Christian* arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos from Turkey in September 2019. This young Congolese man lived for more than a year in the overcrowded Moria camp and then on the street after a fire destroyed it. He is currently living in the new Kara Tepe camp, which was supposed to be a temporary solution. But he tells InfoMigrants how this situation does not seem to be changing.
One year after a fire destroyed the Moria refugee camp, living conditions in the facility on Lesbos are still preventing children from having access to normal schooling and a safe environment – yet both are crucial for their development.
Greece's government still faces stern criticism from human rights groups that took to social media last week to lament the ongoing situation for asylum seekers one year after the Moria fire.
"There will be no more Moria", was the promise made by Greek and European authorities after a fire destroyed the overcrowded camp on Lesbos in September 2020. A year later, living conditions on the island are still disastrous and Greece is creating new laws to restrict access to international protection.
Doctors Without Borders strongly criticized Greece and the European Union for their treatment of migrants and refugees, one year after a fire destroyed the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. They also denounced the construction of new camps "similar to prisons" on the Aegean islands.
The infamous Moria refugee camp on the Greek island Lesbos burned down one year ago. Living conditions for migrants living there have hardly improved.
On the Greek island of Lesbos, young refugees and migrants play football together for FC Cosmos. The sport helps them overcome their traumas and successfully integrate into Greek society. Some even dream of going pro.
More than 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers have been relocated from Greece to other countries in the European Union since April 2020, according to various UN agencies. Meanwhile, the number of refugees and migrants on the Greek islands has fallen from 40,000 to less than 10,000.
A Greek court sentenced four Afghan asylum seekers to ten years of prison for their part in a fire that destroyed the Moria migrant camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece last year.
New concrete walls are being built around migrant camps in mainland Greece. The project is part of a government plan to modernize facilities, but there is strong opposition to the changes.
While on the Greek island of Lesbos the Kara Tepe camp is closing, 6,000 people in the Moria 2 site are living in dire conditions, according to a new report issued by Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR). The groups call on authorities to revise the "de-facto detention system" for migrants.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has condemned the Greek government's decision to close the Kara Tepe 1 refugee camp on the island of Lesbos. The camp is considered "one of the few places that guaranteed security and dignity to nearly 400 vulnerable men, women and children."