Credit: Lydia Emmanouilidou/The World
The dilemma of helping - should we stay, or should we go?
Moria on the Aegean island Lesbos was the largest refugee camp in Europe until it burnt down on the night of September 8th. The refugees there have since been relocated to a new camp, 4 km away, known as "Moria 2.0", "an even worse camp", according to Samba (26) who has lived in both. Moria was and remains one of five Greek “hotspots” planned and funded in 2015 by the European Commission and implemented by the Greek government. These camps, on the European border were designed to “inject greater order into migration management"[1]. Their dehumanizing effect quickly became obvious and Moria has become a symbol of the officially unspoken European deterrence policy.
Set up by the Greek authorities, with the help of NGOs, Moria 2.0 provides no showers and no protection from the autumn storms, which have already destroyed 80 tents[2]. People are hungry, receiving food only once a day. Most refugees sleep on pallets, some sleep on the ground. At the local supermarkets there are two queues: One for tourists and local people and another for refugees who are seldomly asked their name, most often they must show their “Ausweis” (ID) and their identification number.
DRAFTJS_BLOCK_KEY:cbubiGreece is pursuing a double strategy. On one hand, showing that Europe is trying its best, with help from NGOS, to improve the refugees’ situation. On the other hand, upholding Europe's political agenda, by sending a deterrent message to potential immigrants. European Council President, Charles Michel, stressed this double mission after his visit to the Greek-Turkish border in March, 2020: "We trust [Greece] because we know even if the task is very difficult, very complex, that it’s very important as Europeans to protect our borders and at the same time to show respect for international law and for human rights."[3] Similarly, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen underlined, after the camp in Moria burnt down, that "European values are not for sale. We will take a human and humane approach. We must always call out human rights abuses whenever and wherever they occur".[4] But also, she is thankful to Greece for being the "shield of Europe"[5]. This includes practices that are illegal according to international law, such as pushing back immigrants (both Greek authorities and FRONTEX do this[6]), and “anti-shelter” refugee camps, "designed to deter future asylum seekers", notes researcher Daniel Howden, editor of Lighthouse reports.[7]
"Humanitarian aid is instrumentalized"
The EU would never admit the camps are designed to deter and condemns bad conditions.[8] Deterrence is in fact not a word used by officials who prefer to talk about “avoiding pull factors”, which is exactly the same. To quote foreign policy spokesperson of leading German CDU/CSU party, Jürgen Hardt: "If, with the Greek government we got the people off the islands and brought them to Europe, I am sure the camps would soon be full again. We would trigger a "pull effect". We would send the wrong signals to the refugees."[9] In this double strategy, "humanitarian aid is instrumentalized", remarks Jerome Oberreit, International Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières. “Deterrence policies sold to the public as humanitarian solutions have only exacerbated the suffering of people in need. There is nothing remotely humanitarian about these policies. They cannot become the norm and must be challenged."[10]
Not all NGOs working in the Lesbos refugee camp seem to understand how they are part of this instrumentalization. There is discussion among NGOs about whether or not their involvement is or should be politically neutral. Many would prefer to be considered neutral, stating they "don’t want to do politics on the backs of refugees, who are already suffering." This unfortunately seems impossible. By satisfying basic human needs (e.g. healthcare, water supply etc.), NGOs to a certain extent legitimize government inaction, despite the fact that Governments, not NGOs, are legally and politically accountable if human rights are not guaranteed. In his book about refugee camps and humanitarian aid "Managing the undesirables", ethnologist and anthropologist Michel Agier, describes a symbiosis between "the hand that cares" and the "hand that strikes", resulting in a "care designed to control".
NGO involvement on Lesbos implicitly validates or at least normalizes the way refugees are treated, if only by complying with Greek camp management when deciding who gets what, which social programs should be in place, who is considered vulnerable and more recently which measures to take against COVID-19. Willem von der Havel, a Doctor who used to work for a medical NGO on Lesbos, is very frustrated by this: “I think people in the camp are suffering way more from the consequences of COVID-19 prevention measures - less healthcare and psychosocial support - than they would from the virus itself. They are a relatively young population and most of the high-risk patients have already been evacuated. COVID-19 feels like a pretext to limit what freedom the refugees have. And we are part of this, applying the strictest measures possible to be able to keep working in the camp.”
Creating an illusion
After the fire at Moria, many refugees held protests, demanding to be evacuated from Lesbos. Almost all of them were 'tent-less' and had to live on the streets without food, water or medical care. While politicians debated if and how many people should be evacuated, work on a new camp rapidly began.
"The Greek authorities knew they could rely on us. They offered a table full of small humanitarian tasks on which most NGOs directly pounced to get a ‘piece of the cake’. Everyone was afraid of missing out and getting nothing. Each was certain to be replaced if they criticized the authorities. Had the NGOs used the collective leverage they have gained from providing essential services, such as healthcare, water management and education - even providing printing paper for the police local station - they could have had a greater say on the conditions in which they accepted to work there. Instead, by accepting whatever was ‘offered’ they actively helped Greek authorities create the current even more deterring situation", criticizes Dan Teuma, Director Programming of "Better Days". We should remember we’re in a European democracy and therefore take a stronger stand against policies that are detrimental to the people we are supposed to be helping", notes Kim Verschueren, who volunteered as a doctor for one of the organizations.
