“We only seek trucks with tarp. Not container trucks, because you can’t breathe in there. And definitely not reefers. Unless there is room in the cabin to hide,” Samir will tell me as he is sitting on the sidewalk of Akti Dymaion, opposite Patras’ new port.
“Have you gone in to see how it’s done?”
“Not yet.”
“It's dangerous, especially if you want to hide in the cabin. I’ve tried many times, but they always catch me...”
It is 12:30 pm at Patras’ new port. On the other side of the road lay the carcasses of the once powerful city’s industries where thousands of families used to work. Peiraiki-Patraiki, Ladopoulos, ABEX, as well as smaller factories, most of which closed in the 1990s.
On the sidewalks outside the empty factories you can see migrants, mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, sitting in groups. They are between 20 and 25 years old on average; many of them are minors. Suddenly, a group of those get up and start following someone. They quickly cross the street, climb over the port fence, and then make way through the trucks and hide. From there on, they will start a dangerous ride in order to hide in a truck and escape the port authorities; a ride that will last a few hours, until the last ferryboat is loaded.
It is not the first time that we talk about the migrants’ “suicide operations” in Patras’ port in their attempt to reach Italy and continue to Northern Europe. However, now that the refugee problem is supposedlysmoothing outeverywhere, excluding the islands, pressure on Patras’ port is mounting due to both refugees and migrants desperately trying to reach Northern Europe.
The shells of the old factories have been turned into refugee and migrant camps and the port in yet another Idomeni for those who are not covered by the relocation and asylum agreement. As Nikos Papageorgiou, a member of the Movement for the Rights of Refugees and Immigrants, says, “these people are the backwater of the EU-Turkey agreement.” Mostly undocumented, they have two alternatives. Wait for deportation in Greece, or try to reach Central Europe in the hope that they will be able to settle there.
However, one thing is certain. Even though the officials in the Ministry of Migration Policy do not admit it -just like the ones in the Municipality of Patras who, to their credit, do anything possible to keep things tolerable though they are not directly in charge- Patras has an unofficial refugee camp of around 350 people, including many minors.
The number varies depending on how many new people arrive and how many will eventually bypass the security checks and leave. As long as the borders are shut, Patras in western Greece and much less Igoumenitsa in the north, will be the destination of choice for any stranded migrant who wants to leave.
Manhunt at the port
It is 1:00 pm. The first ferries that make the Patras-Italy route are docked. They usually leave at around 4:00 to 5:00 pm, unless there are delays. Trucks are already entering the port passing over the special weighing scales and then stop at the parking lot until it is time to pass through the security check. Note that international ports have two zones. The first entrance zone, which is accessible to anyone, and the restricted area under the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which is gated. It is the zone where only those who are about to travel gain access after strict security checks.
As soon as the trucks park, the migrants start to jump from the fence. They have already singled out the vehicles where they can easily get into and head towards them in groups. Since the entrance to the ISPS Code zone proceeds slowly due to security checks, they have plenty of time to hide. Many try on their own, but most rely on a smuggler who will put them in the truck and lock the door, or find room in the cargo area and help them hide there.
This job is getting done for a price, of course. The smugglers are actually the “pimps” in the unofficial refugee camps, the ones who decide who gets into the truck. The money is paid in advance, usually through a money transfer company, and the smuggler can only collect it if the migrant reaches Italy and can continue the journey.
“What if you reach Italy and won’t pay the smuggler? Can he find you?” I ask Intris, a 17-year-old Afghan who tries to get to Italy with his brother. “He may not find me, but his people in Afghanistan will find my family and harm them. No one can risk not paying a smuggler.”
Many are trying to get into a truck on their own, without telling the smuggler. However, to do this you need to have a group of friends to protect you. The rules are the same as in the world of gangs. If a group is big enough or has shown -the easy or the hard way- that it does not give in to pressures, the smugglers leave them alone. Or you can try to convince the smuggler that you have no money and he cannot expect anything from you.
Smugglers are easy to detect. Usually they head the group looking for trucks with room for people to hide. When the migrants get in, smugglers are the ones who close the door.
