[ad_1]
As the world prepares for a cozy New Year’s Eve in its own four walls, they have to endure the harshest conditions: for weeks, the people in “Moria 2.0” have been bothered by heavy rains. Photos and videos show how the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos is sinking into mud.
“The situation is really bad, it is wet and windy. Tents are not made for the weather. There are constantly inhumane conditions that people have to live in, ”says Fanny Oppler (30) from the Swiss aid organization One Happy Family on Lesbos on VIEW. ‘People don’t have enough warm clothes. For safety reasons, you are also not allowed to bring radiators to camp or start a fire. If it rains for a week, people have no way of drying wet things. “
After the devastating fire in the Moria refugee camp, the tent camp was also set up with Swiss help at a former military site by the sea. Today, more than 7,000 people still live here in the most adverse conditions. “Kara Tepe is definitely not an improvement over before. Before that, there were at least a few live containers. Now everyone lives in the tent and in a geographically impossible place ”, says the Swiss assistant. ‘People are doing very badly. It’s very tiring to be in survival mode all the time. “There is hardly any employment for children due to the ban on assembly. Doctors Without Borders reports on dozens of children at risk of suicide.
Refugees: “Even animals have more rights than we do”
Due to the measures of the crown, each resident can only leave the camp once a week for four hours, for example, to go shopping, see a doctor or a lawyer. According to numerous reports from neighbors and aid organizations, the food distributed twice a day is barely enough and is considered to be of poor quality. Cooking yourself is prohibited due to the risk of fire. Showers have only been available recently. Oppler’s sad conclusion: “Everything is missing!”
At Christmas, the neighbors themselves published an open letter. In it they criticize the EU and the devastating conditions in the new field: “Even animals have more rights and better living conditions in the EU than we do. We live in fear and need every day. “
Switzerland helped build Kara Tepe after the fire and will support Greece with 1.5 million francs until the end of 2020. A water, sewerage and hygiene expert from the Humanitarian Aid Corps has been working in Greece since December. “He supports the Greek government in planning the migrant camps and advises them, among other things, on how to address the problem of drainage in the reception camp on the island of Lesbos,” said an FDFA spokesman.
For Swiss helper Fanny Oppler, it is clear that there is no way to provide sustainable help in the camps. “The only option is to evacuate people. Switzerland would also have to contribute and receive at least a few thousand. “
