Authorities begin pitching tents in Lesbos after thousands of men, women and children were forced into a devastating fire to evacuate Greece’s largest refugee camp.
Faced with fierce opposition from local officials, who were now demanding that the infamous overcrowded Moria facility be removed “once and for all” from the island, the Greek government vowed to demolish the base.
Chinook helicopters, carrying tents and other vital equipment, could be seen landing at a military firing range not far from the island’s main city, Mytilin, and large rows of white tents began to form.
Officials said they hoped to accommodate 3,000 to 2,000 people by the end of the week, adding that the ferry and at least two ships were planned to host another few thousand, although that was not enough. Why it is not yet clear.
“We are ready with tents, we are ready to meet the needs of families and vulnerable groups,” said Greek Immigration Minister, Notice Mitarachis. “There is a serious problem of co-operation with the local administration, which has rejected every alternative proposal to put these people to sleep. [somewhere] Safely. ”
He acknowledged that relief efforts were in vain, describing the situation as “particularly difficult”.
As a sign of growing frustration, riot police and shelter seekers surrounded by water cannons, pleading for help, announcing several holding cardboard placards: “We want freedom.”
Without shelter, young and old families were forced to sleep wherever they could: churches, cemeteries, farms, supermarkets in car parks and along roadsides. After the first day of the fire wave, which completely devastated the mountain camp of Moria, an estimated 12,500 people were still forced to defend themselves within 15 minutes of Mytilin.
Refugees picked up on the Internet by Greek TV, spread across the island’s main boulevards against the backdrop of blankets and temporary shelters, spoke vaguely from the holding center. “Moriah better. There is no food, no water [and it is] Very cold, ”said one young man amid scenes provoking the first wave of refugees in the summer of 2015.
Without the basic infrastructure, it was impossible to keep wasting food in the intense heat of the day, the camera sitting on crates of rotten eggs.
Five years ago the first taste of the Aegean island west for about 1 million men, women and children who arrived on its shores in rich boats from Turkey as the Syrian civil war forced people to flee to Europe in search of safety.
Moria was born from that play. Designed to host more than 3,000 people, the holding center soon morphed into a mega-camp about 10 times as the number of asylum seekers increased. Initially Lesbos greets newcomers, first turning to compassionate excitement and then getting angry at the extra footfalls reported in the crime.
Conversations in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Kryakos Mitsotakis, European Commission Vice-President Margaretis Shinas, who is Greek, called Moriah a “sharp reminder” of what must now change.
“The clock is ticking to see how long Europe can last without a migration policy,” he said, adding that the EU would soon unveil a new “treaty on migration and asylum” that predicts a stronger system for external management of the 27-member bloc. doing. Borders.
Mitsotakis, like his predecessor, has complained of inadequate unity from Brussels, saying Greece, as a border country, is forced to shoulder the disproportionate responsibility to deal with migrant trends from the Middle East, Asia and increasingly Africa.
The coronavirus epidemic has also complicated the reaction, as dozens of former residents of Moria were diagnosed with Covid-19 before the fire destroyed the camp.
Eight of the thousands of people who escaped the fire were found infected but by Friday they were missing, forcing Mitarachis to admit to Lesbos that it was a “very serious public health problem”.
A plane with about 200,000 Covid-19 rapid test kits first landed on the island when it started going up the tent. Each refugee will be examined by doctors before entering any type of official temporary accommodation.
“People are very worried,” said Yannis Mastroyaninis, who chairs the village of Moria, which oversees the rest of the facility. “After all these years, we are very tired. If they are to be kept here, they must be very remote somewhere. “
Greece’s center-right government has blamed fires on asylum seekers protesting lockdown measures in the camp after residents contracted covid-19 infection. He has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice, although refugees have disputed the official version of the events. Suggestions for vigilance behind arson attacks are also enormous.
All agree that Moria is no more. But the place to replace the infamous camp called Any Place – which in the minds of local residents associates Lesbos with pride and international aggression – is also unlikely to be accepted. In a statement, the island municipality warned that it would use “any means” to stop another camp instead of “Moriah’s dislike.”
“The decision on this issue is final,” he said. “We ask the concerned authorities to help … before it is too late …”
A senior municipal official assured that if understanding did not prevail, the extremists would simply take the officers into their own hands.
.
