But European responses have often been brutal. Humanitarian organizations say pushbacks at borders in countries such as Greece, an absence of sea rescues in the Mediterranean and unfavorable quarantine arrangements have posed major challenges. And it comes at a time when movement is harder and more dangerous due to tank restrictions and the closure of transport routes and processing centers.
Last week, a man was found dead on Sangatte beach near Calais in northern France. He and a friend had tried to cross the English Channel, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, in an inflatable boat with paddles. The friend said he was just 16, but French authorities said his papers belonged to a 28-year-old Sudanese migrant and an autopsy showed he was an adult. He could not swim, his friend said.
British Home Secretary Priti Patel said the “tragic loss” was a cruel reminder of the horrific criminal gangs and people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people. ”
The news came on the same day that at least 45 migrants were killed this year in the deadliest recorded shipwreck off the Libyan coast, according to the UNHCR and International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The organizations said that “there was an urgent need to strengthen the current search and rescue capacity.”
“Delays recorded in recent months, and it does not help, are unacceptable and put lives at risk to be avoided,” she added.
Traveling in a pandemic
Nearly 4,900 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since the closure began, more than double the amount thought to have crossed in the whole of 2019, according to analysis by PA Media.
“We know that smugglers and traffickers are obviously affected by the pandemic and the restrictions that were placed. But we also know that they are very adaptable,” UNHCR spokeswoman Charlie Yaxley told CNN.
“That’s a big concern for us, because it also means that the refugees and migrants who take these trips are taking more dangerous and dangerous routes.”
He said migrants had been subjected to torture, rape and other abuses during land trips to Libya “by smugglers, traders, militias, but also state officials.”
Yaxley said there were currently no lifeboats in the central Mediterranean, as EU programs as in previous years, so migrants leaving Libya by boat were often returned to Libya by the Coast Guard for detention or other violations. of rights.
But the response from European countries plagued by coronavirus is icy cold, with migrants forced back or trapped in overpopulated, unsanitary conditions.
Felix Weiss, of the German NGO Sea Watch, told CNN that he understands the anger of companies already struggling during the pandemic.
“But this is stuff you can absolutely avoid,” he said. “Just scoop them up, and then find a solution where they can go in Europe.
“There must be a European solution,” he added. “This is a European failure.”
‘Nightmare’ situation
Weiss said carrying out rescues had become “a nightmare” in shelling due to countries such as Italy and Malta blocking boats and refusing to trade themselves.
Officials say migrants should be quarantined for 14 days on ferries, but some have been held on unsuitable pleasure boats such as oil tankers. Migrants with health problems who have been detained in adverse conditions are stranded for up to six weeks, Weiss said.
In July, 180 migrants to Italy were evacuated from a Sea Watch ship following suicide attempts and threats of riots. “People are traumatized,” Weiss said. “Ocean Viking can take people a few days … but we are not trained to have really bad psychological cases.”
Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese told a news conference on August 15 that families experiencing an economic crisis in Tunisia were “leaving in search of better living conditions.”
“Managing the flow of migrants has been more difficult because of Covid’s need,” Lamorgese added.
HRW said several asylum seekers reported being picked up from Greek islands by the coastguard, forced on inflatable rafts without a motor, and thrown drift at the border.
“Instead of protecting the most vulnerable people in this time of global crisis, Greek authorities have targeted them in total violation of the right to seek asylum and in neglecting their health,” said Eva Cosse, Greece’s researcher at HRW.
The responsibility of Europe
Many migrant camps and centers pose a high risk for the spread of coronavirus.
On July 30, 129 migrants tested positive for Covid-19 in a camp in Treviso, in the Veneto region of Italy. Lampedusa’s capacity camp for 90 people currently has 1,300 inhabitants, according to Weiss.
After more than 200 migrants left a camp in Sicily last month, the region’s governor Nello Musumeci warned in a statement of an “unsustainable situation” and said “the issue of migrants has also become a matter of public order and God bless you.”
It said during the shutdown, “inequality has been exacerbated for transit communities, which further restrict access to asylum, health care, adequate accommodation, and the safety of brutal collective evictions.”
Yaxley said the situation was still “very manageable”, but there had to be “EU solidarity with those Mediterranean coastal states through relocation programs … so that there would be a breakdown of the distribution of the Mediterranean.” responsibility is. “
“The ad hoc approach just ignites the toxic political story,” he said.
“There is a real need for compassion and humanity.”
CNN’s Livia Borghese, Valentina Di Donato, Martin Goillandeau, Alexander Durie and Eva Tapiero contributed to this report.
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