It is 1:30 pm at the port. Migrants climb over the fence in groups and head to different directions. Each one of them has a bottle of water hanging on their back. I find out that it is sugar water that they will use for the trip, in the case they manage to bypass the check.
In one of these groups I see Samir. He greets me and runs to the ISPS fence. Suddenly, port authority men make their appearance on motorcycles and start chasing migrants, who either hide in flowerbeds and behind the port buildings or run back to the external fence.
The port authority men continue the chase getting into the flowerbeds with their motorcycles, migrants run around in a panic, tourists get out of their cars and take pictures, truck drivers push away any migrant approaching, some get the chance to get into a truck and the smuggler or a friend locks the door behind them, other migrant groups climb over the fence, the port authority people try to keep them away, a police car on the street cruises around with the siren blowing in its attempt to spread panic on the migrants, who continue to climb over the fence. It is funny and at the same time sad, since the driving force behind all this is these people’s despair.
The port authorities are well aware of this tragic dimension; you can tell that while they are trying to deter the migrants, their biggest fear is causing an accident in anarea where heavy vehicles are moving.
In the days I spent at the port, I did not see any migrant being mistreated by the port authorities, though I witnessed arrests and saw the detention facilities. On the other hand, several migrants told me that some of the times they were arrested -since it is almost impossible to succeed on the first attempt- they got slapped and kicked. Drivers also beat them if they catch them hidden in their vehicles. Taking the law into their own hands is common.
Around 4:00 pm, when most of the trucks are already on board, things slow down. Migrants return to the abandoned factories waiting for the next day and hoping to be more lucky.
The port guards
“Since last year, when the northern border shut, migratory pressures have mounted”, says the President and CEO of Patras Port Authority, Nikos Kontoes, to CNN Greece.
“That is why we asked the government not to open a hosting center near the port; which they didn’t. However, pressure is mounting and unofficial settlements were established. Evidence suggests that attempts do not always result in successful crossings, as shown by the number of people returning from Italy.”
“In 2011 we had 1,500 returns. In the same year, since the new port became operational, the number fell to 800, in 2014 they reached 200, and today they are a little over 100. It is the safest indicator for us to make estimations and we can see the number is decreasing. It is thanks to strict controls and the prevention efforts. However, this cannot go on forever, since the risk of an accident is high.”
Last year, a decision was taken to detain those arrested in their attempt to get in the port, just for a few hours until the ferryboats leave, and at the same time increase the port and security personnel. “Most importantly, we are planning to build a second fence around the existing one, with glass panes, cameras etc., where the initial determent attempt will be held,” Mr Kontoes says.
“It will be auctioned in 2017 and will be ready in 2018. The port security cost amounts to a 10% of revenues. It is high but we have no alternative.”
The increased pressure by migrants’ attempts to reach Italy is confirmed by the head of Patras’ Central Port Authority, Mr Dimitris Kyriakoulopoulos. “The pressure can be measured based on the arrests that take place at the checkpoint. Last September we made 70 arrests, and from then on the number keeps increasing. We made 617 arrests in the last five months of last year and by July this year we reached 1,414. The only exception was in April and May 2016, when we made just 135 arrests thanks to the constant presence of a patrol car outside the port. In the rest of the months, the number increased. In July, we made 292 arrests,” Mr Kyriakoulopoulos says.
“Both police and the port authority can do nothing more than discourage them. We cannot stop migrants from climbing over the fence. Our core job is to preserve the ISPS Code zone and prevent cargo damages. However, we are deeply concerned about these people’s safety. They risk their lives trying to escape, and many of them are minors.”
Patras: Refugees and migrants on the waterfront
It is noon at Patras’ port. In the large parking lot, where trucks are waiting for their turn to get on board, dozens of migrants are looking for ways to hide in a trailer or in the cargo area. Port authority people on motorbikes are constantly trying to repel them to the external fence, while drivers are checking the vehicles to prevent a possible cargo tampering.
