The people killed in the Evros fires are victims of “two great injustices of our time”

2023-08-24 15:26:55

Given the death of 19 people, probably migrants and refugees, on August 21 and 22 in the fires affecting the Evros regionIn northern Greece, Adriana Tidona, a migration researcher at Amnesty International, said:

“The 19 people killed in the forest fires in northern Greece are apparently victims of two great injustices of our time. On the one hand, the catastrophic climate change, which governments are not addressing and which is exacerbating the scale of wildfires around the world, as rising temperatures lead to longer and more destructive fire seasons. On the other hand, the lack of access to safe and legal routes for some people on the move and the persistence of migration management policies based on racialized exclusion and lethal deterrenceincluding racist violence at borders.”

“While the identity of those who have died in the fires is unknown, it appears likely to be migrants and refugees who had recently entered Greece across the border. Due to the lack of access to safe and legal pathways for those trying to reach Europe, refugees and migrants are increasingly using the land borders of the Evros region to enter Greece irregularly from Turkey. The authorities systematically respond with smuggling at the border, denial of the right to seek asylum, and violence.”

“The fires have fueled racist rhetoric and abuses against migrants and refugees. On his Facebook account, Paraschos Christou Papadakis, an ultranationalist Greek parliamentarian, claimed with racist expressions that the fires had been started by migrants and refugees. A private individual was arrested who had kidnapped a group of migrants and refugees in his vehicle and incited other people to do the same by uploading a video of his actions to the Internet.

“The ONG Alarm Phone has reported that hundreds of refugees and migrants are trapped in different areas of Evros as flames engulf the region. Amnesty International calls on the Greek authorities to urgently evacuate all those trapped in the Evros region who cannot move safely due to the fires and to ensure that refugees and migrants who have entered Greece irregularly can claim asylum and are not returned illegally at the border. The Greek authorities must publicly condemn and investigate any acts of violence or racist speech or incitement to such conduct, even when carried out by political figures.