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The Lesvos Post newspaper reported at midnight that there were fires in several places in Lesbos and that a fire had broken out in the Moria camp. There were reports that shots were heard and that there were indications of disturbances in the camp.
The camp is almost completely extinguished by flames, according to the Greek broadcaster ERT.
It is unclear how the fires started and so far no injuries or deaths have been reported.
I cant go out
Norwegian nurse Eline Tveit Holen works for a British aid organization in Moria camp. They woke her up at one o’clock last night, with the message that she was on fire.
– One of the refugees who works as a translator in the clinic we run, said that there was a big fire in the camp. And that we would have to evacuate several refugees to the house we live in, which is located outside the camp, Eline Tveit Holen told NRK on Wednesday morning.
Norwegian nurse Eline Tveit Holen works at the Moria camp.
Photo: Eline Tveit Holen
– I immediately thought that we would help with the treatment of burns and things like that, but after the translator contacted his friends inside the camp, we realized that this was much bigger than a single fire. That the entire Moria camp is burning.
There must have been just under 13,000 people in the field when the fires started. Around 12,000 will be out of the camp in the morning hours of Wednesday.
Holen says that those left inside report that they do not come out, both because flames block the road and because a group of local fascists and local police refuse to escape from the camp area.
It is also reported that the fire department that came to put out the fires refused to release.
A woman carries with her what she has managed to rescue from her assets.
Photo: Elias Marcou / Reuters
Speak of chaos
Shirin Tinnesand works for the Stand by Me Lesvos organization in Lesbos. It also speaks of chaotic conditions.
– It’s chaos. There are police everywhere, there is smoke everywhere, everything has burned, everything is gone. No one has a house or clothes, says Tinnesand, who is in the refugee camp when NRK talks to her.
They informed him around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday that five places in the camp were on fire, at the same time that new fires were starting.
Videos posted on Facebook by Stand by Me Lesvos show the fires and the people fleeing them. In addition, the images from Lesbos show thousands of people waiting around the camp.
– The police have only evacuated children and vulnerable people. Many are trapped in the refugee camp, they have been there all night. They have tried to get out, but have not succeeded, says Tinnesand.
She says that the Greek police do not allow those who have not been evacuated to leave the Moria area because they have no place to live.
– There is no plan for them, says Shirin Tinnesand.
It was still burning in the Moria camp early Wednesday morning.
Photo: Panagiotis Balaskas / AP
– We have welcomed those of us who have space for our house, but I don’t know for the moment where everyone else has done it. I heard that many are on the streets, says Eline Tveit Holen.
Early Wednesday, rebel police were dispatched to the camp and deployed along the five-kilometer road to the island’s largest city, Mytilene, to prevent migrants from reaching the port city.
– Families with small children in their arms sit along the road. We are waiting to be evacuated, while the police stand with shields and block the road to the water and nearby towns, writes Nadine Aabø Mellem in a text message to VG. She works as a humanitarian worker in the Moria camp.
Refugees and migrants who escaped the flames in Moria camp have so far had to seek refuge in the streets.
Photo: Panagiotis Balaskas / AP
Internationals must stay inside
International humanitarian workers have been told to stay indoors as it is not safe for them outside. The Greek partners have had to take over the evacuation work.
– It is a long-standing problem and not only now, that those who help refugees are under threat. We have been told to stay indoors until further notice is given in a few hours, says Eline Tveit Holen.
The Norwegian nurse says aid organizations will meet this morning to plan what to do.
– In the first instance, it will be to give first aid, distribute food and drink and eventually deal with what we have, which has not been burned. We have some medicines and equipment in the houses we live in, plus other organizations have something, so we just have to gather what we have and do what we can.
– The local hospital has also been informed about how many nurses, doctors and other health personnel work in the camp, who now have the capacity to help there, says Holen.
Teams from the Lesbos fire brigade have started fighting the flames.
Photo: Panagiotis Balaskas / AP
crown
This weekend, corona infection was detected for the first time in the Moria camp on Lesbos, and extensive testing and infection detection was implemented.
The overcrowded camp, which is home to about 13,000 people, has been under quarantine until September 15. Only health and safety personnel have been allowed in after measuring body temperature.
– This is probably one of the reasons why it was the way it was tonight, says Eline Tveit Holen.
– We were informed of the first case of contagion last Wednesday. Later, many of the camp’s health clinics closed. After that, there have been minimal health services, which of course has been a great frustration among the refugees. The entire camp is under quarantine and none of us who work at the camp have been allowed in or out.
– Most of the organizations have also had to withdraw from the field due to the Greek authorities. In addition, there has been talk that the authorities want to build a wall around Moria, which has likely also contributed to the unrest and frustration, says Holen.
Firefighters are also fighting two other fires west of Lesbos, the island that was the busiest crossroads for people fleeing western Syria and Iraq through Turkey in 2015 and 2016.
