Katie Kuschminder

Migration Research & Policy

  • Home
  • About
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Events
  • Media
  • Teaching
You are here: Home / Blog Article / Migrants Arriving in Athens: No Reception and No Place to Go
Migrants Arriving in Athens: No Reception and No Place to Go

Migrants Arriving in Athens: No Reception and No Place to Go

15 July, 2015 By Katie Kuschminder

Greece has received unprecedented migrant arrivals over the past few years, being at the frontline of entry into the European Union. The EU’s Frontex agency has just released new figures showing that the Turkey-Greece border has again become the primary mode of entry into the EU, writes Dr. Katie Kuschminder.

It’s well-known that Greece has received unprecedented migrant arrivals at its borders over the past few years being at the frontline of entry into the European Union. Frontex has recently released new figures showing that the Turkey-Greece border has once again become the primary mode of entry into the EU. In May 2015, I interviewed several migrants, including recent arrivals to Athens on their experiences, future plans, and aspirations as part of the Irregular Migrant Decision Making Factors in Transit project that has been funded by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection and The Australian National University’s Collaborative Research Programme on the International Movement of People. Most of these migrants had arrived in Greece on the eastern islands and after spending between one to three days in reception there on the islands, they were transferred to Athens.

Although there are no official statistics, Athens receives multiple arrivals daily. People are arriving from the islands, the north via land routes, and in May, the government was releasing people from detention centers who also came to Athens. Based on Greek law, the authorities should take measures to provide accommodation and reception to asylum seekers. However, according to the Greek Refugee Council in 2014 there were only 1,160 asylum reception places in all of Greece. Most of these facilities are run by NGOs often with specific mandates for unaccompanied minors or families. The most recent figures from Frontex show that this year already 50,000 migrants have crossed into Greece. Clearly, these are not all asylum seekers; however, the gap between reception facilities and migrants seeking asylum is significant.

While in Athens, I visited one of the largest reception centers in Lavrion that’s run by the Red Cross. According to sources at the center, the Red Cross staff at the facility haven’t been paid in over a year, illustrating the financial difficulties that they’re facing. The migrants at the center weren’t satisfied with the conditions, particularly because they didn’t receive assistance for health care. Most commonly migrants either receive funds from abroad or pool money between families to pay for medical services when someone is ill or injured. Further, the center was operating at overcapacity. People in need that arrive at the center were accommodated by the migrants with multiple families sharing one room. Despite these frustrations, these migrants were fortunate to have accommodation and regular access to food.

The services available for asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants with temporary protection in Greece are strikingly different from other European countries. It’s not surprising that in a country experiencing one of the most critical economic crises in the world, there is limited ability to provide government services to asylum seekers and refugees. Whereas an asylum seeker in a country such as Germany, the Netherlands, or Switzerland would receive accommodation and three daily meals at reception centers, asylum seekers in Greece are left to their own devices. Similarly, refugees and those with temporary protection in other European countries would be entitled to social benefits, but in Greece it’s simply not possible for the government to make such provisions.

As a result, migrants with access to resources reside in hotels or irregular hostels (apartments or hotels where beds are rented to migrants by the night for a cost often as low as €3). The more fortunate are able to get an apartment, whereas the less fortunate are sleeping on the street. NGOs struggle to provide services such as food and accommodation to people in need but aren’t able to reach all of the arrivals. Asylum seekers express frustration at the lack of support and services that they receive. People are clearly struggling for their basic necessities and finding their way in Athens. Within this context, it’s understandable that most migrants don’t want to stay in Greece and are trying any options they can to migrate onwards in Europe. There is also clearly a need for more equitable distribution or further support for frontline countries in hosting asylum seekers in the EU.

Note: The Irregular Migrant Decision Making Factors in Transit project has been funded by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection and The Australian National University’s Collaborative Research Programme on the International Movement of People. The views expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The results of the study are expected in 2016.

Note: This post was first published on the Border Criminologies blog, University of Oxford (15/7/2015) and subsequently on the UNU-MERIT  Migration and Development Research Group Migration News blog.

Media Credits:

  • Flickr / UNHCR

Filed Under: Blog Article, Research Tagged With: European Union, Greece, Refugees

Katie Kuschminder (PhD) is an Assistant Professor at Maastricht Graduate School of Governance/ UNU-Merit. Read More…

Recent Posts

  • Decision Making on the Balkan Route and the EU Turkey Statement
  • Video: Crimes Against Humanity in Libya
  • IOM/ UN Migration Agency Workshop on Migration Data
  • Article: Smuggling, Trafficking, and Extortion: New Conceptual and Policy Challenges on the Libyan Route to Europe
  • Book Chapter: Syrian Unaccompanied Minors Journeys to Germany and initial experiences upon arrival

Archives

  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • January 2015
  • September 2014
  • January 2014

Links

United Nations University-MERIT
UNU Migration Network
Maastricht University

Tags

Afghanistan asylum Austria AVR Border Controls Decision Making destinations development Diaspora DocFest EMN Ethiopia Europe European Union Fences Greece Hungary IOM IRMA irregular Irregular Migration Italy Lecture Maastricht Media Mediterranean migrants Migration myths Netherlands policy Refugees reintegration Research Return return migration Sustainable Return Syria The Netherlands trainings transit trends Turkey UNHCR WUN

Categories

  • Blog Article
  • Events
  • Media
  • Publications
  • Research
© 2019 Katie Kuschminder