Published 12:16 IST, September 14th 2020
Greek troops build new facility for Moria migrants
Around 300 refugees and migrants had by Sunday evening moved into a new camp facility being built by the Greek army in a former military shooting range in Kara Tepe, on the island of Lesbos.
- World News
- 2 min read
Around 300 refugees and migrants had by Sunday evening moved into a new camp facility being built by the Greek army in a former military shooting range in Kara Tepe, on the island of Lesbos.
Soldiers have set up between 300 and 350 tents and continued working into the night.
Meanwhile, almost 10,000 prepared to sleep rough another night in the stretch of the road between Kara Tepe and the outskirts of Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos.
Thousands of refugees fled the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp on Tuesday night when multiple fires broke out in the camp.
Most of them have been protesting daily and demanding to be allowed to move to the mainland and continue their trip to other European countries.
Montaaz who was playing football in the road with his Afghan friends said he has been stuck in Lesbos for almost two years.
He said he doesn't see a clear future for him.
Many of the refugees and migrants are reluctant to move into a new camp that will be manned by police.
They fear it will be a prison.
Due to lack of space to set up a tent or a sleeping bag in the road, Isaii Husseini placed his paralyzed brother Ayoub on a blanket on the flat rooftop of a nearby building.
Both brothers have been in Moria for eight months.
Isaii would like for Ayoub to be placed in a hospital but police officers say Ayoub must pass an immigration interview first.
Ayoub, an Afghan bricklayer working in Iran, fell off a building five years ago and hasn't walked or spoken ever since.
His brother Isaii brought him to Europe in the hopes of getting him better medical treatment.
Greece’s prime minister demanded Sunday that the European Union take a greater responsibility for managing migration into the bloc.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis blamed some residents at the Moria camp for trying to blackmail his government by deliberately setting the fires that destroyed the camp last week.
But he said this could be an opportunity to improve how the EU handles a key challenge.
Updated 12:16 IST, September 14th 2020