Europeans should be appalled by the inhuman living conditions that refugees and asylum-seekers endure in Greek camps. We must finally uphold the principle of human rights, says Dimitra Kyranoudi.
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Image: DW/P. Kouparanis
The Moria refugee camp — located on the Greek island of Lesbos — burnt to the ground two weeks ago. It was an overcrowded place that many camp residents, humanitarian relief agencies and media organizations had condemned as a "European disgrace" and as "hell on Earth."
With the camp for displaced people gone, one might have hoped this dark chapter in Greek and European history may have come to an end.
A second Moria camp looking likely
Alas, that is not the case. Over the course of the past few days, another camp for displaced people has been set up on Lesbos. The Kara Tepe site now houses over 10,000 people from the former Moria camp, making it Europe's largest site of this kind. Moria camp, let us not forget, had originally been designed for about 3,000 residents — even though many more lived there until it burned down. Tragically, Kara Tepe camp will most likely become a second Moria.
The destruction of the Moria refugee camp has not compelled Europe to rethink its stance on refugees and asylum-seekers. Germany's announcement to take in 1,553 refugees from islands in the AegeanSea does little to address the overall problem. Kara Tepe camp, set up with help from the UNHCR, has been officially declared an interim site. A replacement camp will soon be established on Lesbos, possibly at the location of the Moria site, or on another Greek island.
Europe continues to apply a technocratic solution towards a humanitarian problem. But this has meant refugees and migrants in Moria and elsewhere have had to endure inhumane living conditions that undermine their human rights.
Refugees will keep coming
We also know that ongoing conflicts and persistent crises in the Middle East, parts of Asia and Africa will bring many more refugees and asylum-seekers to Europe's shores. These are individuals who climb into rubber dinghies or unsafe boats to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better life. These very people will be stuck, like those before them, at the EU's external borders, and endure life in dismal conditions. This is almost inevitable. We know from European history that desperate people will do whatever it takes to reach safety.
The hygienic conditions in the new Kara Tepe camp hardly differ from those in MoriaImage: Reza Shirmohammadi/DW
Now, the EU is saying it wants to quickly find a "European solution" to this urgent refugee crisis. But what, exactly, does it have in mind? That is entirely unclear. Besides, most lawmakers and Europeans seriously doubt a united policy will ever be adopted. "Solidarity" and "human rights" have become nothing but empty slogans to EU lawmakers. And Europe's young, in particular, can tell.
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European legacy
With regard to refugees and asylum-seekers, the EU has embarked on a course of isolation and deterrence, one that stokes fear of "the other." Whether this has been a deliberate or unconscious move is unclear. Either way, it contradicts Europe's core values. And it ignores the continent's dark past, along with its legacy of the Enlightenment period, its revolutions, struggles for freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
We, Europe's young, have been born in a time where we take freedom, human rights, and the rule of law for granted. We should not. Honoring these principles is challenging, yet crucial in how Europe deals with refugees and asylum-seekers at its gates. And we must realize that ignoring these principles puts Europe to shame.
End of Moria camp highlights refugee trauma
When Europe's largest refugee camp burned down, asylum-seekers on Lesbos, Greece, were forced to sleep on the streets, without access to food or water. Marianna Karakoulaki documented three days of their makeshift life.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
Heavy burden
Moria, the EU's largest refugee camp, held more than 12,000 people. After it burned down, most refugees moved to the streets just outside Lesbos' other main refugee camp, Kara Tepe, but were not allowed in. Instead, they created temporary shelter for themselves by setting up tents. Police contained them to the stretch of road while the Greek government moved to rapidly create a new temporary camp.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
'We don't need food'
Following days of sleeping rough on the street in front of Kara Tepe, refugees organized a peaceful protest using bottles to try and make the authorities hear their demands. Most refugees are afraid of going back to a camp similar to Moria. "We don't want food, we want freedom," people told DW, over and over again. Human rights organizations had characterized Moria camp as an open-air prison.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
The power of protest
Hundreds of refugees took part in daily protests in the hopes that they would not be put into a new Moria-like camp. The Greek government responded by sending ten police platoons, two water cannons and two armored vehicles to the makeshift tent site in front of Kara Tepe. Some protests were met with tear gas. "Is it worth protesting?" one person expressed to DW.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
'Free us'
"Man & World Organization. We want water, no food, just free us," this Afghan girl's sign reads in English and Dari. The majority of refugees protesting the rough conditions come from war-torn or post-conflict zones, including Afghanistan and the DRC. Despite the trauma endured, children are active in protests, showcasing their determination to fight for their rights and future.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
Nothing is more permanent than temporary
The Greek government claims that the new refugee camp will be temporary. But refugees — some of whom have been in Greece for over a year — fear it will be another place of endless waiting. "Sto Nisi," a local Lesbos newspaper, published a contract showing that the Ministry of Migration Policy has rented the property where the new camp is to be located until 2025, for €2.9 million ($3.4 million).
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
No quick solution
One week after the Moria fire, refugees remained on the blocked road. Greek government officials claimed that people would be transferred rapidly to the new camp; however, by Tuesday night, only 1,000 people had moved there. The government announced that the island of Lesbos, the landing site for large numbers of refugees crossing the Aegean Sea, would be emptied of refugees by next spring.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
Family life in severe hardship
Refugees adapt in harsh conditions. Following days of hunger and thirst, refugees started receiving some basics: two bottles of water and food. But with the September sun scorching Lesbos, it is not enough. Some try to prioritize hygiene since, amidst everything else endured, they are now concerned about COVID-19. So far, at least 31 refugees who have moved into the new camp have tested positive.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
When the sun sets
The night brings more danger and fear to the refugees who live in the makeshift tent site on the road. "Can you imagine how it felt sleeping among so many men as a young woman? Going in the forest or hell [the tent area] for toilet? I couldn't sleep all night as I feared insects will come and sting my daughter and husband," one young Afghan woman told DW.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
'God help us'
Life in Moria was tough and dangerous. Many refugees there had lost all hope. Having already fled their homes, the Moria fire forced them to flee once more to save their lives. After sunset, at the makeshift tent site, dozens of women, children and men prayed on the street in front of a grocery store. They asked God to give them hope and for their voices to be heard. Many could not stop crying.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
Tears for a absent future
Many of the refugees in Greece have suffered unbearable trauma, having left conflict zones and extreme poverty. "We didn't come here to collect money. We didn't come here to have a great time. We only want our children to have a better future and have an education," this Afghan man told DW through nonstop tears.
Image: DW/M. Karakoulaki
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This article was translated from German by Benjamin Restle.