The two abandoned factories of ABEX and Ladopoulos opposite the new port have been turned into unofficial refugee and migrant camps and are being used as a base of operations for crossing into Italy.
I leave the buildings of the main port services and head to the main vehicle entrance gate to the ISPS Code area. Trucks and taxis are already waiting in the line; based on statistics, migrants must be hiding in some of them. Some may manage to not be detected during checks, but most will be arrested.
Groups of security men, under the eye of the port authority, are inspecting the trucks. First the cargo area and then the cabin. They search with flashlights into merchandise for possible hiding spots. If there is suspicion that a migrant may be hiding somewhere in there, the port scanner takes action. It is a specially equipped vehicle that x-rays the entire truck.
If migrants are hiding somewhere, the scanner immediately finds them. It can detect anything, from smuggled cigarettes to drugs. The port authority people who do thework are well aware of these vehicles’ structure and when they see something unusual they inspect further, sometimes unloading all cargo.
The last stage of inspection is performed by specially trained dogs.
A truck with Bulgarian license plates enters the checkpoint. It is one of those vehicles whose cargo area is covered by tarp, the kind that migrants opt for. Its driver looks calm. Security people climb on the truck and find two hidden migrants. They take them down. The truck is then ordered to get in a special area inside the port and a file is formed for the driver. The arrested migrants will be detained for several hours, at the end of which they will be released if they are documented.
The special scanner inspects any vehicle suspected for hiding migrants. From time to time, people are being found in the most unlikely spots -under the cabin, inside the engine, in the fuel tank, adjusted to fit in three people, as well as inside the cargo area, in specially adjusted spaces.
Smugglers and minors
In addition to the migrants’ attempts to hide in trucks, drivers often try to get them to Italy for a price. “From our experience all these years, we can tell if a migrant hid in a truck on their own or in cooperation with the driver,” Mr Kyriakoulopoulos says. “Since trucks do not wait for long in the parking lot, migrants do not have much time to hide well or find a good hiding spot. In this case, when we find them, we inform the public prosecutor that in our estimation it was the migrant's voluntary attempt so that the driver does not get in trouble. In other cases, however, when it is obvious that migrants would not have been able to get into a hiding place without the driver’s cooperation, the truck remains in the port and the driver faces charges, as provided by law.
Sometimes, as was the case a few days ago, we also arrest individuals trying to help migrants get in the port with their private cars. From January to July 2017, we detained 52 smugglers, migrant accomplices.”
However, security measures seem to work; although arrests have more than doubled, there is no equal increase in migrant returns from Italy. The figures are slightly higher than last year but in no way equal to the number of arrests. According to the port authorities, in January-July 2017 we had 91 returns.
“One of the problems we face has to do with minors,” Mr Kyriakoulopoulos says. “The law quite rightly provides that a minor must be treated differently. When I spot a minor hidden under a truck, I cannot put him with the adults. In such cases, we move them to an area we have recently set up, until the National Center for Social Solidarity (EKKA) finds a place for them in a facility. But this takes long and minors often stay here for a whole month.”
Ladopoulos, ABEX: two unofficial ghettos
Back in the ghettos of the old factories, time passes real slowly. The two abandoned factories of Ladopoulos and ABEX are full of tents, makeshift kitchens and mountains of trash. Two taps provide clean water, but there are no sanitation facilities.
Samir is holding a watch and tries to sell it for 15 euros so that he can buy data for his cellphone. Despite anything that is said about risk, people in both factories are very friendly; they are roughly aware of the EU-Turkey agreement and the only thing they need to know is that it does not apply to them. As they say, reaching Italy is the only way out. When they are not trying to get into a truck, they kill time inside and around the factories and organize their next attempt.
The smugglers also live there, usually at a distance, harassing and bullying and staying away from the media that often visit the place. Idris shows me their usual gathering spots and looks decided not to go close. He insists that they must not see us talk in private since, as he says, they have threatened him several times.
Being stranded is inevitably a cause of tensions and clashes among the migrants. During the time I spent in ABEX factory, a Pakistani group attacked a Moroccan one, and someone was slightly injured; it had something to do with money smugglers asked to help some Moroccans hide in a truck.
