“We have told to the Greek police in any words we could, that we are in danger in our country and we asked for protection. They had mistreated us and detained us for two days. We were not allowed to communicate with anyone. We were in their mercy. Early in the morning they took us by force and firing shots in the air… they forced us to cross the river back to Turkey. I had my little girl with me”
A.X., woman refugee, who has been refouled by Greek authorities and today is detained in a detention center in Edirne, Turkey.

The area of Evros is a war zone: army, border police, police, detention camps, border surveillance with technologically advanced means, and also deaths, amputations, injuries in both the river and the mine fields.

But who are the “enemies”?
Men, women and children, who had to leave their countries because their lives and freedom were in danger, victims of political persecution, wars, civil wars, “humanitarian” interventions, poverty. They arrive in Greece claiming what is self-evident: life, freedom, dignity. Is this a crime?

The usual and invariable practice of Greek authorities is to arrest refugees, who arrive at the Greek territory, keep them secretly in detention centers (without any records), without any contact with the outside world and then they deport them illegally and by force to Turkey, a country where the basic human rights and freedoms are violated and there is no protection whatsoever for refugees.

Those that are not deported are detained either in border detention centers or in detention camps (usually ex-warehouses) without getting informed by the authorities about the reason of their detention or their rights and without even having the right to inform anyone where they are detained or that they have been detained. Detention incommunicado leaves them to the mercy of their guards. Beatings are regular, while torture of detainees is also reported. Detention conditions are very bad and in only a few cases detainees see the daylight during the three month-long detention. Many of them are deported back to Turkey in violation of international legal texts (A protocol of readmission between Turkey and Greece has been signed in 2002 based on an antiterrorist agreement between the two countries (2001), which allows the deportation to Turkey of third-country nationals, who have crossed the Turkish-Greek border).

The very limited number of them who succeed to access the asylum procedure (denial of Greek police to accept asylum applications) see their applications rejected following an accelerated process and without basic safeguards being respected, while they continue to be kept in detention. Greece is obliged, according to national and international law, to protect refugees, but prefers to be “protected” by them instead, denying them any kind of protection.

The Greek government, both violating its legal-binding obligations regarding the rights of refugees and ignoring relevant complaints by antiracist and human-rights organizations, builds new prisons-camps in border areas, instead of setting-up new refugee reception and protection infrastructure, open to society.
A new detention camp is about to be inaugurated in the remote village Filakio in the prefecture of Orestiada, a prison for migrants with double barbed-wire fence and cameras in internal and external areas. In such a camp no human rights will be respected and the refugees will be kept in detention without any contact with the outside world. Instead of setting-up social support structures for refugees, Greek authorities respond with ever-growing social exclusion, repression and criminalization measures.

All of us are against the new detention camps intended for people that have committed no crime other than crossing the border “without papers”.

The new detention camps are a tangible proof of the undeclared war which “informally” rages along Greek borders. They constitute the symbol of a regime in which the foreigner, the migrant, the refugee becomes the “enemy” who has to be kept away from society and be punished for the sole fact that he/she is a refugee.

The detention of human beings who have not committed any crime cannot be accepted. The Greek government breaks the law. Society keeps silent.
In this undeclared war we all have to show our active solidarity to the refugees.

We invite you all to the following actions:

May 18th, 2007, at 19.00: Open discussion in Alexandroupolis.
May 19th, 2007, at 11.00: Demonstration in front of the new-built detention camp in Filakio, Orestiada.
May 19th, 2007, at 19.00: Open discussion in Komotini.

We demand:
- Closure of all detention camps.
- Stop deportations.
- End detention incommunicado. Free access of groupings and organizations into the detention camps.
- Stop beatings and torture of detainees.
- Protect refugees who enter Greek territory.
- Stop detention of asylum seekers.
- Set-up reception infrastructure open to society.
- Grant asylum to refugees.

No one is illegal
Open borders for refugees
Shut down detention camps

Thessaloniki-Larissa Antiracist Initiative, Social Support Network Refugees and Immigrants Athens-Volos, Solidarity Committee for refugees - Chios, Social Center – Migrants’ Center - Chania, Naftilos In Action - Mytelene, Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees - Athens, Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees - Thessaloniki, Immigrants’ Center - Rethymno, Association for Human Rights-Solidarity to Refugees - Samos, Coordinating Group of Antiracist, Immigrants’ and Social Organizations and Citizens - Volos, Turkish Minority Movement for Human and Minority Rights.

For more information please contact  openborders@lists.riseup.net