Yesterday’s weekly protest march was much influenced by the latest shameful deal that the European Union has concluded with Afghanistan. The deal allows Europe to deport an unlimited number of asylum seekers with Afghani citizenship back to Afghanistan.
Not willing to accept this dodgy deal, around 150 refugees gathered in the center of Mytillini yesterday to protest against it.

The treaty with Afghanistan shows that the EU would stop at nothing to keep out people that are seeking for international protection. To declare the war-torn country as safe enough to deport people back to where the Taliban just now has taken over the control in Kunduz again and where currently over 10.000 people are fleeing from, reveals the ignorance and bloody hypocrisy of the European state leaders. To restore the walls of fortress Europe that were shattered by the autonomous movement of thousands of people last year, they are not ashamed to abolish the humans rights gradually.

In this week’s protest especially families, women, children and elderly people came to express their anger. Walking along the harbor, people were powerfully shouting slogans as “Afghanistan is not safe!”, “Stop deportation” and “Moria is prison! Close Moria”.

We stopped in front of the police station demanding for freedom and humans rights as illegalized persons are constantly under risk to be profiled and detained behind bars. The continuing march stopped in front of the locked gate to the port. This stopover was symbolic as all persons arriving after the enactment of the EU-Turkey deal are being denied entrance to the port so they cannot get on the ferries that bring them to the mainland.

The demonstration ended at the central square of Saphou where the protesting crowd disturbed the daily serenity of inhabitants and tourists sitting in the surrounding cafe’s and bars.

We will not stop fighting for freedom!
No one is free until everyone is free!

Things are moving on Lesvos, but certainly not in good ways.
Yesterday 55 people were deported back to Turkey under the EU-Turkey deal which was signed in march this year. According to newspaper reports they were mainly from Pakistan, Algeria and Marocco. Only 15 of these people actually stayed on Lesvos prior to their deportation, the others were brought to Mytilini from the mainland.

At the same time the deal between the EU and Afghanistan was signed, that forces Afghanistan to take back an unlimited number of people, whose asylum applications were refused in Europe. Afghanistan´s government was threatened to lose their aid fund granted by the EU, if they don’t sign. This “agreement” was clearly blackmailed and “by-passing formal law-making and parliamentary scrutiny” (Tony Bunyan from statewatch.org).
It will lead to a sharp increase of the number of Afghani citizens that will be deported back into a situation of war and violence. Currently they make up the second largest group of migrants arriving in Europe. The deal comes in a time when Afghanistan is not any safer now than it has been in the last 20 years.

With the fire breaking out in Moria two weeks ago that received international media attention and the ongoing fragility of the EU-Turkey Deal, the Greek government seems to see itself under pressure to “clean up” the unbearable situation of the overcrowded camps on the islands. Last week, the government announced to bring those refugees whose asylum is most likely granted (e.g. Syrians) and especially families and so called “vulnerable” people to the mainland. There, they are supposed to be “well observed”, which means they’ll be probably lodged in the military camps.

While for some it is good news to hear they can get out of the islands, for others it is quite the opposite. They not only remain in a state of isolation and desperation but we also fear that with the transfer of refugees to the mainland a wave of deportations back to Turkey and other countries will hit the islands. We experience the strategies of EU politics of closing all possible doors to people seeking refuge in Europe as well as their discourse of the division into good “legitimate refugees” and bad “economic migrants” being played out on Lesvos fast.

We don’t see any positive developments coming in the future. Most people stay trapped in Greece. While some groups of people might be able to go to the mainland and get asylum there they will still be forced to stay in Greece against their wish. The fact that they are denied freedom of movement and a choice in which country they want to claim asylum and therefore live (legally), remains true for all people. Groups of people, who are falsely categorized as unpolitical, economic migrants will more and more be deported back to countries outside of Europe.

What the European governments deliberately ignore is the fact that there are no unpolitical migrants. All people have their reasons, and many of them have been created by Europe itself. Europe´s leaders close their eyes to these realities. When they classify Afghanistan and Turkey as safe enough to process deportations they clearly show that the EU is not ready to welcome refugees but only ready to welcome people as exploitable labour force to stabilize its own economy and make Europes rich even richer.

We demand freedom of movement for all! Stop EU Turkey deal and stop all deportations!
No one is illegal!

Its October and our protests are still going on! Yesterday we started the second month of the weekly demonstrations against borders and for freedom for all!

As usually we walked through the center of Lesbos capital Mytilini to the port and back to the city. Shouting “Freedom!” “Open the borders” and “Close Moria!”, we took the streets against despite the repression the Greek State, with behind it the European Death Machine.

