Greek police fired tear gas during a protest by refugees and migrants seeking to leave the island of Lesbos homeless in the largest refugee camp in Europe.
Under intense heat on Saturday, protesters chanted “Freedom” and “No Camp” as authorities on the other side of Lesbos began efforts to set up temporary accommodation for them.
More than 12,000 people have been asleep since Wednesday when flames engulfed the infamous crowded Moria camp. With the Moria commotion, on Saturday morning men, women and children were found sleeping under makeshift shelters made of reed stalks, blankets and rescue tents.
Some protesters chanted “We don’t want to go to hell like Moriah again” and “Can you hear Mrs. Merkel?” There were handwritten icons with such messages. To appeal to the German Chancellor.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. The confrontation was short-lived.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]
Residents of Moria’s former camp are adamant they are not interested in moving to another camping situation, said Al Jazeera’s John Passaroplos, reporting from Tent City, which is located on a sidewalk on Lesbos.
“They all say they want to go to mainland Greece and the rest of Europe; they’re tired of living in makeshift huts under temporary tarpaulins.”
Leaving the island will require a twist on EU rules, under which asylum seekers arriving on the Greek islands from Turkey must stay until they are either granted refugee status or deported to Turkey. Officials said none of the camp’s residents – except 406 unaccompanied minors and children – would be allowed to leave the island. Undesirable minors were brought to the Greek mainland on Wednesday, and many European countries have said they will take some of them.
Other countries have pledged support for a new camp under construction in Lesbos, a move neither former Moria residents want.
“All around us, we hear children crying, hungry, hungry,” Psaropoulos said. “We see children who get bored playing with sticks in the street or whatever we find; we see very frustrated adults, very bored people who are fascinated by the shelter process who are unable to make timely decisions. It seems so, ”he added.
“Some people have been here for two years, they are tired of waiting.”
‘Health bomb’
The fire in the camp, which is four times greater than the human population, has blamed the migration crisis facing the EU, which has struggled to find a response beyond temporary reforms.
Greek authorities have denied any mass relocation from the island, which is located a few miles off the coast of Turkey, despite growing hostility from residents, who were victims of the crisis years later.
But officials said they are committed to providing shelter and proper sanitation and preventing humanitarian destruction.
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Moria Tragedy: Demand for leave for abandoned refugees |
“As of today, asylum seekers will start arriving in tents in safe conditions,” Immigration Minister Notis Mitarachi told reporters at the scene.
The need to bring the situation under control is further exacerbated by the fact that authorities have lost track of 35 camp residents who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week.
Health authorities have promised to conduct rapid tests at the entrance to the new camp, with a quarantine unit ready for anyone who tests positive.
On Friday, 200,000 quick detection kits for the virus were flown to the island for a massive test drive that included asylum seekers and islands.
The World Health Organization said Greece had been asked to deploy an emergency medical team. Two such teams, one from Belgium and one from Norway, are expected to arrive on Saturday and Monday.
Still, a deep warning has been received due to unfavorable conditions on the farms and streets of Lesbos by former residents of Moria.
“This is a health bomb,” Matina Pagoni, president of the doctors’ union at Athens and Piraeus Hospital, told Sky Television. These people did not even have access to water for so many days, they could not even wash their hands.
Life was a better life in Europe, with many asylum seekers in Moriah describing life to be worse than what they had endured on the long, often painful journey of their lives.
Human Rights Watch said the fire in Moria “highlights the failure of the European Union’s ‘hotspot approach’ … which has left thousands stranded on the Greek islands.”
“European leaders should share the responsibility of welcoming and supporting asylum seekers. At the same time, Greek authorities must ensure that respect for human rights is at the center of their response to this fire,” Eva Kose, of the rights group, said in a statement.
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