A massive fire devastates the refugee camp on the island of Lesbos
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
The refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos was evacuated overnight due to a violent fire, likely of arson origin.
A massive fire devastates the refugee camp on the island of Lesbos
The refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos was evacuated overnight due to a violent fire, likely of arson origin.
A massive fire has destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. According to international press reports, the blaze — which broke out overnight between 19 and 20 September — was likely caused by arson, although investigators have not yet identified those responsible. By sheer chance, no casualties were recorded, despite the flames having almost entirely destroyed the tents sheltering the migrants.
LE FOTO ANSA - Incendio in campo profughi di Lesbo, migliaia in fuga ow.ly/Ac79304ntqT
5,650 people in the camp. With 3,500 places available
The containers set up to house the refugees were also severely damaged, as were the offices of the staff managing the camp. This triggered the flight of approximately 3,000–4,000 people (out of a total of 5,650 present), among them 150 children and young people who occupied a section of the camp reserved for minors.
The wind, which was particularly strong on the island that night, made the situation — and consequently the work of the firefighters who rushed to the scene — even more complicated. Some witnesses also reported heated arguments among the migrants, said to have been sparked by moments of panic. For that matter, the Lesbos camp, which has been overcrowded for many months, has seen fires before, though an evacuation had never previously been necessary.
Alexis Tsipras: "This is how xenophobic forces are raising their heads again"
The site's maximum capacity is just 3,500 beds. And making the situation even more untenable — as the French daily Le Monde explains — "was the EU-Turkey deal, which provides for the systematic return of refugees to the Eurasian nation." This has pushed almost all the migrants on Lesbos to apply for asylum on the spot. Yet the Greek authorities' response to their applications "will only come in a few months' time."
More broadly, the Greek islands are home to a total of 13,536 refugees, against 7,450 available places. This has prompted widespread criticism from human rights organisations. The situation, in Greece as elsewhere, would deserve a far greater commitment from European governments. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned in this regard: the current management of the migration crisis "is leading nationalist and xenophobic forces to raise their heads again for the first time since the Second World War."