Most of the people in the old factories have the provisional permit they got when they reached an island. Others are undocumented and many, though they do have documents, do not show them when they get arrested for fear of expulsion.
What is impressive, however, is that a large number of them are minors, who have absolutely no idea that the Greek state provides them with special hospitality and help to reconnect with their families. Most of them deal with pressure by their families to reach a European country as soon as possible in order to seek asylum and eventually bring the rest of the family there.
Those left out by the EU-Turkey agreement
Indy is 17 years old and arrived in Greece with his 16-year-old brother after a two-year journey. His sister was the first to leave Afghanistan after a Taliban family tried to take her as a bride. Indy was threatened and forced to leave with his brother. He first went to Pakistan, from there to Iran by ferry, then to Turkey, and then came to Greece through Evros in the north. When he arrived in Athens, he stayed downtown for a while. At the time of our meeting in Patras, he was already there for two weeks.
Indy has tried at least 20 times to hide in a truck and he twice succeeded, but did not manage to leave. He got injured several times, and he admits that sometimes he was mistreated by port authority people. Both of the times he was arrested no one asked him his age.
As he says, the smugglers’ rate in the camp depends on nationality. For the Pakistanis it usually amounts to 2,000 euros and for the Afghans to 1,000 euros. These rates apply if the money is in an escrow account. Prices range between 300 and 500 euros when it is in cash.
Natnim comes from the Pakistani-administered sector of the Kashmir region. He used to have his own shop at home, but the regular military operations convinced him to go. He sold everything and came to Greece. The journey has cost about 4,000 euros and his family is desperately waiting for him to reach Europe so that he gets a work permit and start sending them money. He has no money left to give a smuggler and tries to go to Italy on his own. Until the day we spoke, he had not managed to get into a truck; he hid twice under it, but he was found.
In the two weeks he is in Patras, Samir tries every day to hide into a truck, but by the time I met him he had managed to do it just four times. Once he entered the cabin,but when the driver saw him he beat him hard. Samir is trying to go to Italy on his own, because he dreads the smugglers. As he says, a month ago a smuggler stabbed an immigrant, who ultimately died.
Samir has worked for seven years with NATO in Afghanistan; as he says, once you have worked with NATO, you are no more safe.
When I explained to him what goes on with the EU-Turkey agreement and the illicit migrant camps, he felt desperate. A week later, he sent me a Facebook message. He had managed to go to Italy.
The city's response
Ladopoulos and ABEX are two unofficial migrant camps, for which little discussion is being held by the competent authorities. There is no official hosting center in Patras, but whether we like it or not there are two unofficial ones. And despite the fact that the city has bad memories from the previous migration camp on its eastern coastline, which was destroyed by fire, it has responded to the problem quite well.
We should of course note that Patras’ old industrial area is not particularly populated and is a long way from the center, meaning that camps there are less “annoying”.
Initially, the Municipality went to Ladopoulos factory to clean the premises and then organized rationing three times a week because people there had nothing to eat, since most of them have spent everything.
The old Ladopoulos factory belongs to the Municipality, so the municipal authority can do some work, such as putting in shower stalls and beds to rend the conditions somehow more humane.
Again, we must give emphasis to the fact that the municipal authority's initiative is walking a fine line since on the one hand it cannot leave these people to their own devices and on the other, by doing this work, unofficially accepts the existence of a camp in the city boundaries. The Municipality also sends medical staff to examine migrants. They cannot do such thing in ABEX, since it is a private area, but there are plans for cleaning the place.
The Movement for the Rights of Refugees and Immigrants in Patras contributes to the effort, providing food and clothes every day. Groups of foreign volunteers also arrange for food and medical staff assistance, since there are many incidents of minor injuries due to the migrants’ attempts to get to the port, as well from clashes between them, and many skin diseases due to poor sanitary conditions and the insects.
Published on CNN Greece, 2017m October 15 and 16
https://www.cnn.gr/focus/story/101631/h-eidomeni-tis-patras-meros-1o