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Alabden Al Asle and his family woke up to the noise of the fire. The small package that they dragged from Qamishli in Syria, through Turkey and across the Mediterranean, they never managed to get from Moria. Everyone just ran.
They came here, to a dehydrated olive grove with sharp grass and piles of horse poop on the ground. And they will no longer come. There are several hundred children under the trees and along the blocked asphalt road.
Alabden Al Asle came to Moria from Syria with his mother and sisters just over a month ago. Now they are trapped on a road, a couple of kilometers from the burning camp. He hasn’t really eaten since Tuesday.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Alabden Al Asle and his family collapsed on a blanket. The four-year-old boy tries to wipe his mother’s tears with a wet washcloth. He tries again, with a hug. It doesn’t help.
– We tried to seek protection in a town or village, we just wanted to get away from the fire, to get to safety. But the police detained us with tear gas, the children still have pain in their eyes, says Alabden’s cousin, Tamadoar Albarho, 16.
A little away from the olive grove it has police and military lined up. It is a stop. And in Moria, the largest refugee camp in Europe, now burned, there is nothing left.
Syria’s family seeks protection under the olive trees during the day. The temperature exceeds 30 degrees. At night, they sleep on the asphalt, which is still warm, so as not to freeze.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Nobody has food. There are no toilets or diapers. No aid organizations.
– We haven’t eaten since Tuesday night. We didn’t have time to bring anything with us, and they didn’t let us go and try to buy something to eat, says Tamadoar Albarho.
An estimated 13,000 people were in and around Moria when the refugee camp started burning shortly after midnight on Wednesday. According to witnesses DN spoke to, the fire must have started in three central locations around the same time: the health clinic, the asylum office, and at the location where several corona-infected migrants were isolated.
Tamadoar Albarho, 16, was detained by the police and with tear gas as he tried to escape the fire.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
According to volunteers The fire is said to have occurred in connection with a riot and protests against the decision to isolate people who tested positive for COVID-19. But the information is not confirmed. The official cause of the fire has not been reported.
Moria was built during the 2015 refugee crisis and is known for its very difficult conditions, which DN reported on several occasions. Over the years, several people have been killed and injured during violent clashes and riots. Last year, the Greek government promised that the overcrowded camp would be closed and the refugees would effectively relocate to the mainland. But nothing has happened.
The tear gas still stings in the eyes of 5-year-old Amera Al Asle. Lice and insect bites from the camp bite.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
– The situation in the countryside has further deteriorated in relation to the pandemic. Although there was no infection in the field until last week, they have had significant restrictions on how they were allowed to move. This has led to even worse living conditions and even more frustration, says Sofie Kilander, a volunteer on Lesbos since 2017.
We do not know how it will be, no one can give us any answer
The olive grove families seek shade under the trees during the day. At night, when the children are freezing, they lie down on the asphalt that is still hot.
– We do not know how it will be, nobody can give us any answer. The police are bad. We can neither sleep nor eat. It feels like we’ve fled one war and now we’ve reached another. I never thought that Europe would treat us, treat young children, in this way, says Tamadoar Albarho.
Several Afghan families huddle together on a blanket. Parsa Mohammadi is four months old, older brother Ramin Mohammadi has fetched water from the church and is trying to play with his little brother.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
A bit far in the crowded olive grove several Afghan families on a blanket. The atmosphere is pleasant, if eager. An elderly single woman from Syria has been placed in a corner. In another, a 1.5-year-old girl is sleeping soundly. In the middle, a gloomy four-month-old baby. Her mother wears the last can of milk substitute. It is half empty. Two diapers are the only thing left under the stroller.
– We do not know what to do. I fear that the children will die if no one helps us soon, says mother Sidiqa Mohammadi.
At 1:00 p.m., when a group of volunteers enters behind the olive grove and distributes water and a hundred rations of food, the atmosphere suddenly becomes desperate. Riot police prepare with tear gas and shields. People are trying to line up. But everything degenerates.
– We are not animals! Let’s go to Lidl and buy, yells an Afghan.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
– In Moria you have never had to fight for water, but the situation is really desperate. Now they even took water bottles out of the children’s hands. Most of the people received no food or water, says Sofie Kilander.
A couple of hundred meters from the riot police barricades in the town of Panagiouda, the outdoor cafes are half empty.
Read more: Ingmar Nevéus: Everyone wanted to see Moria disappear, but not in this way
