Avaaz Backgrounder: Citizens For Sanctuary June 2015 Right now, across the Mediterranean, terrified families fleeing war and hunger are drifting in rusting boats, praying to stay alive. Shamefully, months of European programme cuts and political inertia, alongside growing instability in the Middle East and North Africa has seen the number of refugees drownings increase dramatically in 2015. Unless EU leaders agree to a package of coordinated measures at European Council on June 25th, thousands more will die. In response to this crisis, Avaaz, the 42 million member global citizens movement, has launched the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign. In three weeks the campaign has seen people across the continent offering to open their homes, donating to and offering to help in refugee programmes, and calling on their politicians to show humanity and give refugees safe haven. These Europeans are countering the narrative that the public doesn’t care with acts of compassion and determination to get political action. There are three strands of action in the Avaaz campaign: 1. Filling funding gaps to save lives Tens of thousands of Avaaz members have donated for humanitarian and campaigning work on migration, and money is still coming in. With these funds: Avaaz has just issued a grant of $500,000 to MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) the most effective private search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean which has saved nearly 7,000 lives this year. The Avaaz grant will fully fund MOAS’s complex operations for one month and is intended as a matching grant for MOAS to seek funds from other sources. Avaaz delivered aid to newly arrived migrants in the Greek islands last weekend. The shipment was of 2,000 sleeping bags and 3,000 health kits and was delivered to community groups who are the first to deal with refugees arriving on Kos and Leros. Avaaz is giving a grant to METAdrasis a key organisation authorised to bring unaccompanied children from the Greek islands into care on the mainland so they can ensure the safety and sanctuary for 150 children. 2. Giving public support to an urgent, ambitious and humane action plan for Europe At the end of 2014, Italy and the EU decided to end the Italian navy’s humanitarian operation , Mare Nostrum, which had rescued over 166,000 people in one year. It was replaced by a much smaller patrolling system, which has had shameful results in search and rescue, and up to 1,800 have drowned at sea this year. In April the new Commission put a plan on the table for the first coordinated EU Migrant Agenda of its kind. S everal member states immediately deployed navy ships and aircraft in the central Mediterranean to assist search and rescue operations. Heads of state are meeting in Brussels on 25th / 26th June , and will decide whether to support this overall plan. There are growing tensions between member states about the shared responsibility for resettlement and relocation, and the quota system. Opponents of the plan include 9 countries: Poland and other Eastern Europeans countries who refuse to support the binding quota initiative; and others, including France and Spain, that say they will support binding quotas, but with a reduction for their countries. Avaaz members across Europe are calling for endorsement of comprehensive humanitarian action with: A massive petition delivered to EC Commissioners and Heads of State in Brussels which over 400,000 Europeans have already joined see here for the latest number. A powerful advocacy effort in key countries with over 50,000 messages already sent directly to Ministers in France, Germany, Greece, Britain, Spain, Malta, Poland, the Netherlands, and Italy. Citizens are calling on them to back the aid, rescue, relocation and resettlement elements of the Commission’s plan as the first necessary step towards addressing this humanitarian crisis. 3. Building an EUwide Volunteer Network Part of political leader’s justification for cuts and lack of action has been a purported lack of public support for helping the migrants. This campaign counters that
narrative with over 1,600 Avaaz members already offering to volunteer with refugee programmes across the continent. In Greece, over 60 Avaaz members took part in an aid delivery in Kos and Leros last weekend. Other Greek members that are qualified to work with children have offered to volunteer with METAdrasis to bring unaccompanied children from the islands into care on the mainland. Still others who have legal and administrative skills have offered to assist the Greek Refugee Council. In Italy and Malta, Avaaz members are offering to assist organisations in reception centres and integration programmes, helping migrants learn languages, and running activities for children. In Germany Avaaz members are signing up with Refugees Welcome and in France with Singa offering to share their homes with refugees. In Britain, over 1,000 Avaaz members have offered to help in programmes assisting Syrians to resettle, and are collaborating with Citizens UK to urge local authorities to increase resettlement. The crisis and response in numbers: ● UNHCR estimates that a record total of 59.5 million people worldwide had been displaced by conflict by the end of 2014. ● Over 3.9 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and neighbouring countries. ● UNHCR identifies around 960,000 Syrian refugees in need of resettlement worldwide. ● Over 100,000 migrants and asylum seekers have crossed the Mediterranean in 2015. ● Over 1,800 have drowned this year that is a 20fold increase on the same period in 2014. ● UNHCR says over 60 percent of those taking the journey come from Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Eritrea where there is war and political violence. ● This year, the number of migrants arriving to Italy is over 54,000, and about 48,000 have come into Greece. That is 1012% more than last year to Italy and 6 times more to Greece. ● The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that without improved action, based on current figures, the migrant death toll on the Mediterranean this year could top 30,000 . ● The EU has spent some €11.3 billion on deporting migrants over the past 15 years. Nearly 1 billion a year and approximately 4k Euros per illegal immigrant. ● Migrants have spent 15.7 billion euros in payments to people smugglers over the past 15 years more than 1 billion a year. ● Of all EU countries, Germany is committed to the highest proportion of Syrian refugees over 20,000. Sweden and Austria are also offering a higher number of places, but the rest of Europe has so far committed to resettle paltry numbers. The UK particularly stands out as a laggards it has only taken about 180 Syrians. ● The EU package proposes the resettlement of 20,000 people in 2 years across the 28 countries. ● The Agenda is proposing the relocation of 40,000 asylum seekers from Southern Europe to other countries 24,000 from Italy and 16,000 from Greece. ● The Agenda is proposing to triple the budget for search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean with an additional amount of EUR 26.8 million. Notes to Editors: Selection of messages to Ministers and Heads of State from citizens: Germany , Greece , Italy , Malta , France ENDS
