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After the fire: A year ago, several fires broke out in the Moria camp on Lesbos
Photo: ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS / REUTERS
The pictures went around the world: A year ago, a devastating fire broke out in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Thousands of people became homeless overnight.
On the anniversary of the disaster, a network of 45 aid organizations criticized the Greek migration policy on the country's islands.
Even a year after the fire from Moria, nothing had been learned, said the umbrella organization Europe must act (EMA).
The planned new refugee camps on the islands were aimed at restricting the freedom of movement of migrants and making access to the people more difficult for aid organizations.
The Greek authorities pursued a "harmful policy to deter and contain asylum seekers and refugees," criticized the helpers, including local lawyers and solidarity associations, but also international groups.
The EU is also involved because it supports the construction projects for the camps on the islands with 250 million euros.
"Closed center with controlled access" on Samos
A first such warehouse will be opened on Samos on September 18; the warehouses on Chios and Lesbos are due to be completed in the course of next year. It is criticized that the systems are located far away from the island's infrastructure and that people are not allowed to leave them easily. The Greek Ministry of Migration describes the facility on Samos as a “closed center with controlled access”.
The Greek government only drew criticism from volunteers late last year when it passed a law severely restricting their activities.
According to this, helpers are only allowed to come to sea rescue if the Greek coast guard has no capacity and must report all activities.
The government justifies this with the fact that the actions of some refugee workers got out of hand.
There have been repeated allegations that helpers would contact migrants in Turkey in order to guide them to the islands beyond the coast guard.
asc / dpa