Yesterday we were especially shouting in solidarity with all our friends in prison in Moria, Korinthos and elsewhere. They couldn’t be on the demonstration today but they were with us in our hearts and our minds.

The European Union treats refugees and migrants like criminals, putting them in overcrowded and unsanitary camps, beating them and locking them up in prison. Freedom of movement is not something that should be under the control of any goverment or state.

We are fighting against this system of oppression, we are fighting for freedom. And we will not stop until every single person gets their right of freedom of movement, for we are not free until all are free.

Migration is not a crime!
Until everybody is free!

We know now that the number of deportations on Monday was 136 people.

Also we heard from different sources that the heads of the people that were brought to Athens on Saturday night were covered with black bags so that no witnesses could see the faces of the deported.

Repression is high on the island at the moment. We hear from different sources about an increasing number of deportations. According to our information a lot of people were deported in the last days directly from Mytilini to Turkey. We heard about 175 people but cannot confirm this number or the exact way of deportation at the moment. What we are sure about is that there are a lot of arrests and that the people are brought on ferries.

The arrests happen in Moria as well as on the streets. We know of several cases of people being arrested while walking in the city. People also told us about severe violence being used by the police during these arrests. At the moment we assume that people from North Africa (Algeria etc) are the most at risk for being arrested.

Some people, according to one of our sources at least 60, have been brought to a prison close to Athens a few days ago. It is a prison for refugees, many of them are accused of having committed a crime. What it is really beside a deportation prison is a prison for so called troublemakers. They face between 6 and 18 months of prison, we were told.
For both the people being forcefully brought to Turkey and to Athens the numbers could be significantly higher than what we heard so far.
We know that some of the people were at the moment of their arrest still in the middle of their asylum process.

At this point we can only guess what excuse will be given for the detaining of these people. Nontheless we want to make clear that no arrest and no deportation can ever be justified.

Instead of having access to a proper asylum process in a country of their choice, the people on lesvos are imprisoned in this island for months. The asylum procedure after the Eu-Turkey-Deal in March is not only completly untransparent but basically illegalizes the majority of refugees until they are granted asylum…if their process ever finishes. Lesvos is a legal gray zones with a lot of things happening that are not supposed to be known. That makes the people on the island being in constant danger of being arrested…even if they actually have the precondition to get refugee protection in any (other) European state with a asylum system.

In the next days we will work on getting a better picture of the situation and will hopefully soon be able to publish more infornation! If you are reading this and can give us more information or contacts please write us on noborderkitchen@riseup.net!

Nobody is illegal! Stop EU-Turkey-Deal

Today on September 24th, more people than all the last weeks took the streets of Mytilini in protest. We therefore completed a month of ongoing protest in the capital of Lesvos- every week with more and more people participating.

Monday this week it was shown again on the one hand that the people of Moria unite and will not keep quite about being detained in this island often for more than 6 months without perspective. On the other hand it also showed that the situation here is dangerous. Part of the danger is created by the state: the camp burned because people live in extremly overcrowded plastic tents- a condition that would not even be okay for short term emergency accomodation. The other part of the danger is shown in the attacks from local fascists.
We can only repeat over and over again: Lesvos is not a refuge.

Today people from Moria and other camps showed together with local comrades that none of us will stay silent when we face the inhuman conditions Fortress Europe creates on this island. The great support from local comrades made this weeks demonstration even more powerful than the last. Their presence was really felt and showed that we are not alone in this struggle.

Although the riot police was present, the demonstration stayed as non violent as the last weeks and several families with children therefore joined the demonstration. Also after the demonstration the NBK team did their best to make sure that there was no police repression and violence on refugees and that all the people got “home” safely.

Today we also, like the weeks before, marched together through the center to the port. This week the demontration was not only as big but also as loud as never before.
The slogans “We want freedom!”” No Moria” and “Open the borders” could be heard far and wide.

The night from Monday to Tuesday was very rough for all of us. Monday started with a very big and powerful protest for freedom and against the unbearable living conditions in Moria from the people in the camp. In the evening the situation in the camp escalated and Moria camp took fire. At nightfall the fire was extinguished but most of the tents and the family compounds were already burnt down. Thus thousands of people including many families were left in the dark without a sleeping place, water, food or blankets. Meanwhile the police blocked the road to Moria camp forcing people fleeing the burnt down camp back. To Moria the only other road from the camp to Mytilini through Moria village was blocked by a racist mob and several people were attacked. In this night we and friends were supporting people with our solidarity and necessities like water and blankets.

