Located between Europe and the Middle East, over the last years, the Greek paradise island of Lesbos has hosted two main refugee camps: the Moria refugee camp, considered the largest refugee camp in Europe and closed after the devastating fire occurred in September 2020, and the new refugee camp in the Vastria area, known as Moria 2.0, which will be completed by the end of 2021. Despite their purpose to better manage the increased migration flows to Europe, both camps have been considered by many humanitarian organizations as a real hell.
The Moria refugee camp was initially established in Lesbos to host about 3,000 individuals. However, between 2019 and 2020, it became a house for more than 13,000 people among men, women, and children. Before the fire, Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan asylum seekers used to live surrounded by trash, without electricity or water, and with very limited access to healthcare services. Not surprisingly, the BBC had described the Moria refugee camp as the “worst refugee camp on earth,” while the UNHCR had outlined the inhumane conditions suffered by its inhabitants as at the “boiling point.”
As for Moria 2.0, many non-governmental organizations have already underlined the inadequacy of the new temporary camp. The new shelters currently hosting about 9,000 people do not fit for the cold winter. Furthermore, Moria 2.0 has no running water, so that its inhabitants are forced to wash their clothes and their bodies in the sea. Finally, the lack of toilets and proper lighting makes women constantly vulnerable to acts of violence and sexual abuse.
The refugee camps in Lesbos, rather than helping refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, have trapped them in a state of limbo without rights and guarantees. In concert with the European Union and its Member States, Greece cannot look the other way.
By Simone M. Russo