Coronavirus strands refugee children
A number of EU member states want to take in refugee children stuck in Greece. However, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn now says the coronavirus pandemic has made that impossible.
Although the river has run dry, its bed is overflowing: Plastic bags, cardboard and plastic bottles extend as far as the eye can see. A young child, maybe six years old, wades through the garbage. Here, in the so-called "jungle," where makeshift huts crush up against one another and children play in the filth, the squalor of the Moria refugee camp is on full display.
This hot spot, located on the Greek island of Lesbos, has been the scene of Europe's largest humanitarian crisis for years now. A camp originally designed to temporarily shelter 3,000 people, it is now the cramped home of more than 20,000.
The situation is not much better on other islands in the Aegean. In all, some 42,000 refugees and migrants are currently stuck on Lesbos, Chios and Samos, and many have been there for more than a year. Now, the coronavirus pandemic threatens to make the situation even worse.
Just recently, Germany and a number of EU member states, including France and Luxembourg, declared their willingness to take in those in most desperate need of help: Vulnerable, unaccompanied minors and children.
The European Commission estimates that 1,500 unaccompanied children and minors are currently on the Greek isles. Last Friday, EU interior ministers pledged they would be distributed among a "coalition of willing" EU member states within a week.
Water cannon, tear gas and smoke bombs
But that willingness is not only humanitarian in nature, it is also pragmatic. The EU was forced into action when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to open his country's borders with Greece two weeks ago, sending thousands of refugees rushing toward Europe.
Greek security forces overwhelmed by the sheer number of refugees demanding entry into Europe answered with water cannon, tear gas and smoke bombs. It was reported that at least two people were killed by Greek bullets, something the government in Athens denies. Images of standoffs were quickly broadcast around the world, putting the EU under pressure to do something about the situation.
But the new COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed everything, with EU member states enhancing border controls or closing borders altogether in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. That was also the reason the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) gave for the temporary suspension of activities at their Refugee Resettlement Program. Thus, for the moment no safe haven can be found for those refugees in especially dire straits — that includes safe haven in Germany.
Asselborn: 'It's not up to us'
The program for taking in unaccompanied children was not supposed to be affected by the situation, at least according to European Commission spokesperson Adalbert Jahnz. He claimed, albeit in vague terms, that the process would go on as planned, but suggested that respecting and navigating the many different steps EU member states had taken to stop the spread of the virus was taking up a lot of time and making it impossible to set out a clear timeline for the transfer of children from Greece.
Jahnz went on to say, "However, I assure you that intense discussions are going on as we speak and preparations are currently underway." Another spokesperson for the Commission, which has agreed to play a coordinating role in the project, told DW the COVID-19 pandemic will likely have an effect on the process.
Germany's Interior Ministry was vague as well, saying only that the European Commission is currently assessing what level of coordination is possible right now in light of the situation. On Wednesday, a statement was released saying the COVID-19 pandemic would "not have any effect on our efforts." Still, speaking with DW on Thursday, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn conceded that his country would not be taking in refugee children for now.