Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A prayer on the road
Plea comes after fire consumes refugee camp
MORIA, Greece — Greece’s prime minister Sunday demanded the European Union take greater responsibility for managing migration into the bloc, as Greek authorities promised that 12,000 migrants and asylum-seekers left homeless after fire gutted an overcrowded camp would soon be moved to a new tent city.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blamed some residents at the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos for trying to blackmail the government by setting the fires that destroyed the camp last week. But he said this could be an opportunity to improve how the EU handles a key challenge.
“It (the burning of Moria) was a tragedy,” Mitsotakis told reporters Sunday in the northern city of Thessaloniki. “These images were bad. It was a warning bell to all to become sensitized. Europe cannot afford a second failure on the migration issue.”
Human rights activists have long deplored the squalor at the Moria refugee camp, which was built to house 2,750 people but was overflowing with some 12,500 who fled across the sea from Turkey.
Mitsotakis said he has been in touch with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the reallocation of at least some migrants from Moria, but he said there will be a new, permanent refugee camp on Lesbos.
Since the fires, which came after the camp faced a coronavirus lockdown, thousands of people have camped out in the open on a highway near Moria under police guard. Many have protested the Greek government for refusing to allow the homeless migrants to leave Lesbos for the Greek mainland. Some Greek residents are also unhappy as they see their island being used as a dumping ground for migrants.
“This area is financially devastated due to this issue,” said islander Makis Kouklaras. “For residents, it’s not really a solution to have them moved just 3 or 4 kilometers down the road. It doesn’t really solve anything.”
The Greek army has been setting up tents at a former artillery range, about 2.5 miles from the old camp.
Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis said an estimated 1,000 Moria residents would be relocated to the army-built tent city by late Sunday and that getting everyone housed at the new site would take several days. He said all those entering would be tested for coronavirus and that five new cases have been found so far.
The Greek prime minister also touted his government’s more proactive policy in guarding its borders. Greece is building a fence on its land border with Turkey.
At the burned-down camp, some former residents were still using showers and water outlets and trying to salvage possessions.
“I know that Greek people and Greek government are tired of refugees,” Afghan refugee Mahdi Azimi said. “I know. I respect all of them. But we don’t have any way to go to other countries (except by coming to Greece first).”
At the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis expressed solidarity with the migrants and called for “dignified” treatment. Francis had visited the Moria camp in 2016, bringing 12 Syrian refugees back to Rome.