77 - Life on the Islands: Prison in Paradise

 2024 No 77

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there...

…when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail.
—Genesis 39:1, 19-20

Introduction

It isn't easy to imagine Joseph's emotions as he was being carried away. It was true that he had made some bad choices… but he never expected that he would be sold by his brothers. It could have been worse. They actually had wanted to kill him! The sense of betrayal must have been profound. Then, when he arrived in Egypt, he was sold like a piece of property. He was a human being, raised in a God-fearing family, at the prime of his life… and now he was a slave. As if things could not get any worse, he was unjustly accused and ultimately thrown into prison. Nothing about this was fair.

When we share the story of Joseph with African migrants in the Greek islands, there is always a sense of identification. There is little about the detention camps that match what these young men and women anticipated. They came from middle-class families, had the resources to arrive in Turkey, and had the ability to buy a seat in the boat. Like Joseph, the pride of their youth had led to some bad choices. Never in their wildest dreams, however, did they imagine that they would fall victim to smugglers and then become imprisoned in a horrendous political minefield.

In the early days of the Arab Spring, the Aegean islands served as a transition zone from Turkey to Greece and then northern Europe. They lie only a few miles off the Turkish coastline in the Aegean Sea but are officially a part of the European Union. One's time on an island was short, often only a few days. As the crisis progressed, however, Europe would press for Greece to begin limiting the flows. Greece found they could slow the transfers from the islands to Athens… but the influx of boats from Turkey continued. Processing centers soon became holding centers. Those centers on the Greek islands, such as Moria on Lesvos, were beginning to resemble refugee camps.

Imagine fifteen thousand people squeezed into a space designed for only three thousand. Individuals and families live in crowded temporary shelters, many under makeshift tents. Sanitation is woefully inadequate, clean water and proper nutrition are absent, and security is weak. The ethnic and religious diversity divides the camp into segments... with violence and sexual assault rampant.¹ Arrival in a place like this is traumatic when it is for only a few days. Try to imagine living here for months… or years.

And yet, there is hope. In the same way that God was in the prison with Joseph, God is also on the Greek islands with the migrants. In our post today, I hope to give you an image of what that looks like.

The Islands

The Aegean Sea is home to over 1,400 islands, mostly under Greek jurisdiction.² Five of those islands are in close proximity to Turkey and are large enough to have reception centers to process asylum applications.³ These Islands are Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Leros, and Kos. Some are so close that one can imagine they could be accessed by a good swimmer or someone with a raft. This is what makes them such an easy sell for the smugglers… and what makes them so dangerous. Across the years, wind, waves, and cold water have caused the deaths of untold thousands of hopeful migrants. In 2023, there were over 75,000 migrants who attempted to cross over to the Greek islands. Half would be pushed back into Turkey or be lost at sea.³ Nearly fifty thousand would arrive and were fortunate… at least in certain respects.⁴ And yet, most are incredibly disappointed to discover what their ticket actually bought them. A brief description of the primary islands is needed to understand where they landed.

Lesvos is a large island, with an area of 630 square miles and nearly 250 miles of coastline. It is only 18 miles from Turkey, separated by the Mytilini Strait. The hills of Anatolia protect its northern and eastern shores, making it easy for boats to cross. The Turkish shoreline is dotted with fishing villages, with easy access to both Istanbul and Izmir. In the early days, the crossings were simple, often facilitated by fishermen eager to make extra money. Today they are heavily patrolled by the Turkish Coast Guard.

At the beginning of the refugee crisis, Lesvos had easy access to the international community via its airport, meaning it was often in the news. Stories from the beaches were common in 2015-16 when some two thousand people arrived daily. As the migrant population grew in the following years, Camp Moria became the image of the Eastern Mediterranean Route and the center of attention of human rights organizations. A large fire devastated the camp in 2020, leaving most without shelter until a new, controlled access camp could be built. 

