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NEW CAMP: Now the question is whether the migrants and refugees are willing to resettle in the new camp.
OUT OF THE MYTHS (VG) Greek authorities say the new camp on Lesbos will house some 3,000 migrants and refugees. The plan for the many thousands who cannot find a place is not yet known.
White tents are like mushroom hats in the landscape of Lesbos in Greece. According to the plan, the Greek authorities will send 3,000 immigrants here in the next few hours and days. It occurs almost four days after the Moria camp caught fire and dispersed several thousand migrants for all to see.
The camp was hastily set up in two days, but the Greek authorities promise sanitation and electricity to those who live there. Thirty migrants have already entered the new camp, which is a stone’s throw from where most of the migrants have settled on the street.
Background: The migrants from the Moria camp have moved here
The Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum informs VG that migrants entering the camp have been quickly screened for the coronavirus. If infection is detected, they must be able to be isolated. But it is currently unclear where these facilities are located. The tests take place the day after authorities moved in with 2,000 rapid tests in the fight against coronavirus on the island.
The authorities add that priority will be given to families with children and that migrants will enter little by little. Inside the camp, they will be divided according to nationalities and clans.
There is no room for everyone
The establishment of the new camp raises many questions. What is the plan for the many thousands that do not fit in the white tents? What will happen to migrants in the long term?
So far, the Greek authorities have no answer.
So far, the new camp also has an uncertain future. The mood among the migrants is extremely tense after several days with little food and water, under the scorching sun. Therefore, intense demonstrations against the new camp took place on Saturday. With makeshift signs and empty bottles, the migrants yelled at the rebel police who had taken a position nearby.
READY: The rebel police make sure that the demonstration does not get out of control. Many hundreds had demonstrated in opposition to the new camp and to demand better living conditions.
Read also: Ahmed (22) was expelled from Norway; is now among the migrants of Moria
The rebel police are still trying to keep the migrants together in one area of the island, but many migrants have moved closer to the city of Mytilene in hopes of finding food and shelter.
Must have threatened new fires
Then there is the question of whether the migrants will accept the new camp. A source from the ministry informs VG that prominent figures among the migrants have threatened to kill the families of those who register at the camp. The same people are said to have also threatened to burn down the camp if they were able to gain access to it.
It happens at the same time that the fire department was working to put out a fire in the bush near the angry protesters. The question is whether the fire was lit.
The lack of a clear plan is something that migrants themselves are very aware of. Many, therefore, express that they will not go to the new camp, although the most likely alternative is to continue living on the street.
I won’t go there
Zahara Gulsom Nori (20) holds her 12-day-old baby in her arms amid the chaos on the road outside Mytilene. The family of seven has lived in the Moria camp for a year, but had to flee when it caught fire. Now they live under a makeshift tent on the street. It is the only thing that shades the strong sun.
– They kill us, he tells VG.
ON THE STREET: Zahara Gulsom Nori (20) gave birth to her baby at Lesbos hospital. Now she is back on the streets among the migrants from Moria.
Although the family’s living conditions are appalling, she does not want to take her children to the new camp.
– I don’t want to go to camp. We would rather go to another country, he says.
As VG talks to the family, chaos ensues as multiple cars distribute water at high speed. Migrants throw themselves in front of the vehicles to collect water bottles. Amid the chaos, a woman sighs on the ground. Several of the migrants claim that she was run over by cars.
The situation of the people of the Moria camp is desperate.
CHAOS: There was total chaos when several moving cars started distributing water to the Moria migrants. In the riots that followed, many managed to get something to drink.