cells are destroyed.

"Welcome Centre"

This was found in a newspaper from Lesvos called “EMPROS”. It shows a situation in the, so called “Welcome Centre”, the detention centre in Pagani.

Welcome Centre: Have you booked? I`m sorry we are full.

Last sunday in the harbour

A lot of police and military, was all around the harbour. In the closed part of the harbour a normal ferry had been landed.  Then the travellers were let into the ship after getting controlled very well.

Suddenly the police seemed to be nervous.  Then a public bus came around the corner. It was obviously that they were transporting refugees. The refugees were screaming “FREEDOM” out loud and waved to the people making the peace sign. The fence was opened and the bus drove throw,they parked him in front of the belly and putted their medical masks and gloves on. They brought the refugees into the belly, which is actually the parking area.

900 people detained in Pagani

On the ship, you are traveling, refugees are beeing doported against their free will.  Refugees what are one the way to be deported, are held in handcuffs. Beeing deported bevor having the chance to express their wish for asylum.  You can do something against it. Talk with the captain, talk to the company. Show loud and clear that you disagree. Smash Borders, now!New refugees are arriving in Mytilini every day. Currently 900 people are inside the “welcome center” (= detention centre) Pagani. The intended capacity of the prison is 250 people. Since the new act from June 2009, the refugees are held inside Pagani for at least 6 month. The only “way” to get out of the prison is to be deported. Because the prison is that crowded, a deportation is expected this weekend.

20 min past midnight

Frontex boat leaves Mytilini habor, fast and almost without light. Only one dim little light signalizes the present of the boat.

frontex 2-30.07

Forty min after midnight

As the night passes by, while the Ouzu circulates and the people are celebrating, the greek coast guard is sneaking out of the harbour: a ghost ship, leaving like criminals. Two hours before, the Frontex ship left fully illuminated. You might call it a role play: Europe having a clean slate and Greece…

The rise of anti-migration discourse in Greece

Background information on the rise of anti migration discourse in Greece in the context of the forthcoming bordercamp in Lesvos.
A personal report from K.

Since the beginning of the campaign for the European elections, there was an evident effort to bring to the forefront the question of migration as a security threat. First, it begun with scattered reports in the free press about Greek trendy multicultural bars and restaurants closing down because of rising health ang hyigene hazards in areas with large migrant populations in the centre of Athens. It then turned into a more serious preoccupation with the “downgrading of historical centre of Athens” because of rising numbers of migrants – in particularly Muslim ones. This contributed to the rising popularity of the extreme right-wing group Chrisi Avgi in certain regions of Athens like Agios Padeleiomonas, where a committee of concerned citizens closed down even the local play ground because “there were too many mothers in scarfs there”. In several regions of West Athens the systematic violent racist attacks against Paksitani migrants by neo-Nazi groups have intensified. Police “scooping operations” have become an everyday occurence. In addition the municipal and national police all over Greece have engaged into a not so new project of systemactially terrorizing migrant petty traders, treating them violently, arresting and imprisoning them, and confiscating their goods.

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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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