Cite as: Karakatsanis, N.M., 2018. "From technologies of control to 'facebook refugees': The unintended consequences of the EU-Turkey agreement on the refugee crisis in Greece", in K.Sasikumar & D. Dudley (edts), Political and Military Sociology. New York: Routledge, pp. 132-151.
Abstract
This chapter discusses policy challenges facing the European Union (EU) and Greece, the Mediterranean country that has served as a major recipient of refugees crossing into Europe from Turkey. Based on preliminary observations on one of the receiving islands, it analyzes some of the unintended consequences of the EU-Turkey Agreement, including the increased xenophobia among the Greek population, as well as the increased use of technology by migrants to evade border control and to facilitate migration. Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration corroborates that when Syrians arrive in Italy or Greece "they just melt away at the pier—they get on Facebook, and they know where to go". The chapter argues that the outcomes of the EU-Turkish Agreement signal a gap between the intended and unintended consequences of the EU's efforts to stem migratory flows. The EU-Turkey Agreement that closed the Aegean Route turned islanders' compassion to aggravation.
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