Melachrini Martidou: The paths of passages of illegal immigrants in Evros – Reporting from the front line

The work of electronic surveillance of the land borders in Evros, along with the metal fence and the creation of bullet-proof observation posts, is progressing at an intensive pace, in order to permanently block the arrival of illegal immigrants from Turkey.

The prevention of refugee/immigrant flows has ultimately proved to be not a simple matter, requiring increased readiness of the personnel of the army, police, border guard, Frontex and the necessary logistical means and equipment on an ongoing basis. The Turkish human traffickers on the other hand, with the support and tolerance of the State, move people through passages that they find more unguarded.

The arrests of illegal immigrants located on Greek soil are daily. These people follow with mathematical precision the routes given to them via GPS, in order to move inland, in order to apply for political asylum and to ensure their stay in Greece. The people who support them are mainly foreigners but also Greeks who secure large sums of money to transport them from the border to Athens and Thessaloniki.

And among them are Pakistanis, Africans, Gulenist Turks, Turks of unknown origin and beliefs who come in small groups but on a daily basis, creating pressures in detention centers. And all this time with cases of coronavirus among the police officers of Evros, who are also exposed to all kinds of illegally arriving immigrants, the situation is becoming more pressing to man shifts, patrols, services to control a large and difficult area along the river, now that the water in some places has droppped and the “crossing” is a mere game.

Traces of illegal immigrants are evident along the passing points. The rubber boats that are used, discarded, and deflated, after landing on Greek soil, are destroyed so as not to be used again. The image itself is evocative, demonstrating what is happening regardless if we want it to be silenced. If some people do not want to see the truth in real light, only because of the humanitarian feelings that everyone has, then we will have a bigger problem.

The trafficking of illegal immigrants has become a scourge not only in southern Evros but throughout the prefecture where there are dozens of cases of attacks on villages, rustling of herds, violence to people who until now helped food and clothing to the suffering, because they had experienced immigration. But now there is a different wave. They fall victim to robberies, beatings by ruthless invaders, who do not respect property and human dignity.

On the other bank of the Evros

The shielding of the prefecture was imperative and its reflection on the shielding of the country and the European Union. The Turkish side is not just looking on idly at the readiness of the Greek Armed Forces. It has already set up a new special forces brigade of extended responsibility in Chorlu with 8,000 uniformed personnel near Tegirdag in Redesto, Eastern Thrace. The facilities with new buildings and infrastructure were inaugurated by Erdogan himself, amid much fanfare with torches and candles giving a special meaning.

In fact, the banner of the new unit was delivered by the President of Turkey himself in a special ceremony, which took place and was broadcast by all Turkish media, in an effort to emphasize the work and structure of the Turkish 1st Army, an extremely strong operational formation that is clearly aggressively deployed against Greece.

In all the Turkish observation posts opposite Evros in the area of ​​Poros, Tsirozis Feron, the Apiary were placed on high pillars over 50 meters tall with cameras and sensors, to visually scrutinize the movements and the image of the Greek bank and beyond. The possibility of seeing to a great extent inside Greek territory, now that all the trees on the Greek side have been cut down and the area has been deforested.

“For their part, the Turks show their constant readiness and the fact that despite the many fronts they have – the operations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Azerbaijan, the Aegean, Kurdistan, on the southern borders, they are not ignoring the “front” in Evros, anticipating to surprise the Greek side, something which as often as they tried, they failed.

However, the effort to bring order to our sensitive borders seems to be a priorityof the staff of the Ministry of National Defense. The MoD is completing the installation of the surveillance system on the border with the six control centers, which will have an automated system with high-sensitivity thermal cameras, and which will scan the area of ​​Evros, notifying with their data, the managers of the control centers to act accordingly.

Reinfocing military personnel

Technology is therefore called to play an important role in reducing and minimizing migration flows from the river Evros. At the same time, the 80 “M1117” armored security vehicles that are based in Germany and will be withdrawn by the USA to be given to Greece are expected to contribute to the strengthening of the remote prefecture of Evros. The delivery of the vehicles to Greece is expected to take place at the end of 2020 or at the beginning of 2021.

The recruitment of professional soldiers and new border guards also demonstrates the effort to strengthen using professionals the border with a neighboring country, which chooses Evros for crossings into Europe rather than Bulgaria, also an EU country that from the first moment showed a very harsh attitude to those who tried to enter. There they were stripped naked and thrown out of the country. Bulgaria used its army to prevent them and the message waas sent that things are difficult… and the treatment painful.

Everyone is expecting that with the works in progress, the paths in the Evros Delta, the canals and the points that aid in the passage to be sealed, so that images like those with the dozens of abandoned boats, the heeps of wet clothes , the improvised tents among the reeds and the personal items they leave behind, to become not just rare but to become a thing of the past.