Refugees in Greece: Facing a Multifaceted Labyrinth
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| Author | Konstantinos Tsitselikis |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12473 |
Refugees in Greece: Facing a Multifaceted
Labyrinth
Konstantinos Tsitselikis*
ABSTRACT
The years after 2015 were remarkable for the reception and accommodation schemes of refu-
gees fleeing Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The EU-Turkey common statement of March 2016
and, most of all, the sealing of the Balkan corridor, blocked the flow of refugees towards cen-
tral Europe through Greece, testing the readiness of the Greek authorities to take action to
meet a series of urgent needs (accommodation, nutrition, asylum procedures, health) and social
integration processes (education, training, access to labour). Approximately 45,000 refugees
are settled in refugee camps or urban settlements all over the country. Those entrapped in the
Eastern Aegean islands should be returned to Turkey, which is considered a “safe third coun-
try”. The purpose of this article is to shed light on a phenomenon that is ongoing and chal-
lenges a series of policies and legal principles both in Greece and the EU.
INTRODUCTION
Hanna Arendt wrote about refugees in 1951: “The conception of human rights, based upon the
assumed existence of a human being as such, broke down at the very moment when those who
professed to believe in it were for the first time confronted with people who had indeed lost all
other qualities and specific relationships –except that they were still humans”(Arendt, 1973: 229).
Since then, a comprehensive refugee protection law has been built. However, state sovereignty
has remained particularly suspicious of recognizing refugee status and including refugees in the
social structure. Refugees crossing into Greece and Europe today (2014–2018) face this same suspi-
cion. For those not eligible to claim protection status in order to continue their way legally, this
journey, within an ever-changing and uncertain environment, is dark and dangerous.
Those who hail from war-torn countries have a valid claim to refugee status and if not, shall be
returned to their country of origin. The 1951 Geneva Convention is the key document that defines
the relevant national and European law and policies outlining the rights of the displaced, as well as
the legal obligations of states to protect them. Safe border crossing stems from the key provision
that refugees should not be returned to a country where he or she fears persecution, as well as the
obligation to rescue anyone in danger. For those not eligible to international protection, a state can
designate or impose settlement and movement within the country or the EU and ensure the repatria-
tion to the (safe) country of origin.
The present article aims at tackling the question of legal and political aspects that reflect Euro-
pean policies and law in relation to the refugee reception crisis in Greece. If the EU-Turkey agree-
ment of 2016 has a cardinal position, specific issues are also tackled, such as reception
mechanisms, asylum services, the lawfulness of movement to other EU countries, temporary
*University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki
doi: 10.1111/imig.12473
©2018 The Authors
International Migration ©2018 IOM
International Migration Vol. 57 (2) 2019
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
protection, social integration, detention, and “irregularity”. The main argument is articulated around
the idea that European law and policies attempt to deviate from the fundamental values of human
rights and rule of law that consolidate the European construct. The article aims at presenting the
state of affairs (facts and data) and the transformations that reshape the relevant law. It will high-
light the volatility, uncertainty and insecurity which impose a new political and legal example,
gradually formed within the EU. According to this example, any new entrant is considered undesir-
able, both before and after a possible entry. The article will also show how this thin line between
refugees and “irregular migrants”is a hard frontier: states have the right to remove undocumented
persons from their territory, whereas for refugees there are pre-existing regulations guaranteeing the
reception and housing conditions. However, in recent years, the legal framework governing refugee
protection has become suppler in favour of state security. The latter is not clearly defined. Last, the
volatility observed in law and policies creates certain complexities, limiting the legitimate ways of
movement between Turkey, Greece and other EU member states (see figure 1), in turn exacerbating
the ambiguity and uncertainty.
Until February 2016, a massive influx of refugees through the Balkans all the way to Austria,
Germany and Sweden was observed, lacking necessary security measures. Since the beginning of
2016, mainly due to the blocking of the Balkan corridor, a major decline in the influx of migrants
has been observed (UNHCR, 2017e). New legal parameters have been set, regulating the legal exit
routes from Greece in a strict manner. These parameters are: a) the possibility of relocation of asy-
lum seekers from Greece (and Italy) to another EU member-state added to the already statutory
right of family reunification (among others: European Council, 2015); b) the return of any asylum
seeker or migrant from Greece to Turkey, regulated by the EU–Turkey agreement of March 2016.
Since then, a fundamental change in the refugee basic framework has been made, namely the
protection from returning to a “non-safe country”. The universal value of the refugee international
law started to fade and lose its effectiveness as the refugees started to move away from European
territory. In this sense, the safe passage of the refugees to the first point of contact within the EU,
Greece, is highlighted as a political and regulatory objective for Europe itself, together with another
emerging objective, that of the creation of the conditions of housing and social integration. Anyone
who manages to remain within the state territory is confronted with issues of legality (the “undocu-
mented”ones), and conditions of living and integration prospects which apply to both legal and
“undocumented”refugees.
REFUGEES IN A COUNTRY OF IMMIGRANTS
A new feature of the population on the move to Greece is that, for the first time, refugees - even
though their numbers are fewer (50,000) - are more visible than the immigrants residing in Greece
(around 800,000). The refugee reception crisis has clearly overshadowed other immigrant issues
regarding their position within Greek society, their relation with the state, and their prospects of
integration. A second characteristic is that refugees, who have been residing in Greece since March
2016, i.e. the time when the Balkan route was blocked, leading to the introduction of an internal
border after the EU-Turkey agreement, have limited legal exit rights (around 50,000) as opposed to
2015, when they were crossing Greece to find refuge in Europe (around 900,000). Many are wait-
ing to move legally towards the West, others are trying to prevent their return to Turkey, while
there are those who attempt and even complete a dangerous and illegal journey.
Asylum seekers are classified according to their rights as follows:
a) those who will be recognised as refugees in Greece,
b) those who will seek a chance to relocate to another European country and
c) those who are eligible for family reunification.
Refugees in Greece159
©2018 The Authors. International Migration ©2018 IOM
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