Greece: “Fed by politicians, civilians are chasing asylum seekers” Another airstrike in Sudan: at least 40 dead

You are in Athens. How badly is the capital affected by extreme weather conditions?
Liska Bernet: Extreme weather conditions also have Athens firmly under control. Almost every summer, clouds of smoke rise into the sky. Three years ago we even had ashes on our balcony. The fires happen again and again, but not as extreme as this year. There were also serious floods here at the beginning of this month. Entire streets are flooded. During heavy rainfall, the water has nowhere to drain; the city is simply not designed for it. Many people can no longer leave their homes or have lost their belongings.

What impact does the extreme weather have on people who want to escape?
This summer’s wildfires destroyed an area larger than New York City. 90 percent of this area is located in the Evros region, in the border area between Greece and Turkey. The place is a hotspot for asylum seekers. Twenty charred bodies, including two children, were found in the forests of this region. These were asylum seekers who did not dare to seek safety.

Why?
People hid deep in the woods because they were afraid of being deported. The region is known for illegal pushbacks. Greek police and army intercept asylum seekers to send them back to Turkey so they cannot apply for asylum in Europe. The pushback actions take place in secret almost every day and are usually accompanied by a lot of violence. This means that people have to put themselves in increasingly life-threatening situations in order to apply for asylum. When deaths occurred due to the forest fires, people probably did not dare to seek help in the nearest village – for fear of illegal misfortunes.

At the same time, asylum seekers have been accused of arson – without any evidence, local media reported.
The government has been heavily criticized for investing too little in infrastructure to fight the fires. The warnings came days before the fire broke out. To divert attention from systemic and political errors, asylum seekers are repeatedly scapegoated. This has led to worrying developments: fueled by calls from politicians, citizens started looking for asylum seekers to arrest and ultimately deport them from the country. Videos on social media show asylum seekers being arrested and sometimes tortured. This is despite the fact that the government has confirmed that the fires were most likely caused by lightning.

Doesn’t this kind of quirkiness and the extreme weather conditions further deter those seeking protection from migrating to Greece?
No. Extreme weather conditions, dangerous situations and deaths do not deter asylum seekers. On the contrary: people are choosing increasingly dangerous routes to exercise their right to asylum. This is because borders are increasingly monitored and the border regime in Europe has expanded enormously over the past five years. This shows how desperate these people are. No one would risk his life and that of his family if he were not in such a hopeless situation.

What impact do extreme weather events have on people living in refugee camps? Are they defenseless against the weather?
We support people living in state camps, including the camp on Kos, which houses approximately 2,000 people. This is a heavily secured camp with double barbed wire and a surveillance system. People there live in so-called isoboxes. There are bunk beds and a bathroom for up to 12 people. In most camps the infrastructure is very poor. In the summer we keep receiving reports that the air conditioning is not working. At temperatures up to 40 degrees this can be life-threatening. There are no shade areas or room to move in the camps anyway; the boxes are lined up next to each other and are in the middle of nowhere. Because the facilities are not built properly, flooding or power outages often occur when it rains. In any case, basic needs are not being met in the camps. People are not given a pillow, blanket or cleaning products.

How does the extreme weather affect your work?
That’s very different. We have air conditioning in our center in Athens. Many women and children spend the whole day with us in the summer to cool off. They find it difficult to leave the center at night because they cannot sleep due to the heat and cannot afford their own air conditioning. We experience the same thing in winter. People come to us to warm up. Extreme weather conditions such as heat and flooding also make our support work more difficult. Independent non-governmental organizations no longer have access to the remote camps. Refugees must look for support themselves.

How would you describe that?
The refugees are accommodated in the reception centers until their asylum application has been processed. The process can take months or just weeks. But now that the camps are so overcrowded, this process will take several months. They receive no support in the state camps in the hotspot areas of Samos, Lesbos, Kos, Chios and Leros. Outside the camps there are NGOs that provide support, including legal aid, medical care or very basic things such as language courses and integration support. On Kos, where we support people, asylum seekers have to take a bus to reach us. The return journey costs five euros. A refugee receives 75 euros per month during the asylum procedure. This also means that people cannot afford to constantly cool down with us in extreme heat. As soon as people receive a positive decision on an asylum application, people lose their place to sleep – and also the financial support to meet their basic needs.

Are asylum seekers also affected by the current floods?
Not many asylum seekers live in the flooded areas. Yet they are indirectly affected by the consequences. A refugee camp will now be evacuated so that locals who lost their homes due to the floods can find shelter there. People are very afraid of being displaced and separated from their families.