One year ago, Europe’s largest camp for displaced people—Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos—was destroyed by several fires that erupted across September 8 and 9, 2020. This tragic event, which left some 12,000 people stranded with no safe place to stay, starkly illustrated the complete failure of the European Union’s (EU) “hotspot” approach to migration.
“The night of the fire I realized that Europe does not have humanity,” said Ali*, a survivor of torture in Syria who has lived on Lesbos for a year and a half. “We were so scared. For almost two weeks, we were homeless in the streets. It felt like you were under siege in Syria. There was no water, not even [a] toilet. It was shameful for Europe.”
Following the fires, the EU and Greek leaders promised “a fresh new start” on migration, but have instead continued to deny basic rights and dignity for asylum seekers and migrants searching for safety in Europe, forging ahead on plans to construct more prison-like camps on five North Aegean islands.
“Whatever we say will not make any difference”
Recently, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) moved some services on Lesbos closer to Kara Tepe camp—originally an “overflow” camp that now hosts 3,500 people, including many who were forced to evacuate Moria, in equally inadequate conditions. “There is no difference between the old Moria and Kara Tepe camp,” said Ali. “The procedures are the same, it is the same system. Everyone knows what is going on in this shameful camp, but they cannot feel our pain. Whatever we say will not make any difference.”
MSF’s patients continue to report deteriorating health and mental health related to the arbitrary asylum process, a fear of deportation, and precarious living conditions. “We are in [a] bad mental [state],” said Mariam*, from Afghanistan, who has spent two years on Lesbos with her husband and their two-year-old daughter. Mariam and her family were also living in Moria camp when the fires erupted—they were forced to evacuate and slept on the streets for 10 days. They now live Kara Tepe.
“The living conditions continue to be difficult; we don’t have a good life here,” said Mariam, who is about to give birth to another child. “I don’t know if we can get recognized as asylum seekers or if we are going to get another rejection. My little girl tends to [show] aggressive behaviors because of what she has witnessed here. She doesn’t like to play with friends, to laugh, to speak, or to play with dolls. All there is in her mind is the violence she has witnessed here: The fights in the camp, the time that we had to run away, the fires, the teargas.”
