Greece wants to build new refugee camps in the Aegean Sea

Text by: RFI Follow

In Athens, around 200 people gathered outside the Interior Ministry to protest against plans to open new refugee camps on several Aegean islands, including Lesbos and Samos. A project parallel to the closure of the current camps, where living conditions are unanimously condemned.

Publicity

Panos Telais comes from the island of Lesbos, where Moria is located , the largest camp in Europe. A camp that “welcomes” more than 20,000 asylum seekers, seven times more than the number of places theoretically available. Under his beret, the retired protester stresses the pressure on the local population.

“ Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, has a total of 30,000 people. What can we expect? They are people in front of other people. We must also send the refugees elsewhere in Greece, then the majority of them must be distributed in other countries, ”he explains to our correspondent in Athens, Joël Bronner .

" Where is Europe? Adds Yannis Laroutaris, his neighbor in the demonstration. The white haired man holds a sign which reads "Moria cannot live under threat". “ We are from the island of Lesbos. We don't want any more foreigners on our island. We want to live among Greeks. Between pure Greeks! We don't need other people. Leave us alone! Leave us alone! ", He gets carried away.

Exasperated, the man is angry with other European countries which he says support for Greece is only apparent. A Europe that has transformed these Aegean islands into a border area. At the risk of seeing a xenophobic discourse develop there.

Far-right protesters march against the transfer of migrants from the Greek islands to the mainland on November 3, 2019 in Thessaloniki. Sakis MITROLIDIS / AFP

Construction of closed centers

The Greek government has announced the closure of the three most overcrowded camps in Lesbos, Samos and Chios, whose living conditions are dramatic and denounced. But these camps will be replaced by new closed centers, by mid-2020, with a total capacity of 20,000 migrants - for a maximum period of three months - on these three islands to which are added those of Leros and Kos.

The local authorities and the inhabitants of the five islands reject this project as a whole, against which they have already demonstrated on several occasions. Construction of the new camps is slated to start in March and is expected to be operational this summer, announced new migration minister Notis Mitarachi.

Refugees cross the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece, December 13, 2019. REUTERS / Giorgos Moutafis

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Download the app

• Greece
• Immigration
• European Union
• refugees

On the same subject

International reporting

Greece: an increasingly hostile population towards migrants

Greece

Greece: Athens bears the brunt of asylum seekers and calls on Europe

Greece

The suicide of two asylum seekers is controversial in Greece