Greece has been criticised for plans to erect a floating barrier in the sea to deter people crossing by boat, in a project reminiscent of Trump’s border wall.
Pylons will be sunk into the ocean floor to create a 1.1-metre-high wall of nets, with half a metre of the barrier above the surface of the sea.
Flashing lights will top the 1.7-mile-long wall, which the Greek government has budgeted €500,000 (£424,000) to build.
Human rights watchdogs have condemned the project.
Sea wall will pose danger to refugees
Amnesty International deputy director for research Massimo Moratti said the floating dam would target asylum-seekers and refugees and “lead to more danger for those desperately seeking safety”.
“The plan raises serious issues about rescuers’ ability to continue providing life-saving assistance to people attempting the dangerous sea crossing to Lesvos,” said Moratt.
“The government must urgently clarify the operational details and necessary safeguards to ensure that this system does not cost further lives.”
In 2019, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) recorded the death of 66 people taking the eastern Mediterranean sea route to Europe.
The United Nations and European Union have reminded Greece to abide by international law.
“Every state, including Greece, has a legitimate right to manage their borders,” spokesperson for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Boris Cheshirkov told the Greek Reporter.
“But those that are coming across the sea with the intention of seeking asylum, safety, they have a fundamental right to do so,” he added.
“We’re taking every measure to protect our borders”
Greece’s minister for migration and asylum Notis Mitarakis went on the radio to defend the 1.7 mile fence that will be built off of Lesbos in the Aegean sea.
“It will send the message that we are not a free-for-all place where anything goes, that we’re taking every measure to protect our borders,” Mitarakis told local radio station Thema 104.6.
Last year, Greece recorded nearly 60,000 people arriving on its shores by sea. Migrants seeking asylum in Europe arrive by boat fleeing war-torn countries. Over 17,000 people, including children, are currently being held in overcrowded and dirty refugee camps on Greek islands.
Artist Achilleas Souras took an installation made from discarded life jackets collected from the shore of Lesbos to demonstrate the plight of people stranded there to Milan Design Week back in 2017.
In the US, president Donald Trump came to power in 2016 on a platform of erecting a border wall between North America and Mexico.
Currently the administration plans to build a wall of steel slats in a project where costs have ballooned to $33 billion (£25.5 billion).
Main image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.
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