Samos has an area of 184 square miles and a coastline of 98 miles. It is roughly 150 miles south of Lesvos and is separated from Turkey by the Mycale Strait (which is only a mile wide). It has a population of approximately 34,000 people. Like Lesvos above, Samos was a "hotspot" during the height of the European migration crisis. Protected from the winds and currents of the Aegean Sea and only a mile off the coast of Turkey, this was a prime point of crossing. After the EU-Turkey Statement of 2016, Turkey increased patrols in the narrow straight, and the number of boats diminished rapidly.⁵

Boats to Samos must now launch further north, increasing the distance to nearly ten miles. Located south of Izmir, the launch zones are also closely monitored by the Turkish Coast Guard. The political climate has changed again in the past few months, and there has been a new influx of migrants. In March 2023, the reception center on Samos held 875 migrants. By the end of the year, the population had exploded to well over 4,000.⁶

Chios is a mountainous island with an area of 325 square miles. It is situated between Lesvos and Samos and can be viewed from Turkey across the strait that bears its name. That distance is less than 3.5 miles… but these waters are unprotected with strong winds and currents. This makes the crossing much more complex and inherently more dangerous. Rugged cliffs define sections of the 140 miles of coastline, making it challenging to access by migrants crossing by boat. Difficult, but not impossible. In 2015, the island hosted 113,000 refugees.⁷ In those days, they were transferred to the mainland quickly. Today, the numbers are much smaller, and those who arrive must stay in a reception center that can only accommodate a thousand residents.

Leros is an island south of Samos and some 20 miles from Turkey. It is small and isolated at only 21 square miles and has a coastline of 41 miles. The history of Leros is also sordid. Between 1958 and 1995, the island was home to one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in Europe.⁸ As word of inhumane treatment emerged, the asylum was closed. The hospital was a significant part of the island's economy, hit even harder with the recession of 2008. They were ill-equipped to manage the movements of refugees just a few years later.

The number of migrants who passed through Leros in the past was staggering, considering its size. In 2016, there were some 1,500 daily arrivals. Most stayed at the now abandoned hospital. Things have changed somewhat. In October of 2023, the camp's population stood at about 2,600.⁹ Even still, that represents over one-fifth of the island’s total population.

Kos is another of the large Aegean islands, with a land mass of 110 square miles and hosting 70 miles of coastline. Turkish beaches are only twelve miles to the north, allowing for a relatively sheltered passage from both wind and waves. The island has a population of 37,000, of which only ten percent are foreign residents.¹⁰ In other words, they were country folks. They were unprepared for the influx of migrants in 2015. In four years, nearly 70,000 migrants arrived… 80% in the first year. The people of Kos were gracious and did everything within their ability to support the arriving refugees. It was indeed a remarkable effort. Over time, however, compassion was replaced by fatigue and frustration. A controlled access center has now been built, but it can only host a third of the nearly 6,000 migrants living on the island today.

From Hotspots to Controlled Access

More history of the European Union's response is required to understand the situation on the islands today. At the beginning of the crisis in 2015, hundreds of thousands of "refugees" passed from Turkey to Greece, through the Balkans, and into Northern Europe. EU border countries were overwhelmed and ill-prepared to manage the situation. In response, the European Commission developed what came to be known as a "Hotspot" approach.¹²

The establishment of "hotspots" provided a coordinated response from Frontex and other EU agencies at the Greek borders, particularly in the Aegean Sea. It mandated reception and registration centers on the above five islands. Their purpose was to identify and register all those who landed irregularly.¹³ In this scheme, migrants were to stay only a few days before being given a short residence permit. That would then allow for legal travel within the EU. These “hotspots” were merely a means to get people registered so they could move forward as quickly as possible. From the EU side, it meant that every entry was recorded and could subsequently be tracked.

As one can imagine, this approach was perceived outside the EU as an open-door policy, much like that experienced today by those approaching the Southern border of the United States. It was like a travel brochure, that advertised the benefits of coming. It sent a message that said, "if you come, we will take care of you." Not surprisingly, Turkey was more than happy to reduce its refugee population. Smugglers and fishermen were more than willing to sell seats in boats. It was profitable, but obviously not sustainable. That policy only lasted a year, but during that season, there were over a million entries into Europe. In a complete reversal, the EU-Turkey agreement of 2016 sought to regain control of the borders… at a cost of nearly 6 billion euros.¹⁴ But the price was more than that in other ways.

The EU-Turkey Deal had two immediate consequences. First, it incentivized Turkey to step up restrictions on movement. They had received the lion’s share of the money and were to use some of it to undergird their Coast Guard patrols. Consequently, the second half of 2016 saw dramatic reductions in the number of crossings. Second, it prevented migrants from transferring from the islands to the Greek mainland. Previous hotspots were to continue processing migrants, but they now became detention centers, charged with the return of anyone who could not pass as a refugee. Processing centers designed for short stays became long-term residences, and the number of residents quickly exceeded capacity.

