Refugees who lived in PIKPA, talk about the
importance of an open
welcoming space.
In early
March 2015, the mayor of Lesvos Spiros Galinos called on the
‘Village of all
together’ to move out all the refugees accommodated in PIKPA. He
wanted to
renovate PIKPA for a tennis tournament that would take place in
May. He
seriously proposed the prison of Moria as an alternative that
could be turned
into an open centre. This is where the refugees could live!
The
‘Village of all together’ responded by saying that a prison
would not be an
alternative option, even if the fences were to be removed. They
demand to be
offered a different place, otherwise they would be forced to
remain in
PIKPA.
Us from
w2eu and as part of the ‘Village of all together’ outside of
Mytilene want to
contribute to the discussion by offering a little story from
PIKPA as well as
comments from people who made PIKPA their home for some time.
PIKPA was
an empty and run-down former holiday camp for children, located
near the
airport of Mytilene. Since November 2012, in accordance with the
mayor at the
time, it could be used by the group ‘Village of all together’.
The story of
this unique and self-organised place of solidarity that welcomes
newly arrived
refugees, was not only known to the locals of Lesvos but also
internationally.
It began in
the winter of 2012 when refugees arrived from Turkey in bad
weather conditions
on a small boat and had to sleep under trees, waiting for the
police to arrest
them for registration. Fascists threw stones at a pregnant woman
who was
sleeping outside.
The
‘Village of all together’ opened PIKPA and an unbelievable
number of people in
solidarity made sure that food was offered to all every day.
It started
off as a small place that was used as a place of arrival before
the arrest and
registration would take place. Coastguards and the police did
not support this
place which proved that arriving people would not abscond or be
dangerous but
were visibly looking for protection. PIKPA transformed several
times,
especially after October 2013 when the prison of Moria opened,
funded with EU
money. PIKPA was empty for a short while but then people who
were released from
Moria began to use PIKPA again. Later, when the asylum system
collapsed in
Athens, people came to Mytilene to claim asylum and stayed in
PIKPA for a few
weeks.
In summer
2014 when more and more arrived from Turkey and Moria became
overcrowded, even
the coastguard began to move refugees to PIKPA in order to
‘spare’ the tourists
on cruise boats the sight of waiting refugees in the burning sun
at the
harbour.
The
‘Village of all together’, with its few members, was able to
deal even with
this situation that grew more acute, with about 600 refugees
staying in one day
at a place that has merely 80 beds.
It was in
September 2014 that the new conservative mayor took office. He
requested from
the coastguard to cease bringing newly arrived people to PIKPA
and, instead,
move them straight to the prison near Moria. Nonetheless, all
those who have
already claimed asylum and thus left Moria, as well as those who
are ill, do
not have the money to continue their journey, are waiting for
family
reunification or are searching for their missing relatives,
remain in PIKPA. In
addition, all those who are released on
Fridays stay the night in PIKPA since no boats are leaving on
that day.
At the
moment there are 20 long-term guests at PIKPA. The children go
to school and
the Village of all together is able to organise, through
self-organised
donations, everyday life.
The new
Syriza government has announced to close down all prisons for
refugees and to
have instead open centres. Moria is still open.
We asked
people, who spent a long time in PIKPA, some of them have now
succeeded to
escape Greece and are recognised as refugees in other European
countries, to tell
us why PIKPA was important to them:
Ablulahi und
Laila,
One day in
April 2013, around midnight, a boat capsized and everybody fell
into the water,
when the coastguard tried to stop them. It was Abdulahi, the
only one who knew
how to swim, who rescued all the people by bringing them to the
boat of the
coastguard. Laila was rescued even twice as she was caught by
another wave and
was washed away, about to drown. The coastguard shone light and
handed out life
buoys so that he could find and rescue the people.
Once he had
rescued all and was climbing to the boat of the coastguards with
Laila, someone
turned on the engine and injured Abdulahi’s leg severely by the
boat’s
propeller. Laila was also injured but fortunately less badly.
At the
hospital of Mytilene Abdulahi was lucky to see a doctor who
operated on him and
saved his leg. It was, however, also clear that he would not be
allowed to get
up and move for several months. Laila decided to stay with her
rescuer to help
him in his everyday life. They both remained in PIKPA and when
physiotherapy
was recommended, the Village of all together organised daily
transfers to the
city for Abdulahi.
4 months
later they could, with the hobbling Abdulahi, go to Athens and
try to continue
their journey. There were no legal charges against the
coastguard and no
compensation was given.
Their
journeys seemed to part there. But in the end they managed to
arrive in the
same country. They now have a child together and their tragic
story seems to
have found a happy end.
Abulahi says:
Pikpa is the place I can never forget,
specially “the village of
together”. Without Pikpa I couldn't walk with my leg right
now.
Pikpa is where I got saved, cured, fed and
met such good people. What
happened to me in the midnight of the second of April, I
remember it full, but
I remember all the great people who showed me the great heart
they have.
It is in Pikpa where I stayed when I could
not even manage to go to the toilet
alone.
It is in Pikpa where many family who had
children got a place to sleep
and felt save.
I honestly cry when I remember Mitilini,
where I almost lost my leg. But
when I also remember the great “village of together” the
doctors who cured me,
physiotherapy, people who drive me, people just helping me.
Pikpa is great and
I dream one day I will came back. Please allow Pikpa to
welcome people like me
and others who absolutely can not stay in the harbour or
elsewhere. Life is
difficult.
Pikpa is great........
