The race to the bottom

The suffering endured by those forced to leave their home countries due to conflict or economic hardship is beyond the imagination of most of us.

Propelled by a dream of a better life, they sell their meager possessions and borrow from family members so as to pay the exorbitant sums demanded by human traffickers; they cross deserts, stepping over the bodies of companions en route to the Mediterranean where they board rickety vessels, risking life, limb and often the lives of their young children.

But the hopes of those who survive the journey are shattered on arrival. Instead of finding a safe sanctuary, they are herded into walled camps where many remain for years awaiting the processing of their asylum applications, which, if refused, entails their deportation. As dispirited, penniless and weary as they inevitably are back at square one, many prepare to try again. Their plight has been highlighted by offshore tragedies near the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, a magnet for thousands of African and Middle Eastern migrants, many with legitimate claims to asylum.

Lampedusa is, however, the mere tip of the iceberg. The Greek Aegean island of Lesbos has received over 4,000 migrants, who arrived from the Turkish mainland crammed in dinghies, this year alone. Southern Spain has partnered with Morocco in an effort to stem the flow and has installed thermal infrared cameras along its coastline to spot large and medium-sized vessels but the desperate have now resorted to rubber dinghies that remain undetected, unless intercepted by the coast guard.

Those who succeeded in cheating the ocean’s depths rarely experience the freedom they seek. Described as “hospitality” or “reception centers,” migrant camps are prisons by another name. In August, 1,500 undocumented migrants rioted in a facility north of Athens, expressing fury over the extension of their stay from one year to 18 months. Human rights groups say those unfortunates are often abused by guards and deprived of health care. Writing on Amnesty’s blog, Irem Arf Rayfield, a researcher on Refugee and Migrants’ Rights in Europe, says nothing could prepare her for the appalling conditions that exist in many Greek detention facilities, surrounded by barbed wires: “Filthy cold and damp cells where people spend months; toilets and showers where some detainees explain they have to hold their breath not to faint due to the smell,” she writes.

A report published in June by the Spanish NGO Pueblos Unidos, on a detention center in Madrid is similarly shocking. “The facility looks very much like a prison; migrants are housed in wings with barred entryways. Each cell accommodates up to eight persons on metal bunk-bed frames. There is no privacy whatsoever, not even in the communal showers placed within each wing . . . Visits occur in a room with a line of booths that have thick glass windows facing the street, isolating detainees from the outside world.”

Denmark, a country known for its pristine human rights record and concerns for its population’s welfare, is also guilty of mistreating asylum seekers. A growing backlash against migrants, primarily targeting Muslims arriving without papers in Denmark, has resulted in the hardening of immigration laws.

Unlike Italy, Greece and Spain, Denmark has a policy of indefinite detention. A documentary shown on Al Jazeera on Monday titled “Citizen or Stranger” focuses on migrants to Europe from Somaliland. Among those interviewed in Denmark were male and female detainees, several of whom had been locked up for over 10 years; one middle-aged woman, claimed her two sons were living in Denmark, another said her husband lived just 150 kilometers from the detention center. There appears to be no rhyme or reason for such cruelty; these people aren’t criminals. In fact, they might be better off if they were, because at least their sentences would one day come to an end.

Several western countries even lock up children, many emotionally scarred by the experience while some self-harm or commit suicide. Australia is one of the worst offenders in this regard. As of December 2012, over 1,200 children were being held in closed detention facilities around the country, while 1,400 were detained in open centers where some are permitted to attend school. Of those, 281 are being detained on Christmas Island, off Indonesia, while 34 are being kept on a remote island in Papua New Guinea.

Legal experts say Australia is in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child as well as international law and norms. Moreover, Australia assaults human dignity. Visitors to the Wickham Point immigration detention center, near Darwin, were furious to note that detainees, as young as 12, were being called by the boat ID numbers, rather than their names. Europe and Australia, which regularly point fingers at countries for human rights abuses, should take a long, hard look in the mirror. Kicking people when they’re down, people whose only crime is to escape from oppression, violence and poverty, is unacceptable in this day and age. Genuine asylum seekers should be treated with the respect they deserve; economic migrants should be considered on a case-by-case basis; after all, giving people the opportunity to work and pay taxes is more cost effective than keeping them fed, clothed and guarded in virtual prison camps.

Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.

One Response to The race to the bottom

  1. William Orthwein

    This time you made a mistake. Denmark, Spain, Greece, etc., have to preserve their own economy and their own character. They cannot afford to take these people. Neither can England nor the United States. These immigrants should be sent back. It is their job to correct their own nation, not impose on others.