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The Moria refugees will be housed in a tent camp near Kara Tepe on Lesbos. But many refuse and want to go to the mainland. But the Athens government makes it clear that the measure “is not voluntary.”
By Isabel Gotovac, ARD-Studio Istanbul
It is supposed to be the new temporary home on the Greek island of Lesbos: a makeshift camp just a few kilometers from the burned-out Moria refugee camp, on the site of the former Kara Tepe shooting range. Around 12,000 migrants who lost everything in the fire are supposed to go here.
But not everyone wants that, there is resistance. Rumors are circulating that the makeshift camp could become a kind of prison from which no one can leave. “All the people don’t want to be in the new camp. They want to sit here, that’s better than in the new camp. All the people want freedom, they want to go to Europe and not stay here,” said young Afghan Abdul Qadir.
“The camp is mandatory”
However, the first 500 migrants have already moved to the new camp. Let others follow. At least if the Greek migration minister, Notis Mitarakis, has his way. He has asked all homeless migrants to move to the new camp immediately. The Minister of Integration has some influence to act quickly.
“Asylum applications are only processed for those who are in the new camp. The new camp is not something voluntary, it is mandatory,” the minister clarified today in a radio interview. Everyone who entered the country had to respect the law.
“And no matter what pressure they exert, we will not tolerate that,” Mitarakis said. The new tent camp can now accommodate more than 5,000 migrants. And it should be expanded to accommodate the 12,000 homeless.
Prime Minister Sees Guilty Migrants
Less than a week after the devastating fire in Moria, the situation remains unresolved and supplies for migrants are slow. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch warned over the weekend of “growing tensions between residents, asylum seekers and the police.”
It is not yet clear who is responsible for the fire in Moria. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says he knows the culprits: “There is no doubt that Moria was burned by hyperactive refugees and migrants.” They wanted to blackmail the government to enforce their demand for their immediate relocation from the island.
Again protests
Even today, many migrants took to the streets again. They requested to be taken to the mainland. In images on Greek state television you could see how the protesters, mostly from Afghanistan, kept saying “Azadi! Azadi!” he screamed – freedom – freedom.
“I wish we could go somewhere quiet,” said one of them. They hoped to have adequate housing and training. If all this will come true for him, the new camp is fully open. Meanwhile, the dispute in Europe over the question of how many refugees individual states host continues.
