The board of directors of We Are Odv has decided to write to the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli taking up the text published in the social media on March 2 by the association Refugee 4 Refugees, which has been operating for years in the island of Lesvos offering support to the many, too many refugees who gather outside the camp of Moria sadly known to the chronicles.
The post denounces what is happening in Greece while the European Union is once again silent and this silence appears increasingly complicit and unbearable.
We ask anyone who shares the complaint to copy the text and send it to president@ep.europa.eu
To David Maria Sassoli
President of the European Parliament
“In the past 48 hours, the events that have occurred on Lesvos are beyond belief. The worst fears of those working on the Greek islands—of major escalations in tension, human rights abuse and increased suffering—have come true.
After the Turkish Government announced that they would stand down their border patrol earlier this week, violence once again erupted on Lesvos, as small groups of locals targeted both asylum seekers and those that stand in solidarity. Roadblocks have been set up across the island, aid workers and journalists have been attacked and new arrivals have had no option but to stay on the beaches.
This morning we received the devastating news that a dinghy had capsized off the south shore of Lesvos. 46 people were rescued from the grasp of the sea, but a young child, no older than 6 years, did not make it.
This is another innocent life lost to the inhumanity of current European migration policies. All our thoughts are now with his family, as they face the torture of enduring this trauma, stuck in displacement.
For years we, along with hundreds of other NGOs have worked to protect the lives of those seeking asylum. We have been forced to prop up a failing system. It has now collapsed.
Due to these increasing tensions, and our inability to operate as normal we have ceased operations effective immediately. Our teams have returned home, or have shifted to other locations to continue providing support. We hope the situation de-escalates in the coming weeks, so we can return to effectively continue operations.
The facts are clear. There are still over 42,000 refugees on the Aegean islands. There are still extremely vulnerable people fleeing war, violence and persecution.
Today, Europe must act to correct 5 years of negligent policy-making. It must own up to its chronic shunning of this international burden and recognize that changes in policy can fix this man-made catastrophe.”
