GREECE / SUDANESE MIGRANTS

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that since the beginning of this year, 44,000 migrants who have crossed into Greece from Turkey and many seeking asylum continue to have little chance of having their refugee claims heard. UNHCR is urging the Greek government to speed up the reform of their asylum process. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:27
• Production Date: 10 December 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: EMPLOYMENT; REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; HUMAN RIGHTS; SOCIAL WELFARE; SOCIAL SERVICES
• Geographic Subject: GREECE
• MAMS Id: U101210b

Description

STORY: GREECE / SUDANESE MIGRANTS
TRT: 2.27
SOURCE:
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 16, 17 NOVEMBER 2010, PATRAS, GREECE

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, Mediterranean ocean with boats
2. Wide shot, Port of Patras
3. Med shot, trucks arriving in the city
4. Med shot, Mojahed and his friends walking out of train station
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“I left Darfur by force, because of the Janjaweed and the government came to shooting us, killing our sister, grandma, burning our houses.”
6. Close up, Chad camp health card displayed by Mojahed
7. Wide shot, Mojahed and his friends walking towards garbage bin
8. Various shots, Mojahed and his friends picking up food from the garbage
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“It’s so hard for me. It is very difficult to search from the garbage because I feel hungry so much. It is very difficult.”
10. Med shot, local woman staring at Mojahed picking up food from the garbage
11. Wide shot, Mojahed and his friends by the garbage bin
12. Med shot, port security sign
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Lazaros Chanoumides, Commander, Patras Port Authority:
“Greece is one of the countries that is chosen by the immigrants in order to pass to Europe.”
14. Med shot, Mojahed and his friends walking into the train station
15. Wide shot, migrant brushing his teeth at train station/ Migrants praying
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“Let me show you the place where people are sleeping. This is our rooms, our houses everything, when we come back from the garbage, from eating the food, we come back her to sleep, sometimes we find some fish, this is our pot.”
17. Med shot, night shot of a Patras street
18. Wide shot, migrants running behind a truck trying to sneak into it
19. Wide shot, truck being unloaded at the Patras port
20. Med shot, Mojahed getting into a wagon at train station
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“Give us the right to live; we are human beings. No fighting, listen to us; give is our rights.”
22. Wide shot, train leaving the station

Storyline

Patras Greece, a Port City and major transit point for hundreds of migrants from across Africa and Asia into Europe.

Mojahed from Sudan arrived here a few months ago after a perilous journey through Libya, Cyprus and Turkey after escaping the violence in his native Darfur.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“I left Darfur by force, because of the Janjaweed and the government came to shooting us, killing our grand sister, grandma, burning our houses.”

He fled to nearby Chad and stayed for a year in a camp, but he wanted a better life, he wanted a future.

These days his better life means scrounging in the city’s garbage. He skips along with his friends also from Sudan looking for food.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“It’s so hard for me. It is very difficult to search from the garbage because I feel hungry so much. It is very difficult.”

The pickings are slim and local people seem not to believe what they are seeing.

In Patras, officials say there could be as many 1,000 homeless migrants; Afghans, Sudanese or Somalis who left their homes in fear of their lives.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lazaros Chanoumides, Commander, Patras Port Authority:
“Greece is one of the countries that is chosen by the immigrants in order to pass to Europe.”

Many of the migrants, including Mojahed, end up here at the Patras train station.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“Let me show you the place where people are sleeping. This is our rooms, our houses, everything. When we come back from the garbage from eating the food we come back here to sleep.”

Mojahed hasn’t applied for asylum, nor have his friends. The process is long and rarely brings a positive result, he says. He would rather take his chances smuggling himself into Europe.

Some migrants say they have been here for nearly a decade living rough times.

Day or night they try to board the transport trucks that can get them onto the ships. They hide under the carriage or the wheels or inside if they can all in the hope of getting onto a ferry that will cross over to Italy.

The journey is risk and some people die trying.

Yet they refuse to give up.

Mojahed has tried to cross a few times but has been unsuccessfully. He will try again, he says.

He also says his claim to asylum should be given more consideration.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mojahed, Sudanese Migrant:
“Give us the right to live; we are human beings. No fighting, listen to us. Give is our rights.”

It’s a life of dreariness and yet they keep coming. Since January more 44,000 migrants have crossed into Greece from Turkey most with the same dream as Mojahed.

But reality has not lived up to their hopes.

UNHCR has urged the government to speed up the reform of their asylum process but system remains broken leaving asylum seekers little chance of having their refugee claims heard.