THE CARGO to appear in Dutch on October 5th

Last week I wrote about the fire at Camp Moria and the shameful handling by Dutch and other European politicians of the Greek refugee camp crisis, the constant shadowy deals by governments to allow as few displaced people as possible a safe refuge in Europe, in spite of the UN refugee treaty concluded in 1951 (updated in 1967).

A few days have now passed and we now see the Greeks having set up a so-called "humanitarian" camp to receive the homeless people on Lesvos. They follow a military tactic, besieging and starving the homeless masses until they give in and voluntarily go to their new prison. Isn’t it remarkable that the people don't trust it, expecting to be locked for more interminable months and years? They have a bellyful of Greek asylum policy. A humanitarian camp - why couldn't that have been created sooner? Let’s ask the Greek authorities - I'd say to them: πρέπει να ντρέπεσαι για τη Μόρια - shame on you for Moria.

One of the driving forces behind the current refugee flow, regardless of the underlying causes (poverty and war), is human trafficking. We must not confuse this with the actions of humanitarian organizations rescuing refugees at sea, who as a result are being depicted by some European authorities as human traffickers. That’s just a political game. Those organizations have a humanitarian objective and, according to maritime law, are obliged to save lives, regardless of the question whether that fuels migration.

source: Sputnik

In my new book HET TRANSPORT (translates as The Cargo) I introduce a different face of human trafficking: dealing in women. Human trafficking is difficult to combat, but the means used by our Justice Department to collect evidence against human traffickers (a temporary residence arrangement for victims inducing them to testify) often presents the victims with an impossible choice. That dilemma runs like a red thread through the book.

My new book is not just a thriller. It also shows the harshness of governments mainly concerned with devising and implementing rules and procedures, thus disregarding the human dimension. As an author, when I researched the background to my story, I was shocked to see how often the approach to human trafficking is subject to official arbitrariness and political interference. Read the book and draw your own conclusions ...

As it is impossible at present to hold lectures and book presentations due to the limitations imposed by the corona crisis (my last presentation took place in March, before the lockdown), I made a promotional video, which, like a movie trailer, has the role of a digital presentation. I have used my own film footage of the Waddenzee and the IJsselmeer, where part of the story takes place.

 

HET TRANSPORT is available from booksellers, in Dutch, from October 5th. I have THE CARGO, an English translation, waiting for eventual publication in the English language domain.

Moria - a shameful dance

(Edit: new photos by MSF added) 

I actually planned to write the final announcement of my second book (Het Transport) today, but that can wait another week. I am furious, and it seems I am not the only one, having read the reactions of refugee support organisations and the papers this morning.

Some of you who read the English version may remember what I wrote in The Batavian, about a Greek refugee camp being set on fire. Well, the inevitable has happened: Camp Moria on Lesbos burned down. In a another way from what I described in my book, but still.

source: Médecins Sans Frontières

This is what happens when you put thousands of people in a filthy concentration camp and then subject them to a Covid-19 lockdown, making life even more difficult. The camp was torched - apparently a few people have thrown in the towel and set it on fire. Predictably, the Greek authorities' initial reaction is that the "culprits" will be punished.

Culprits? The real culprits are the indecisive, heartless rulers of the EU, who for five years failed to find a humane solution to a problem that will never go away. You can ignore it, you can put a fence around it, let yourself be blackmailed by a bunch of Eastern European autocrats who are holding the entire EU hostage. You can make a bad refugee deal with Erdogan, who has successfully turned it into a game of harassing the EU, but it won't go away.

source: Médecins Sans Frontières

Finally, Dutch politicians seemed to have seen the light. But only after a huge fire broke out in a refugee camp, resulting in thousands of people now sleeping out in the open. The last hurdle our right-wing Coalition had to overcome was the harsh stance of one coalition party, the VVD Liberals (Conservatives in UK parlance), who try with all their might to lock the gates on every refugee. Something had to be done, not out of charity, but in order not to endanger the right-wing coalition.

Let me be clear: I don't believe those people will be very happy here. They’d probably prefer a normal life in their own country instead of running away from war and poverty. But if more than a hundred Dutch town mayors back in April petitioned the Government, saying they want to do everything possible to accommodate young and vulnerable refugees, what is the problem? Yes, it will raise questions and no doubt it will cause adjustment problems. But we can handle that.

source: Médecins Sans Frontières

So what is the coalition doing now? They will allow one hundred of the thirteen thousand homeless people from Moria into the country. You have read correctly. ONE HUNDRED. I suppose that will solve the problem. 

Yet another shameful development in the refugee debate, and a compromise to be truly proud of. As always: too little, too late. "We take our responsibility," said Rob Jetten, one coalition party foreman. It’s what I call conscience money. 

By the way, these one hundred will be taken from the UNHCR ‘quotum’ of 500 fixed for next year. Refugee support groups are furious, but the creases in the coalition have been smoothed once more, and Parliament rests.