Refugees flee fire set by migrants

THOUSANDS of people have fled a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after fire ripped through tents and destroyed containers during violence among residents, police said.

UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said the fire was linked in part to poor living conditions and a prevailing sense of uncertainty among many. A police official in Athens said two riot police squads were being deployed to the island.

“Monday night’s fires… symbolise the shortcomings of the European response to the refugee crisis,” said Panos Navrozidis, the UNHCR’s director for Greece.

It was not clear what caused the blaze, but Greek media said clashes had erupted following a rumour that hundreds would be deported.

A police official on Lesbos said nearly 60% of the Moria camp was destroyed in the fire.

Tensions have boiled over at overcrowded camps on Greece’s islands as the slow processing of asylum requests adds to frustration over difficult living conditions there.

On Lesbos, tents and containers used for housing and social provision had burnt down. Nearly everyone, including unaccompanied children, had evacuated the site, the police said. Many later returned.

Roland Schoenbauer, a spokesman in Greece for the UNHCR, said people were “sick of waiting” in the camps.

“They don’t know when their asylum claims will be processed, some people feel they don’t have enough information,” he said.

Navrozidis said the camp had been operating at over-capacity for months, with people crammed into the facility with limited access to water, and in conditions that did not meet humanitarian standards.

Navrozidis criticised the system to process claims as “opaque and inconsistent” and said preferential treatment based on nationality had led to tensions within the community.

More than 5 700 refugees and migrants are on Lesbos, stranded there by a European Union deal with Turkey preventing them going beyond the island until their asylum claims are processed.

Those who do not qualify will be deported to Turkey.

Thousands have applied for asylum and the wait is long, ranging from weeks to months. Just over 500 people have been deported to Turkey since March, but none of those who have asked for asylum were among them, Greek officials said.

Despite a slowdown in arrivals from Turkey compared to last year, more than 13500 migrants and refugees are now living on eastern Aegean islands – nearly double the capacity of 7 450.

“The situation is difficult,” Christiana Kalogirou, prefect of the north Aegean region, told Greek TV. “There is a great need for decongestion of the islands… in future things could become much more difficult.”

Including those on the islands, there are 60000 migrants and refugees stranded in Greece, mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who made risky journeys in flimsy inflatable boats. – Reuters