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More than four times as many recently lived in the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos, where 3,000 people would be housed. They lived in unworthy conditions, medical attention was lacking and hygienic conditions were catastrophic. There were first coronavirus infections.
Then came the flames. On Wednesday night, a large fire destroyed much of the camp and many thousands of people are now homeless. Aid is getting off to a fairly slow start, partly because Europe lacks the will to act together (read a comment here).
The destruction in the field makes it clear how urgently quick support is needed. The first images gave an idea of the magnitude of the devastation. Now, images from satellite operator European Space Imaging offer a terrifying sight. They allow a comparison of what the camp looked like before the fire and how it looked afterwards.
The first photo was taken on August 20 and the second on September 9, the day after the fire.
After the fires, there were voices calling for the camp to be quickly evacuated, and pressure also mounted on Chancellor Angela Merkel and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. In major German cities, thousands of protesters called for migrants to be accepted into the EU and Germany. The SPD, FDP and the Greens pushed for a humanitarian response, and members of the Union sent a letter asking that the refugees be admitted to Germany. On Thursday, Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron announced that they would take in 400 minors from Moria along with other EU countries.
The day after the disaster, hundreds of people were still wandering the fields around Moria. The locals are also scared, they are demanding the evacuation of all the refugees and want to protest Thursday night. Vigilant groups have already formed.
It has not been clarified how things will go specifically for homeless refugees in the coming days and weeks, how and where they will live permanently. As a first emergency solution, the Greek government wants to house some refugees in warships, others in new tent cities. But it won’t be possible to supply all of these measures (read a report from Lesbos here).