With double the refugees living in Moria than it was initially built for, Moria camp is completely overcrowded. The people are forced to stay in overcrowded tents or outside, there is not enough food or water and very bad hygienic conditions.
On the day the fire broke out, September 19th, there had been no lunch and the water had as usually been cut for hours. Some refugees started protesting and some managed to set their imprisoned friends free. They protested in front of the EASO offices to ask for their asylum requests to be processed and to demand answers about the reasons for their deportation. The EASO staff left the camp from a back door without responding. At that point the peoples anger grew, they gathered in front of the camp in protest and in the spirit of the recent demonstrations, started marching towards Mytilini town.

There are a lot of stories of what actually happened on Monday. Some say the people wanted to march to Mytilini town to protest against the border and Moria camp, others said that they heard about the fascist gathering in Moria village and wanted to make a counter demonstration. No matter what is true, it was a common protest of people from different origins and language groups together against the borders, the bad conditions in Moria camp and fascism and racism in Lesvos. It is unclear whether they were stopped by the police or if or they returned voluntarily, but the people turned around and went again to Moria camp. In any case anger grew even more and soon people started clashing with the police.

During the fighting a fire started spreading through the camp. It is unclear who set the fire, but as far as we know the flames started in the dry fields outside Moria camp close to one of the unofficial entries to the camp and because of the strong wind quickly expanded inside the camp. In Moria camp all constructions and the tents are made of easily inflammable material so together with the piles of trash lying around in the camp everything took fire. Fortunately no person got seriously injured in the flames but the firefighters didn’t reach the camp in time to save the belongings of the people. Hundreds of people lost all they had but what they were wearing at the time of the fire: passports, documents they need for their asylum process, diplomas, money, clothes, tents, sleeping bags – all gone.

Instead of getting shelter and new blankets the people were confronted with the police and the locals blocking their way out.
The main road was closed by police buses not letting any refugees out or any other people in.
Meanwhile a big group of racists reached Moria village. Previously they had marched in Mytilini town for a nationalistic demonstration against Moria camp and refugees on Lesvos. They also already attacked and beaten two girls on the same day, from who one was hospitalized. The mob in Moria village consisted of at least 100-200 people armed with sticks and knifes. At this point we don’t know if it was mainly locals or also organized fascists from other cities. We were told of refugees defending themselves with stones against the fascists. Only a handful of police men held the locals back from beating up the refugees trying to get through to Mytilini. Some of us from No Border Kitchen tried to get friends and families out of Moria camp to a safe place. On our way by foot through Moria village we also were attacked and threatened with a knife. Also one of our cars got broken with an ax while the person inside was insulted and threatened to be beaten up. Luckily we run respectively drove away fast enough not to get physically injured.

Now the future is unclear. While there is still a need for emergency help, for the rebuilding of shelters and distributions of clothes, water and food, the actual problems didn’t change. Moria is not a refuge and forcing people to claim asylum in Lesvos not a solution. Even if Moria is in the process of being rebuild, it will just become again the unlivable place it was before the fire. Also still people are arriving and the situation in Moria will continue to get worse. But even building a second camp like Moria as planned by the government is not a solution.
We from No Border Kitchen are working hard at the moment to support the people from Moria. But we don’t only distribute blankets. We will also go on to show our solidarity and our protest on the street. We stand with all the people that were fighting the inhuman conditions in Moria on Monday and everybody that suffered under the fire on Monday.

We want to be known that the fire in Moria was not just an accident. And the fight was not just a food fight. People were fighting for their rights to be treated like the human beings they are. Furthermore it is out of question who has to take the responsibility for the fire in Moria. Its the people that close the border, the people that force people into overcrowded camps build from plastic and lacking even water or food. Camps that lack conditions suitable for human beings will always be a source of fire.

Today on Monday September 19th around 50 refugees that were locked up in the closed area of Moria camp liberated themselves with help of their comrades in Moria camp. They were assisted by refugees outside of the closed area to run out of the prison and protect themselves from their awaiting deportations.
After that the people went to the EASO office inside Moria camp to demand answers, why they were supposed to be deported. The staff from EASO refused to speak to the refugees and fled the office. This led to a lot of anger within the refugees. Following that people at least 600 people inside Moria protested loudly and some also burnt trash and blankets.

Today the refugees inside Moria camp showed clearly that they will not simply accept the worsening of the conditions in the camp and will protest against Europe closing the doors in front of them.

Solidarity with all refugees fighting Fortress Europe and solidarity with everybody imprisoned by Europe’s border regime. Until everyone is free!