By early 2020, over 25,000 migrants were being held on Lesvos alone, with a faculty that had a capacity of serving only 3,100 people. Tent cities were erected, and migrants inhabited any empty space or building on the islands. Living conditions were considered inhumane, crime rose dramatically, and protests were common. This author visited Camp Moria in 2019, and the residents described the conditions as a "living hell." That camp was finally burned down in protest in the fall of 2020. As one might imagine, this only made the situation worse.

On paper, the system of hotspot detention centers and Turkish payouts worked to reduce inflows, but the public pressure on the EU was intense, particularly regarding human rights violations. In an effort to keep the borders closed and make the centers more humane, the EU Taskforce on Migration Management created a pilot project of new "controlled centers" to replace the "hotspots." They authorized 117 million euros to construct camps on Samos, Leros, and Kos. Two other centers would then be built on Lesvos and Chios. These centers were different from the previous hotspots. Rather than being just processing centers, they were designed to house asylum seekers for the duration of their application process. In some cases, this could take years. Considering how and where they were constructed, they were also intended to remove the migrants from public view… especially the press.

These centers are indeed controlled, meaning that entrance and exit criteria are strict. They are surrounded by a double barbed wire fence, security cameras, guards in elevated positions, drone patrols, x-ray and metal detector searches, biometric scans, and restriction of movement after dark. Although residents are free to leave between 8 am and 8 pm, their isolation and distance from any city makes such movement very difficult.¹⁵ They are called Closed Controlled Access Centers (CCAC). Despite the public relations rhetoric, they are more like prisons than camps.¹⁶

Today, controlling migration into Greece appears to have a two-fold approach. The first is political. The effort seems to contain the migrants outside the EU by paying border countries, such as Turkey, to manage the problem. In September 2023, the EU signed a new agreement with Turkey at a cost of 781 million euros.¹⁸ The second is psychological. The goal also appears to be one of deterring migration. This includes illegal pushbacks and prison-like conditions for arrivals. It sends a message that the reality of CCACs is one of detention, with little hope of forward movement into Europe. The intended result is that word will get out, and fewer migrants will choose to spend their money to make the crossing. The strategy is working to some degree.

A Contemporary Illustration 

Unfortunately, these kinds of political solutions seldom have their desired effect. Turkey is more than willing to control departures… only at a price. Everything gets negotiated and has an expiration date. One agreement may require financial resources, another may require political concessions. Regardless of what is signed at an accord, smugglers and corrupt officials will still take migrant money, and the people will still come. In the case of EU deterrence, those systems can quickly be overrun. One may have a Closed and Controlled Access Center with two thousand beds in an isolated sector of an island. This works if Turkey prevents mass movements. But if six thousand migrants appear in short order… all of the original problems reappear.

In June 2023, an Italy-bound fishing boat departed from Libya with over 700 migrants on board. When they entered Greek waters, they were intercepted by the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG). What happened next is disputed, but in the end, the boat sank with the loss of all but 104 people. The public scrutiny and pressure on the HCG was intense, and the result was that they avoided any activity that would draw attention. What this meant was that they, in essence, stopped maritime patrols and pushbacks of migrants slipping through the Turkish Coast Guard. At this same time, Turkey seeking to renegotiate the above EU-Turkish Migration agreement. As such, they had strategically relaxed their border patrols, seeking to create an incentive for negotiating concessions.

Seizing the moment, smugglers sent thousands across the Aegean to the Greek islands. CCACs were instantly overwhelmed, and the Greek government was left with little to do except forward new arrivals to the mainland. As word of an increased success rate spread through the migrant populations in Turkey, thousands more sought to make the passage. Today, most islands are processing three times the number of migrants than their centers can contain. Due to sheer volume, few new arrivals will stay on the islands for long.

Such is a testimony to the nature of migration. People are on the move, and the ebbs and flows are often directed by circumstance, political winds, and availability of finance. Water always follows the path of least resistance and, when blocked, can create incredible pressure. It is just a matter of time before the dam breaks. The Greek islands are not a final destination for anyone. They are a place of transition, and the only question is for how long and to what degree of misery. As such, they are little more than prisons in paradise.

Conclusion

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. —Matthew 25:35-36

If you remember from our previous post, Adaego (Ada) and her two children, Favour and Blessing landed on a beach in Samos. They walked into a hotel and caught a ride to the Controlled Access Center. From there, they made their claim for asylum. Had they arrived three months earlier, they would have been processed and given a room to stay. They would have then waited for months, if not years, for their application to be processed. But because the center was packed, and she had vulnerable children, they were processed and moved to Athens within the week. She then secured an immigration attorney, and within a month, she was able to join her husband under a family reunification agreement with Germany. From her perspective, their trip was a success. That is undoubtedly what she posted on social media. She didn't know that within two weeks of her departure from Samos, things returned to normal.

