A letter from Lesvos

Dimitris Ballas  - Associate Fellow, SPERI; Senior Lecturer in Geography, University of Sheffield; Associate Professor of Geography, University of the Aegean

As one of the local volunteers put it, ‘even if Greece is bankrupt and we have no money, we will still have our bodies and we will help the people who need us’. The vast majority of work has been done by the islanders themselves, but they have also been joined by NGOs and people coming here from all over the world, offering help and forming waves of humanity laid bare on the shores of Europe: ‘often taking unpaid leave from work, bringing their own equipment and living in whatever accommodation they can find; a nurse from Palestine, a doctor from Israel, lifeguards from Barcelona; from Bolton to Oslo, everyday people are making a difference’. Volunteers coming from afar include the American actress Susan Sarandon and the Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, who is setting up a studio in Lesvos to highlight the plight of refugees.

There has also been a strengthening of existing local volunteering groups and networks as well as new teams of volunteers emerging who have been increasingly co-ordinating their efforts. The University of the Aegean has also been supporting these volunteering activities by making formal plans and proposals for open access and enrolment of the refugees, as well as offering support to the local authorities by drawing on the expertise of academic staff (who have, for example, translated texts and signs into Arabic to help the refugees) and by supporting on-going efforts by staff and students in all that they are doing in their own time and with their own resources to help.

However, all these amazing manifestations of humanity and solidarity have not so far been matched by adequate government policies and actions at the national, European and global levels. The European Union has put forward emergency plans for all member-states to relocate 120,000 migrants and refugees across the continent over the next two years and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to see refugee arrivals as an opportunity in her New Year address. Nevertheless, these actions are inadequate and disproportionately small when considered against the sheer scale of the crisis and the huge resources European states have at their disposal.  In addition, some European politicians and many media reports have tended to approach the refugee and migration crisis as a failure of immigration control, often adopting a toxic discourse, rather than seizing the opportunity to celebrate humanity and uphold ideological and humanitarian responsibilities that are usually considered to be pan-European and universal ideals.

In addition to the obvious humanitarian imperatives, there is also a very strong economic case for refugees and immigrants to be welcomed, especially given their demographic and educational profile and the potential contribution that they can make to the economies and pensions systems of European countries increasingly faced with a demographic and pension crisis. Also, there are non-monetary benefits for countries like the UK and cities like London, where the integration of people with diverse backgrounds can be culturally enriching.

At a time when the numbers of people drowning in the Mediterranean Sea are increasing, the foremost action that is needed should be to make urgent arrangements for the safe transportation of the refugees by licensed passenger ferries or airplanes rather than dinghies. For example, an air ticket costs massively less than the amounts refugees pay to travel in unseaworthy boats, but it is not possible for refugees to travel that way due to the apparent misuse of EU Directive 2001/51/EC. In my view, what is happening now will be seen in the future as a crime.  Refugees were barred from much travel within Europe during the Second World War and many died as a result.  The famous Kindertransports were only Kinder-transports because the children’s parents were barred entry.  We too easily forget the errors of the past when they should be valuable lessons for today.

As late Papa Stratis, founder of the NGO Agkalia (meaning ‘Embrace’) in Lesvos put it:   ‘What I see are people.  People in need.  I cannot turn them away, nor can I kick them, nor imprison them.  I cannot send them back to where they came from.  Nor can I throw them in the sea to drown.’