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"You have lost your hope"

2020-09-09T18:42:21.704Z


In the evening it started to burn again in the refugee camp on Lesbos - after the big fire the night before left more than 12,000 refugees homeless. Impressions from SPIEGEL reporter Giorgos Christides.


Video transcript

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Moria early Wednesday evening.

There is a fire again in the refugee camp, of which hardly anything is left after the big fire last night.

Refugees who stayed outdoors on the site are seeking safety.  

Drone images from the day show the extent of the damage from the devastating fire that broke out the night before.

The refugee camp is like a smoldering mass of burned containers and tents.  

Original sound from Giorgos Christides, DER SPIEGEL

You can see helpers and UNHCR distributing water to the people.

The stench, the smell of the fire is incredible.

It strikes you from miles away.

The more than 12,000 people here are not allowed to go to Mytilini, the capital of Lesbos.

There is a police line on the street.

So people have to stay on the street or close by.

Camp Moria has been hopelessly overcrowded for years.

Even before the fires, people were living in dire conditions.

Now they have absolutely no place to stay. 

Original sound from Giorgos Christides

We have met families with young children who have no idea where they will be spending the night.

Families who lost everything in the fire, who could only save a few belongings, like a white teddy bear for the little son or a small car or doll for the children.

They lost their clothes, lost their papers.

But above all, they have once again lost their hope that everything will turn out for the better and that they will get away from Lesbos.

There was already great unrest in the camp before the fire, and it was most recently quarantined due to corona cases.

Now the refugees don't know what to do next. 

Refugee interview: The situation is very difficult.

The situation is very bad.

The people here come from all over the world.

Now everyone just wants to leave.

Because last night's fire was so bad.

O-Ton refugee It was really a big fire.

Almost the whole camp burned down.

We don't know where.

All refugees are outside trying to find a place to stay.

In the evening, the Greek migration minister announced that the government would initially house the homeless migrants on ships and in tents.

A Germany is increasing votes from politicians of the Greens and the SPD to take in some of the refugees.  

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-09-09

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