The Greek Islands create unique opportunities to minister to migrants. In the early days of the crisis, most of the work was humanitarian, meaning there was little to do except provide food and medical care. The migrants were on the islands for a very short time. Today, however, many are present for much longer. The CCACs may be closed and controlled, but the migrants can still get out during the daytime. When that happens, they have the freedom of movement.

Solid Christian ministries are working on the islands to provide community centers where believers can gather. They provide open and free space, rather than the closed and confined spaces in the centers. They regularly offer food, internet, and, most importantly, Christian fellowship. Non-believers often come, simply because there is hope to be found. God is in these places and is working in a mighty way through His church and her people. Here, God touches the stranger… sold by their brothers…hungry, thirsty, cold, and sick… longing for better days.

¹ Rea Belanteri, Sven Hinderaker, and Ewan Wilkinson, "Sexual Violence Against Migrants and Asylum Seekers. The Experience of the MSF Clinic on Lesvos Island, Greece," PLoS-ONE 15 (2020).

² "Aegean Sea", New World Encyclopedia  https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Aegean_Sea (accessed January 6, 2024).

³ Remember that the goal of crossing the Aegean into Greek territories is so that the migrant can successfully process their asylum papers. It is only as refugees that they can gain full admittance to the EU. Even if they are not accepted, they believe they will be transported to the Greek mainland, and from there, they can make their way north.

⁴ UNHCR, "Mediterranean Situation: Greece", United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean/location/5179 (accessed January 6, 2024).

⁵ "EU-Turkey Statement, 18, March 2016", Council of the EU  https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18/eu-turkey-statement/pdf (accessed January 6, 2024).

⁶ "Samos", Refugee Support Aegean,  https://rsaegean.org/en/samos-2023/ (accessed January 6, 2024).

⁷ UNHCR, "Chios: Greek Island Battles Odds to Cope with Refugee Influx", United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees https://www.unhcr.org/news/news/chios-greek-island-battles-odds-cope-refugee-influx (accessed January 6, 2024).

⁸ "Migrant Camps Feel Strain of Fresh Influx", eKathimerini https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1223028/migrant-camps-feel-strain-of-fresh-influx/ (accessed January 6, 2024).

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ Kira Kaurinkoski, "Distinguishing Different Categories of Migrants, Refugees, and Muslims in the Aftermath of the 2015-2016 Refugee “Crisis.” the Case of the Island of Kos (Greece)," Balkanologie 18 (2023).

¹¹ Greek Council for Refugees, "Lesbos Bulletin Update on Lesbos and the Aegean Islands", Oxfam http://tiny.cc/tszsvz (accessed January 6, 2024).

¹² Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions: A European Agenda on Migration, (Brussels: European Commission, 2015), 6.

¹³ Josepha Close, "The EU Policy of Containment of Asylum Seekers at the Borders of Europe: (1) the Hotspot Approach,"  (International Law Blog, 2022.)

¹⁴ EU-Turkey Statement, 18, March 2016.

¹⁵ Josepha Close, "The EU Policy of Containment of Asylum Seekers at the Borders of Europe: (2) the Closed Controlled Access Centres,"  (International Law Blog, 2022.) See also "All I Want Is to Be Free and Leave: Life in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre", Samos Advocacy Collective https://reliefweb.int/report/greece/all-i-want-be-free-and-leave-life-samos-closed-controlled-access-centre (accessed January 6, 2024). And also Refugees.

¹⁶ While doing fieldwork on Samos, we were stopped and questioned for simply taking a photo of the camp.

¹⁷ This video is obviously biased towards the camp and the EU. Such would be the only explanation for the unparalleled access given to the reporters.

¹⁸ Miray Akdağ, "EU Signs a €781 Million Agreement with Türkiye to Continue Support to Most Vulnerable Refugees", Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/t%C3%BCrkiye/eu-signs-%E2%82%AC781-million-agreement-t%C3%BCrkiye-continue-support-most-vulnerable-refugees_en?s=230 (accessed January 6, 2024).

¹⁹ Florence Davey-Attlee, Elinda Labropoulou, and Jomana Karadsheh, “If They Had Left Us Be, We Wouldn’t Have Drowned”: CNN Investigation Raises Question About Greek Coast Guard’s Account of Shipwreck Tragedy" https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/23/europe/greece-migrant-boat-disaster-investigation-intl-cmd/index.html (accessed January 6, 2024).