By Aahan Tulshan
The Moria refugee camp is located in Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, an island in Greece. It is the largest refugee camp in Greece and has received numerous refugees over the years who seek sanctuary. The inflow of refugees from over 70 countries has increased so much that the camp is overcrowded and struggles to accommodate everyone.
In early September, a fire broke out that destroyed the camp, leaving more than 13000 people stranded. It is uncertain how the fires started exactly, but the Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi stated that it began with the refugees who were asked to self isolate with their families and refused to do so. Some members of the camp had tested positive for COVID-19 and this was a precautionary measure. Mitarachi did not suggest any indication of arson, however.
Source: Sada El balad
Michalis Fratzeskos, deputy mayor for civil protection, felt differently. He said the fire was premeditated and was an opportunistic move by the arsonists, who saw that strong winds were blowing which could fuel the fire. Others were of the opinion that the tensions between migrants and Greek forces had reached a boiling point and this was only a matter of time. Over 13000 people had been squeezed into a camp meant for only 3000.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
The migrants fled after the fire and looked for shelter elsewhere. Reports say that numerous migrants slept in the fields surrounding the camp. Many suffered from exposure to the smoke. Around 3000 people are being temporarily housed in tents in Lesbos until alternative arrangements can be made. Mercifully, there were no casualties.
There have been signs for a while that the migrant situation has been getting out of hand. In 2018, the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, urged the Greek government to move refugees away from Lesbos, because the situation was becoming unsustainable. At the time, there were 8000 people inhabiting the camp. To make matters worse, the locals are not taking kindly to the migrants and have strained relations with them, often getting into fights.
The migrant crisis has been a process of suffering for those wishing to find safety. Migrants who arrived on the island could not leave until their asylum application had been cleared. This often took a while. The EU has attempted to intervene by distributing the migrants among different states but the governments of the various blocs have rejected the proposals. The migrants have waited in inhuman conditions while the authorities have deliberated. The politics involved has certainly not helped anyone.
About a week after the destruction, four Afghans were charged with arson for allegedly setting the fire off. Two other migrants were collected by the police, but weren’t formally charged as they were underage. The government suspects the migrants initiated the blaze as a protest against the confinement as a result of the positive cases which sprung up in the camp. Statistics say that around 70% of the refugees in the camp are from Afghanistan.
The accused. Source: Ekathimerini
The Greek government urged the EU to jointly run new camps on Greece’s eastern islands as a way to aid the refugee efforts in the country. The combination of the pandemic and the migrant crisis has created a stressful situation which does not have any immediate solution available. The Greek government has promised to house the stranded migrants somewhere on the island within a short period of time.
References:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/13/greece-pledges-migrants-made-homeless-will-be-rehoused-within-days
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54082201
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54082201
