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The scale of the disaster in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek Aegean island of Lesbos has triggered Brussels. The European Commission is ready to help Greece by all means, underlined the Vice President of the EU Commission, Margaritis Schinas, who had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “I have just contacted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about the fire in Moria. I assured him that the European Commission is ready to support Greece directly by any means in these difficult times.” Commissioner Ilva Johansson is in contact with the relevant ministers, “said Schinas.
Meanwhile, the opposition Syriza party condemned the government’s policy on Moria. “Today’s tragedy in Moria underscores the criminal responsibility of the Mitsotakis government.” Mitsotakis should push for a comprehensive European initiative on Moria.
The Greek Deputy Minister of Immigration, George Koumoutsakos, for his part, stressed that there is no loss of life and that all unaccompanied minors living in Moria have been brought to safety. At the same time, he pointed out to the press that homeless refugees and immigrants will be immediately housed in tents.
The third most important party, the “Movement for Change,” criticized the Immigration and Civil Protection ministers for the Moria fire and called for their resignation. The government has “completely lost control of Moria.” There were living conditions like in the “jungle”. Ministers hid the growing problem behind “communication fireworks.”
Almost the entire camp was on fire
According to a photographer for the AFP news agency, almost the entire camp was on fire. Initially, there was no information on injuries or even deaths.
According to the fire department, several fires broke out within the camp, as well as in the surrounding countryside. The photographer reported overnight that an olive grove with refugee tents outside the main camp was also on fire. The asylum seekers fled on foot towards the port of the island’s capital, Mytilene. However, they were stopped by police cars.
The refugee aid organization Stand by Me Lesvos wrote on the Internet service Twitter: “Everything is on fire, people are fleeing.” According to eyewitnesses, the organization reported that residents were preventing refugee asylum seekers from entering a nearby village.
It was not initially clear whether the fires were started by immigrants or islanders; the information in this regard initially differed.
- Image gallery: The morning footage shows the extent of the destruction:
See image gallery
Photo gallery: Fire disaster in a refugee camp: the extent of the destruction
Image: (AFP)
After the fire broke out, residents of the camp threw stones at the firefighters and tried to prevent them from doing the extinguishing work, the operations manager reported on television. Special units of the riot police were in action. The videos on social media showed people lost, scared and also those who said “Goodbye, Moria!” singing.
According to the fire department, 25 firefighters and 10 cars were on duty when the warehouse was evacuated. The Greek news agency ANA reported that fires had broken out in the countryside after a riot. Some refugees have protested that they should be housed in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus or having direct contact with infected people.
There have always been tensions in Moria, because of the crown problem, the situation now literally exploded, Mytilinis mayor Stratos Kytelis told Greek state broadcaster ERT. It is not known where people should stay now, thousands are homeless. The situation is also a huge burden for the locals.
Moria has been completely overcrowded for years. The camp is designed for about 2,800 people, but more than 12,600 asylum seekers live there in the most difficult conditions. The first case of a coronavirus infection was found there last week. The camp was then quarantined. Since then, according to the Greek Ministry of Migration, around 2,000 corona tests have been carried out in the field and 35 cases of infection have been diagnosed.
