By Connie Hong
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
ATHENS, Greece – Over the weekend, Greece has detained over 6,000 people in an effort to purge the country of illegal immigrants. While most of the detainees were eventually released, more than 1,600 of those arrested are scheduled to be deported.
The crackdown on illegal immigrants comes as a response to the country’s economic crisis and high unemployment rates. Public Order Minister, Nikos Dendias, defended the operation, stating that Greece could not afford an “invasion of immigrants.”
Dendias blamed Greece’s lax immigration policies for the country’s financial deterioration. He claims that immigrants have brought Greece “to the brink of collapse,” and likened their entry into the country to the Dorian invasion that occurred roughly 3,000 years ago.
Many illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa have sought entry into Europe through Greece. Out of a population of 10 million, over 1 million currently residing in the country are immigrants. Statistics show that Greece houses about 800,000 legally-registered immigrants; the remaining 350,000 immigrants are undocumented.
During the past weekend, officers across the city were seen performing identification checks, stopping mainly people of Asian and African descent. While most people were only briefly detained, more than 1,600 were arrested and sent to either police academy buildings in northern Greece, which are closed for the summer, or a detention center outside Athens. 88 of those arrested have been sent back to Pakistan this past Sunday.
Dendias claimed that by the end of the year, Greece will be able to detain up to 10,000 people. Those arrested, he stated, will be deported after being held temporarily.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern that people from war-torn countries and genuine asylum-seekers could be denied the right of protection in the midst of the crackdown.
Associate protection officer at the UNHCR office in Athens, Petros Mastakas, believes that Greece has the right to remove illegal immigrants, but must proceed carefully in order to ensure that vulnerable groups receive the protection they need.
“People who truly need protection must be able to request it,” said Mastakas, adding that “It is very difficult, practically impossible, for asylum seekers to apply for protected status, and we are concerned that among those arrested there may be people who want protection but were unable to submit their requests because access to the relevant authorities is practically impossible.”
Recently, Greek authorities have decided to increase the number of guards stationed along the Greek-Turkey border from 600 to 1,800 in order to prevent entry to those seeking refuge from the conflict in Syria.
For further information, please see:
ABC News — Greece: 6,000 Detained During Raids on Immigrants — 6 August 2012
BBC News — Greece to deport 1,600 immigrants arrested in Athens — 6 August 2012
Global Post — Greece detains 6,000 suspected illegal immigrants in raid, plans to deport 1,600 — 6 August 2012
Philippine News — Bankrupt Greece deports illegal immigrants — 6 August 2012