Instead, Refugee for Refugees immediately chartered a helicopter to transport its volunteers to the new campsite and build the first tents. Boats Refugee Foundation (BRF) started a fundraising campaign which showed doctors operating from two cars transformed into a mobile clinic. Their first and only shift lasted less than three hours and created a lot of frustration among refugees who had waited for a long time, and mostly were just given paracetamol in the end. When the organization tried to help refugees in the following days, they were refused access by Greek police. Instead of publicly criticizing the authorities for hindering their work, BRF communicated only on the help they had provided and thus took part in creating an illusion.
This is a rather common effect of NGO fundraising campaigns. Along with a psychological phenomenon known as “Webers Pool of Worry” - whereby our limited capacity to worry leads us to stop worrying about a given subject once a first step in the right direction has been taken - this creates a dangerous mix. The same phenomenon also explains why NGO fundraising campaigns have to compete so hard for donors’ attention. This in turn can draw attention away from challenging socio-economic and political injustice in Europe’s migration policy. NGOs offer donors a simplistic first step to stop worrying: donate. Which raises another issue: Are the refugees always the main beneficiaries of the fundraising campaigns? The president of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) was paid $1 million plus $50.000 housing allowance in 2019, from the charity that is on Lesbos to meet the "basic needs" of refugees. The focus sometimes seems to be elsewhere then refugees. [11]
Do something rather than nothing
Sociologist Thomas Gebauer points out that "When legal claims are no longer guaranteed by public institutions, people are dependent on the good will of charitable institutions and private benefactors". NGO staff in Lesbos often express concern about refugees having no help if the government were left to deal with them alone. To prove this point, other Greek ‘hotspots’, with less NGOs, such as Samos, are often given as examples. But Zahra, who lived in Moria and now works in Samos for Médecins sans Frontiers (MSF), explains that since Samos is a less “institutionalized” hotspot than Moria, asylum applications are in fact handled much faster than on Lesbos. The issue may be what help refugees need most? To stay stuck in relatively well-organized camps, or the possibility to settle where they could rebuild their lives.
Bianca (44) used to work in a small clinic in Moria as a Nurse. She has a long experience in humanitarian work, including volunteering on a rescue ship in the Mediterranean. She left her mission in Moria sooner than planned, because she no longer felt useful.
"Some people reassure themselves saying that at least they can give people a warm smile and listen to them. I used to feel the same. But the longer I worked with refugees, the more I changed my view. It doesn't help people who come to our ‘clinic’, understandably expecting solutions to their problems, if you say ‘sorry we can't help you, we don't have the equipment or the government won’t let us do our work properly, but here is a warm smile’. Some smile back, but I think often only because they are incredibly polite. Some react with frustration and anger. Considering it is nice for the refugees if ‘someone takes the time to listen to them’ is the same. I am quite sure many would not have told me their tales of woe and sometimes horror stories if they had known I would do nothing for them. It neither eases their pain, if you are not a trained psychologist, nor does it change the inhuman conditions they are living in. It's not better than nothing. In the end it is nothing.”
Non-governmental organizations work with a lot of motivation, independence and flexibility, which are huge advantages compared to governmental players in the field. As every functioning democracy is based on a strong sense of civil courage, NGOs can be an expression of active citizens responding to the specific need of refugees on Lesbos. Their independence from governments allows them to be witnesses of political mismanagement and human rights violations by Greece and Europe. But if NGOs narrowly follow their own agenda to help, without paying enough attention to the refugees' agency, and without being self-critical or honest about the potentially negative impact of their work, chances are their projects risk creating increased dependency in the long run. Asked whether NGOs should stay or go, Samba’s opinion is "If you came to help, leave! If you are here to fight with us, stay!"
[1]https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/556942/IPOL_STU(2016)556942_EN.pdf
[2] https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/10/09/kara-tepe-camp-lesvos-flooded/
[3] https://primeminister.gr/en/2020/03/03/23458
[4] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_20_1655
[5] https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/03/greece-migrant-crisis-is-an-attack-by-turkey-on-the-eu-austria
[6] https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/eu-border-agency-frontex-complicit-in-greek-refugee-pushback-campaign-a-4b6cba29-35a3-4d8c-a49f-a12daad450d7
[7] D. Howden: ‘Moria: Anti-shelter and the Spectacle of Deterrence ', in T. Scott-Smith and M. E. Breeze (eds.), Structures of Protection? Rethinking Refugee Shelter,Forced Migration Book 39, New York, Berghahn Books, 2020
[8] “The Commission has made the funding available to ensure appropriate accommodation for all. However, the Commission cannot order the creation or expansion of reception capacity, against the opposition of the competent authorities,” comments Maarten Verwey, EU’s special envoy on migration
[9] https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video/sendungen/die-story/video-moria-wo-europa-versagt-100.html
[10] https://msf.lu/fr/node/893
[11] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8900805/Labour-Foreign-Secretary-David-rakes-1-million-year-mega-salary.html
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