After last Saturday’s demonstration it was clear for all participants: Next week again! And so this Saturday September 17th at least150 people gathered and peacefully marched for their rights. Among them there were refugee women and families with children as well as people from diverse origin and language groups. While shouting “Freedom!” and “Open the borders!” the demonstration walked from the centre to the statue of liberty, passing by the port and then ending up in the central park again. The front banner said: “Open the borders – The world is for everybody”. On the signs that the refugees were holding up there was written:
“Where are our human rights?”
“Open the borders”
“Stop Frontex”
“Moria is a jail”

Being on Lesvos for a refugee means being trapped. A Senegalese woman at the demonstration pointed out: “In Moria we are like prisoners.” The conditions in the camps are terrible and outside of the camps refugees have to face police violence and harassment, discrimination and exploitation by some of the locals (for example higher prices for goods and unpaid illegalized work). But what is worse for most people here is being unable to leave the island, to get to a country of their choice. Refugees are forced to register and apply for asylum in Greece: otherwise they are threatened with deportation and some were already deported. Others who applied for voluntary repatriation because they cannot stand the conditions here on Lesvos are waiting for months to return and leave the island, too. Young people full of hope for their future see the months passing unable to do something with their lives. They loose precious time they could use to do something, for example study or work, and fulfill their aspirations for their future. Many are unable to join their families in mainland Europe. Having already a long journey behind them, many more months of dangerous travels lie ahead for most of the people.

Meanwhile asylum legislations get stricter and stricter and the borders more and more difficult to pass.
People have to risk their lives to cross the frontiers illegally and many pay very high amounts of money to some that profit from their difficult situation. Others get to the limit of their strength by trying to get to mainland Europe with legal ways.

Europe’s war on migrants must stop once and for all.
We demand all borders destroyed and freedom of movement for everyone, no matter what citizenship, race, gender or age!

First of all: we are still here and we are growing! The No Border Social Center at the beach is getting more and more visitors every day and also the nbk team is growing. Our Social Center is on the one hand a place where people can get decent food, drink tea and coffee, and get new clothes once a week. On the other hand it is a place where we all meet, talk, cook together, build friendships and show solidarity. The nbk team is growing every week with people joining us from Moria or Karatepe camp and also the people refusing to stay in the camp and sleeping in the forests.

In the last week we were working hard to make our Social Center as beautiful as possible. We built a kitchen for collective cooking, a womens space and a children area. Also we are starting to prepare the area for the coming rainy season, we make the tents waterproof and build weather proof sitting areas.

At the same times our stoves in the kitchen are also running hot. As more and more people arrive in Lesvos and others flee the worsening conditions in Moria, the number of meals we serve every day is growing. This weeks we are serving at least 700 meals every day.

Our work here is necessary and appreciated by many people. The conditions in Moria camp extend everything the word “bad” could describe. Moria is incredibly overcrowded, the sanitary conditions are horrible, there is a severe lack of food, especially decent food, and violence is growing. Moria is not a safe place for anyone. Despite the constant presence of police and military and fences with barbed wire, there is also a lot of harassment of women and violence between inhabitants of the camp. Most importantly, Moria is a prisons that keeps thousands of refugees trapped on this island.

So we have to keep fighting! At the moment we are up and running, but our situation is not sure at all. Just a few days ago the police started harassing us while distributing food and even though they didn’t explicitly threaten the social center (yet), we cannot be sure how long we can keep up this place after having been evicted twice this summer already.

Of course giving out hot meals will not open the borders, we also have to take the fight into the street. In the past weeks Lesvos has seen a growing numbers of protests in the city center from refugees. And these protests will continue, we will not stay silent while the governments and politicians keep on expanding Fortress Europe. They not only ignore people suffering in Lesvos and whole Europe but also work on building more fences, giving more money to Frontex and plan to change more laws that could soon practically abolish the remaining possibility to claim asylum in Europe. No Border Kitchen Lesvos will continue to struggle and we will raise our voice in solidarity with all people trapped in Lesvos, all people on the move in Europe, and all people that fight against the inhuman border regime.

We invite you all to keep on struggling with us, in Lesvos, Greece and everywhere! Let’s fight against Europe’s borders together and lets destroy them.

We send a lot of love and rage to all people fighting against these borders and happily welcome any kind of solidarity and support that you can offer us. Especially in the coming winter support will be needed. For more infos on how to support No Border Kitchen Lesvos visit our blog or write us an e-mail.

Lets make Fortress Europe history!

Your NBK team