Corona is not only a problem in Europe: the conditions in Greek camps are sometimes devastating.
Appeals put politicians under pressure.
Especially in Austria.
Berlin / Brussels - Attention in the
EU
at
Christmas 2020
revolves
around a few topics: The coronavirus, of course.
The
last-minute
Brexit deal also
made headlines.
Yet
another crisis is smoldering
at the
external borders of the Union
-
alarming news has recently
come from the
refugee camps on the island of Lesbos
- and urgent appeals that could put politics under pressure, not only in Germany.
Shortly before the festival, the
aid organization medico international published
a fire letter from camp residents.
They asked the EU Commission and the citizens of Europe to “grant us the rights that animals have”.
The letter says: “We often read and hear that we have to live like animals in these camps, but we think that is not true.
We have studied the laws for the protection of animals in Europe and found that they have even more rights than we do ”.
Lesbos: Bad situation in Greek camps - "I would have preferred to have died in Syria"
Experts and
human rights organizations
also pointed to the unbearable conditions in Greek refugee camps.
Some children there are now so desperate that they no longer want to live, said child psychologist Katrin Glatz-Brubakk, who works at
Camp Kara Tepe on Lesbos
, on Deutschlandfunk on Wednesday.
"I would rather have died from a bomb in Syria than slowly dying a little here every day," some refugees would have said there.
The psychologist from the organization
Doctors Without Borders
accused the authorities of
accommodating
the refugees in
inhumane conditions
.
“There are no sanitary facilities.
That means there are people in the camp who have not been able to shower for three months, ”said Glatz-Brubakk.
“The toilets tip over in the strong wind and the content flows out”,
says there are no schools or play facilities
for
children
.
Greece's
migration minister
,
Notis Mitarakis
, has recently been forced to deny reports that babies have been bitten by rats in Kara Tepe.
The ministry said that the incidents were fabricated.
The German
Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU)
had previously stated in an interview that a tetanus vaccination campaign had to be started because of such bites.
Regardless of this, work is being done to improve the situation, according to Mitarakis' department.
Migration: 200 showers for 17,000 refugees in Kara Tepe - GroKo MPs also sign the appeal
More than 17,000 people are still housed on the Greek islands.
About 7,500 people are in the
Kara Tepe camp, which was set up after the fire at
Camp Moria
on Lesbos.
According to a report by the dpa news agency, they share 400 Dixie toilets and only 200 showers, only a few of which have hot water.
About a week ago, almost 250 members of the Bundestag
called on the federal government to accept additional refugees from Greece
in a
cross-party “Christmas
roll call
”
.
In this appeal, too, reference is made to the admission offers of the municipalities and several federal states.
Human rights apply everywhere - even at Europe's external borders!
That is why I support the #Christmas Appeal for the reception of refugees from the Greek islands with 245 MPs.
pic.twitter.com/WmUuS3Jf1G
- Kerstin Griese (@KerstinGriese) December 19, 2020
The German
Minister of State for Integration Annette Widmann-Mauz
(CDU) called the reports on the situation in the Greek camps "worrying".
"With a view to the impending onset of winter, everything must be done to help the local people," she explained in Berlin.
This includes the construction of decent and safe accommodation.
Widmann-Mauz also welcomed the admission of some particularly vulnerable refugees to Germany.
Dispute over Greek camps also in Austria: Greens under pressure
In neighboring
Austria
, the dispute over how to deal with the Greek camp has intensified over the Christmas holidays.
There is an emergency there, "which calls for first aid," said
Federal President Alexander van der Bellen
on
Christmas Eve
.
The conditions are unworthy of Europe.
At the same time, the third largest daily newspaper in the country, the
Standard
, published a large report from Camp Kara Tepe.
According to the report,
ÖVP mayors
are also calling for refugees to be accepted - comparable to initiatives in Germany.
However,
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's party
wants to continue to rely on local help, as Integration Minister Susanne Raab
assured
the
standard
.
However, at least the municipality of
Mytilene
rejects this path
, as an adviser to the mayor told the newspaper.
“Nobody asked for money.
We don't need tents either.
Take in people from the islands! ”The situation is politically uncomfortable, especially for the junior coalition partner - the
Greens
, whose party book was also carried by van der Bellen until the election as head of state.
During a Christmas tweet from the party there was criticism - "On my part, I wish you all backbones for Christmas," complained one commentator.
Meanwhile, many European countries are facing a problem that has received little attention, also with a view to camps in Syria, as can be read on Merkur.de *.
(
AFP / fn
) *
Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network
.