»The truth may be bitter, but it must be told« This report forms part of a series of fact-finding missions (to Spain/Morocco, Italy, Slovakia/Ukraine) about human rights violations committed at the external borders of Europe, conducted by PRO ASYL. It considers and analyses the human rights situation at the Turkish-Greek border, the practice of detention on the three Greek islands of Chios, Samos and Lesbos, and in part addresses the horrendous shortcomings of the Greek asylum system, as it operates both in the country and at the border. It is the publishers’ view, that these critical findings have to be placed within a European context. The border which we visited is one of the external borders of the European Union. The European Union bears responsibility for what is happening there. inner areas of the EU to the outer borders and from there to unsafe countries outside the EU. For these reasons, the construction of an asylum system in Greece and the European Union is essential. This system must be based on the principle of the absolute respect for human rights and asylum law, as proclaimed by the heads of state in Tampere in October 1999. If this is not the case, then Europe is jeopardising its achievements in human rights development – of which it is rightly proud – at its very own borders. The present asylum policy of the European Union gives the clear impression that its core objective is the protection of Europe from refugees rather than the protection of refugees. European member states wash their hands of the responsibility for refugees, while humanitarian dramas unfold at the borders of Europe, illustrating the decreasing commitment of EU Member states to guarantee even basic human rights standards. Consequently the solution of the problems outlined in this report lies not only with Athens but also with Brussels and in the capitals of the most influential EU member states, such as Berlin, Paris, and London. EU regulations which state as a general rule that asylum seekers have to apply for asylum in the first EU member state which they enter, create inhumane conditions for refugees and clearly illustrates an denial of solidarity with EU member states at the outer borders of Europe, such as Greece. The fact that in 2007 Greece, which is a seventh of the size of Germany, has registered more asylum seekers than Germany, clearly illustrates that Europe’s asylum system does not operate on the basis of fairness and solidarity. Wall inscription in the former detention centre on Lesbos The countries in the centre of Europe ›protect‹ themselves more and more effectively against refugees. Refugees who manage to arrive in another EU country via Greece are being returned to Greece. The consequences of this policy are evident: While the EU countries which only have internal borders, particularly Germany, shirk responsibility for a humane refugee policy, the EU member states at the outer borders of Europe increasingly fend off refugees in a brutal manner. This leads to a double transfer of responsibility from the Introduction 5