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“I lost what few things I had in the fire,” says Patrick. The 42-year-old Angolan has lived on the island of Lesbos for 11 months. Earlier in the week, a fire swept through the Moria refugee camp there. “The government has to help us,” says Patrick, “they have to take us to Athens, Germany or another European country.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is building tents on Lesbos, writes Deutsche Welle. For Patrick, this is not a solution. “The same will happen in two weeks. They will relight fire, “he said. His family was persecuted and murdered in their homeland.” They would kill me too. That is why I am here. I need protection. “But he cannot find it in Greece.” I have no future here, “said the Angolan.
Source: EPA / BGNES
No food or shelter
Bulgaria offers to accept 20 orphans from Moria camp
Armored police vans are nearby. Behind them, along the curbs of the road leading to the island’s capital Mytilene, sat thousands of homeless people. Among them are families, mothers with children, even newborns. The sun burns without mercy, at noon it is hot, more than 30 degrees Celsius. Some of the homeless have tents given to them by NGOs. Others have built small huts of bamboo and large leaves themselves. The escape and the long stay in the Moria camp taught them to improvise. Despite the billions that flow from Brussels to the Greek government, they are used to doing it alone.
Water flows from a perforated hose. In front of him is a huge queue of people armed with plastic bottles. The women have tied twigs and leaves and used them to sweep the floor in front of their temporary shelter. There are no toilets. The authorities and volunteers distributed water but not food.
“The military comes here at 2.30 pm and they bring food,” said a volunteer as she delivered portions of a parking lot to a large store. “It is not enough for everyone. The food is distributed completely disorganized. It is not enough to eat only once a day. They (the Greek authorities) must finally act and do something.”
A third fire in Moria, Greece, sent boats for migrants
Source: EPA / BGNES
The non-governmental sector, object of aggression and hatred
The situation is also difficult for NGOs. After tensions between locals and NGO staff and journalists got out of control last March, many representatives of civil society fled the island. And the pressure on Doctors Without Borders has increased. Recently, local authorities closed a Kovid-19 refugee clinic near the camp. The organization was also fined 35,000 euros because the clinic was located in an industrial zone.
“After the fire, the situation is critical,” said Faris al-Jawad of Doctors Without Borders. “People need us right now. They depend on us. But the tension with the locals is not easing.” Five minutes ago, a man on a motorcycle passed our clinic and started yelling at us, “al-Jawad said.
State of emergency for four months on the island of Lesbos
Green MEP Eric Markard does not tolerate hatred, but understands that Europe has overwhelmed the people of Lesbos. “I remember well 2015 when the local population was ready to help,” he said. “The European Union has not managed to build a system that guarantees shelter, education and food, but also fire protection,” he acknowledged.
Source: EPA / BGNES
Europe must not repeat its mistakes
Building a new camp on Lesbos does not solve the problem, believes the German MEP. “We need to buy some time so that people don’t suffer anymore. Right now, we need to find political solutions based on an analysis that shows that overcrowded camps on the external borders herald disasters,” Markard said.
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To limit the spread of Kovid-19, he proposes to reserve rooms on the cruise ships, which are currently empty. However, at the same time, European countries must take responsibility, according to the German MEP. Including the Federal Republic: “The German government has agreed in the coalition agreement that between 180,000 and 200,000 people will be admitted annually. He has not kept his commitment for two years. Last year there were 139,000 asylum applications, this year even fewer, ”summarized Eric Markard.
