The border of Evros, an ultra-militarized Greek “no man’s land” where “no one has access to migrants”

Scared by the influx of thousands of migrants from Turkey via the Evros River in the far east of the country in March 2020, Greece has highly militarized the area. However, exiles continue to cross this Greek-Turkish border under the exclusive control of the army. They do not receive help from any NGO, from any inhabitant, banned in the area.

Charlotte Boitiaux, special correspondent in Greece.

It is an unapproachable river at the extreme tip of the European Union. The 500 kilometers of Evros river, the natural border that separates Greece from Turkey on the mainland, have for years been under the exclusive control of the Greek army.

Brambles, thick bushes, trees prevent all-comers from approaching the militarized sector and the stream. “There are cameras everywhere. Be careful, do not go too far,” warns Tzamalidis Stavros, the village chief of Kastanies, in the north of the country, as he walks along a railway line – in operation – for us. show the border. In the distance, about two kilometers away, barbed wire can be seen. Despite the distance, Tzamilidis Stavros remains vigilant. “They have ultra-modern equipment. They will spot us very quickly.”

This prohibited area is not, however, deserted by migrants. For many years, the populations on the road to exile have crossed the Evros from the Turkish shores to enter the European Union. But the migration crisis of March 2020, during which tens of thousands of migrants arrived in Greece via Kastanies after the opening of Turkish borders, made everything worse.

In one year, Greece – and the EU – have invested millions of euros to build a border fortress: walls of barbed wire have sprung up along the river, sound cannons have been set up, equipment high-performance military (drones, cameras, etc.). Everything to prevent a new influx of migrants through the Evros.

“Today we have 850 soldiers along the Evros,” said a regional border guard stationed in the village of Tychero. “Frontex is present with us. Recently installed barbed wire help us enormously “.

A Greek police patrol in front of a new fence built not far from the town of Feres, in the Evros region, on August 22, 2021. Credit: EPA / Dimitris Tosidis.
A Greek police patrol in front of a new fence built not far from the town of Feres, in the Evros region, on August 22, 2021. Credit: EPA / Dimitris Tosidis.

“Blackout”

These installations have helped to reduce the number of passages. “In Kastanies, before, there were at least five people a day crossing the border. Today, it’s over. Almost no one passes,” said the village chief who said he was “relieved”. “The fence has stopped everything”. But in other places, “where there are less patrols, less surveillance, less barbed wire”, migrants continue to pass, according to the association Border Violence, which monitors movements at European borders.

How many are they ? The answer seems impossible to obtain. The media are kept out, the Greek Foreign Ministry citing “national security” reasons. The Greek authorities are not communicating, the border guards deployed in the region remain vague and pass the buck to their hierarchical superiors, and the associations are absent from the area.

It is this “blackout” of the area that worries the NGOs. “Migrants arrive to come to Thessaloniki and they tell us about their crossing. But it takes 25 days on foot from Evros here. So we have the information three weeks late,” said a Border Violence activist. , in Thessaloniki.

The Evros River is a natural border between Turkey and Greece.  In some places, like here, no barbed wire separates the two countries.  The area is under army control, closed to the public.  Credit: InfoMigrants
The Evros River is a natural border between Turkey and Greece. In some places, like here, no barbed wire separates the two countries. The area is under army control, closed to the public. Credit: InfoMigrants

Migrants arrested by Greek border guards in the area cannot testify to the conditions of their arrest either. They are transferred directly to the Fylakio hotspot, the only camp in the region located a few km from Turkey. Surrounded by barbed wire, Fylakio is one of the country’s seven closed centers where migrants cannot exit. And where the media cannot enter.

“I crossed the Evros a month and a half ago and have been stuck here ever since,” shouts a 14-year-old Syrian boy from the camp. “We spent 9 days in the Evros region and we were arrested with a group from my village, we come from Deir-Ezzor”. We will not know more, a soldier approaches.

Thousands of pushbacks, according to associations

The main concern of associations like Border Violence – but also of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – remains whether the fundamental rights of asylum seekers are respected at the Evros border. “There, nobody has access to migrants. The border policy has gone completely crazy! We, the activists, we do not even go to the region! We are afraid of being arrested and put in prison.”

Last week, the Minister of Migration, Notis Mitarakis officially rejected the establishment of a “surveillance mechanism” at its borders, demanded by the UN and the European Commission, declaring that this “undermines the sovereignty of the country”.

Margaritis Petritzikis, head of UNHCR in the Fylakio hotspot, admits that what is happening in Evros is opaque. “The border must be better monitored,” he explains, referring half-heartedly to pushbacks, these illegal returns between two neighboring states.

Young migrants in the closed camp of Fylakio, in the Evros region.  Credit: InfoMigrants
Young migrants in the closed camp of Fylakio, in the Evros region. Credit: InfoMigrants

If the Greek authorities deny practicing them, these pushbacks would be numerous and regular in this part of the country. “Obviously, there are referrals to Turkey”, assures a former retired policeman on condition of anonymity who receives us in his house less than 5 km from Turkey. “I myself have driven boats for years to bring migrants back to Turkey at nightfall.”

According to Border Violence, around 4,000 people have been illegally returned since the start of the year. “There are certainly many more, but many people do not speak. They are afraid.”

38 dead in Evros since the start of the year

Beyond illegal refoulements, the issue of violence worries associations. According to the New York Times, secret detention centers, called “black sites”, would be present in the region. Without outside observers, the area arouses a lot of fantasies. “Migrants told us about torture in these hidden centers in Greece, electric shocks, mock drownings. We cannot verify,” continues the Border violence activist.

Photograph of the body of a migrant woman found in Evros.  Credit: InfoMigrants
Photograph of the body of a migrant woman found in Evros. Credit: InfoMigrants

And how to identify the victims, those who drowned while attempting the crossing? Without access to the area, “we cannot even speak of the dead but of the missing”, she laments. “We consider that after a month without news of a migrant in the area, he is presumed dead.”

According to Pavlos Pavlidis, one of the forensic scientists at the Alexandropoulis hospital, the capital of the region, already 38 people have died this year.

“Many drowned in the Evros, others died of hypothermia. Especially in the winter. They are crossing the river, they are soaked. No one is there to help them, so they are freezing to death. Their bodies are freezing to death. are sometimes found 20 days later by the police and taken to hospital, ”he explains.

Are there unidentified victims? “Maybe,” he replies. But without marauding, it is impossible to monitor the area and come to the aid of potential wounded. “It’s sad to die like this”, he concludes, “far from his family and far from everything”.

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