Greece: further extension of confinement in asylum seekers' camps

Text by: Joël Bronner Follow

In Greece, the authorities again extended the confinement of the main camps for asylum seekers for another 15 days, until June 21. This is the third time that containment has been extended since May, officially due to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. A virus which has nevertheless relatively spared the country, where less than 200 victims have been identified since the start of the health crisis.

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From our correspondent in Athens,

It was at the beginning of May that the confinement of the Greek population was lifted. Since then, however, it has continued in the so-called “reception and identification” centers for asylum seekers. Camps with a total of almost 35,000 people crammed on five islands in the Aegean Sea - like Moria on the island of Lesvos - or on the land border with Turkey, as the center of the Evros.

Officially, it is for the Greek authorities to fight against the spread of the coronavirus. However, among all asylum seekers, only a few dozen cases have been reported across the country and no victims have been identified.

Before the health crisis, tension was high on the other hand on several islands which shelter camps, in particular in Lesbos at the end of February and the beginning of March. Part of the local population expressed their rage, sometimes with violence, faced with this forced cohabitation.

Athens also intends to soon set up first closed or semi-closed centers. Especially on the island of Samos and in Malakassa, north of the capital. The repeated prolongation of confinement for several tens of thousands of asylum seekers thus seems to be part of a parallel logic.

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• Greece
• Coronavirus
• International Migration
• Refugees

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