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A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 21 March 2019

3 years on, what’s become of the EU-Turkey migration deal?

By ELENA BECATOROS Chios, Leros and Kos.
Associated Press “Greece has become a
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — dumping ground for the
In March 2016, European men, women and children
governments breathed a that the European Union
sigh of relief as the Europe- has failed to protect,” Em-
an Union reached a deal manuel Goue of the Doc-
with Turkey designed to tors Without Borders medi-
stop hundreds of thousands cal aid group said in a
of refugees and migrants statement on the third an-
heading into the heart of niversary of the EU-Turkey
Europe. For many of those deal. “What was once
who had fled war, hunger touted as a ‘refugee emer-
and poverty hoping for a gency’ has given way to in-
bright future on the con- excusable levels of human
tinent, the deal shattered suffering across the Greek
their dreams. islands and on mainland
Three years on, here is a Greece,” Goue said. “The
look back at the agree- EU and Greek authorities
ment and the effect it’s continue to rob vulnerable
had on migration. people of their dignity and
WHAT DID THE EU-TURKEY health, seemingly in an ef-
DEAL SAY? In this Friday, May 4, 2018 file photo, migrants and refugees wait outside the European Asylum fort to deter others from
One of the main provisions Support Service offices inside the camp of Moria on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, coming. This policy is cruel,
of the deal, which came Greece. inhumane and cynical,
into effect on March 20, Associated Press and it needs to end.”
2016, was that all those ar- DID THE AGREEMENT WORK? inhumane, noting it has left gean, Moria on the island WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF
riving on Greek islands from On a very basic level of thousands stranded in mis- of Lesbos which holds more EUROPE?
the nearby Turkish coast — reducing the number of erable conditions. On the than 4,800 people in facili- The increased difficulty
the preferred route at the asylum-seekers heading to eve of its third anniversary, ties designed for 3,100, has heading into Europe from
time — would be detained other European countries, 25 human rights, medical come under the severest the Greek islands meant
and returned to Turkey un- the deal was very effective. aid and volunteer groups criticism from rights groups migrants and refugees
less they successfully ap- More than 1.2 million peo- signed an open letter call- and even local officials soon sought out alterna-
plied for asylum in Greece. ple registered for asylum in ing on European leaders over poor living and secu- tive routes to get into the
They wouldn’t be able EU member states in 2015 “to take immediate and rity conditions. EU. With more than 57,000
to move on to the Greek and again in 2016, at the sustained action to end Greek authorities note that unauthorized arrivals by
mainland, from where hun- height of the crisis. That the unfair and unnecessary the terms of the EU-Turkey sea in 2018, Spain became
dreds of thousands before number fell by half the fol- containment policy.” agreement prevent them the No. 1 route to the EU by
them had made their way lowing year, with just over It has also not completely from moving people off the sea. The figure was more
through the Balkans and on 654,000 new asylum appli- stopped arrivals on Greek islands en masse. Instead, than double the number
to central and northern Eu- cations in 2017 and even islands, although the num- they have tried to ease of arrivals in 2017 at 21,000.
rope. fewer — just over 580,000 bers are far lower than the overcrowding by send- NGOs and the Spanish gov-
However, the deportations — in 2018, according to thousands per day in 2015 ing to the mainland those ernment itself blamed the
didn’t go as planned. In- the EU’s statistics office Eu- and early 2016. designated as vulnerable increase on the EU-Turkey
stead of waiting to apply rostat. Germany continues WHAT IS THE SITUATION ON — such as the sick or very deal and on later agree-
for asylum in their preferred to be the most popular THE ISLANDS? elderly, families with young ments with Libya which es-
European country, new ar- country for those seeking The stipulation of new arriv- children or single parent sentially shut down the cen-
rivals applied as soon as refugee status, followed by als being held on the islands families. But with dozens, tral Mediterranean route
they arrived on the islands, France and Greece. The has left thousands languish- sometimes hundreds, arriv- which had seen boats
which delayed deporta- main countries of origin of ing in crammed camps. ing each week, that hasn’t head from Libya to Italy.
tions and created a mas- the applicants are Syria, Af- Samos island has seen the been enough to definitively There has, however, been
sive backlog in Greece’s ghanistan and Iraq. worst overcrowding, with deal with the problem. As a sharp decrease in the
asylum system. In practice, But the reduction in num- around 4,000 people vying of Monday night, a total of number of arrivals by sea
actual deportations have bers has come at a cost. for space in a camp with a 14,742 people were being in Spain in late 2018 and
been very few and far be- Aid groups have repeat- capacity of 648. The largest held on the islands, most the first three months of this
tween. edly slammed the deal as camp in the eastern Ae- of them on Lesbos, Samos, year.q