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After the fire disaster in the Moria refugee camp, Greek police used tear gas against protesting migrants on the island of Lesbos on Saturday. As a photographer for the AFP news agency reported, migrants had previously thrown stones at police officers. Hundreds of former residents of the camp, who had to stay outdoors for four days, protested against their desperate situation near the island’s capital, Mytilene.
The Greek government sent ships to Lesbos to give families and people especially in need new places to sleep. Attempts by the Greek army to set up a tented camp have so far failed due to violent protests by refugees and residents. Therefore, thousands of asylum seekers remain outdoors four days after the disaster.
“We have nothing to cover ourselves with”
“We sleep on the ground or on the street,” a group of former camp residents reported on Facebook. “We have nothing to cover ourselves with, not even a jacket to protect us from the night cold and the wind.”
In addition, there are concerns about the spread of the corona virus by infected residents of the camp who have not yet been found, the group said. According to the Greek news agency ANA, the fires started on Tuesday after protests by some residents of the camp, who were to be quarantined after a positive corona test.
Many of the refugees no longer want to stay in Lesbos, but mainly in Germany. But many islanders, as well as the mayor of the affected port city of Mytilini, reject the establishment of a new camp. Politicians argue about how to deal with the situation. Norbert Röttgen called for the immediate admission of thousands of migrants. “5000 fewer people would considerably alleviate the situation in Greece. It is our Christian-democratic claim to politics that we help now,” said the CDU politician.
In the face of the chaos, human rights organization Human Rights Watch warned on Saturday of “growing tensions between residents, asylum seekers and the police.”
