- Title: Greece's Moria refugees decry conditions: 'death better than this'.
- Date: 2nd October 2019
- Summary: LESBOS, GREECE (SEPTEMBER 28, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AFGHANISTAN MIGRANT JAN ALI RAZAIE AND HIS TWO SONS SITTING ON THE GROUND ON WOODEN CRATES BETWEEN TENTS WITH ANOTHER MIGRANT WITH A CHILD IN A CAMP THAT HAS BEEN SET UP RIGHT NEXT TO MORIA TO HANDLE THE OVERCROWDING IN MORIA (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) AFGHANISTAN MIGRANT JAN ALI RAZAIE SAYING: "We're not happy with the conditions here. If I had known what it was like here, we wouldn't have come here; death would have been better that this. We had a very hard journey and came across the sea to get here. But look, my children are riddled with bugs, look! My wife, my sons, myself, we are all being bitten by bugs. We have 16 people living in one tent which is only fit to hold for 4 people." CLOTHESLINES HANGING AMONG TENTS AND MAKESHIFT SHELTERS MADE FROM PIECES OF WOOD, TARPS COVERING TENTS, GARBAGE CAN ON DIRT GROUND CHILD HOLDING ON TO POLE OF TENT (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) AFGHANISTAN MIGRANT JAN ALI RAZAIE SAYING: "I have come all this way here for the future of my two sons. I don't care about myself or my wife, but it's their future that has brought us this far. I want them to have peace. We don't have any peace, so at least they will have a chance to experience peace." ROWS AND ROWS OF TENTS CLOSELY PLACED TOGETHER, UNHCR TARP COVERING TENT, VARIOUS OF MEN SITTING OUTSIDE TENT ON A BED FRAME PLAYING A BOARD GAME WITH STONES VARIOUS OF TWO CHILDREN STANDING BETWEEN CONTAINERS AND TENTS WHERE CLOTHING IS HANGING FROM OUTSIDE OF TENTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF UNHCR OFFICE IN LESBOS ASTRID CASTELEIN SAYING: "The site is completely overcrowded with an impact on all sectors, meaning protection - there are high risk of security and protection risk for the five thousand children that are living here. There are a lot of vulnerable people, risk for sanitation and hygiene because when it is overcrowded the risk of contagion is also very high, and security wise a lot of people in one place that means also more tension less tolerance." VARIOUS OF MORIA CAMP AND THE CAMP THAT HAS BEEN CREATED AROUND MORIA DUE TO OVERCROWDING, CAMPING TENTS SET UP IN THE FOREST BY MIGRANTS IN THE SAME AREA, AS SEEN FROM A HILLSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF UNHCR OFFICE IN LESBOS ASTRID CASTELEIN SAYING: "Anything can happen, whether it's a fight, whether it's a fire incident, whether it's contagious diseases, the situation is really critical, its at the border (point), something very big could happen. And of course its also very difficult to provide the services because of the access - you have so much people that we may miss out some of those that are very vulnerable, and cannot reach the services." CLOTHES HANGING ON LINE AMONG ROWS OF TENTS VARIOUS OF WOMAN WASHING PLASTIC SHEET IN BUCKET AT A MAKESHIFT TAP MADE FROM WOOD, MEN WASHING THEIR HANDS AT TAP AFGHAN MIGRANT SAILA SITTING IN HER TENT (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) SAILA, A MIGRANT FROM AFGHANISTAN SAYING: "It rains and we don't have any enough cover or blankets. At night, it gets cold. I'm sick and so is my child. I'm also looking after a child whose mother was killed in the conflict in Afghanistan. My father is also with us. We suffer from the cold. We don't get good food." CHILDREN PLAYING WITH AN EMPTY PLASTIC BOTTLE ON DIRT HILL BETWEEN TENTS WOMAN HOLDING CHILD, A CHILD HOLDING AN INFANT IN HER ARMS VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PLAYING, CHILDREN MAKING PEACE SIGNS TO CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) KHADIJEH, A MIGRANT FROM IRAN, SAYING: "The toilets are in bad condition, there's limited facilities to wash and there's a shortage of water. There's not enough food to go round and fights break out in the food queues. There are fights over bread. Our children are in a bad way. The conditions are poor, the tents have holes in them that let in rain water and cold air." WOMAN CARRYING A BUCKET OF WASHED BOWLS AND BOTTLES ON HER HEAD AS SHE WALKS THROUGH THE CAMP, MEN IDLY STANDING AROUND, ONE MAN DIGGING DIRT WITH A SHOVEL GARBAGE IN A PILE ON THE DIRT GROUND AROUND TENTS WHICH ARE PROPPED ON WOODED SLATS (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF UNHCR OFFICE IN LESBOS ASTRID CASTELEIN SAYING: "We call up on the government to take some measures, increasing the transfers to the mainland, increasing the numbers of reception places, and we also call upon the EU member states to more actively share the responsibility and eventually to yes to support the Greek government. There is support from the EU that's for sure, but it would be better if the share was a little bit proportionate." LESBOS, GREECE (SEPTEMBER 28, 2019) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF TENTS AT NIGHT, LIGHTS SHINING FROM TENTS CHILD IN SANDALS STANDING OUTSIDE TENT IN THE DARK CHILD PLAYING INSIDE LIT TENT OLD MAN SITTING INSIDE A SMALL CAMPING TENT LIT WITH A FLASHLIGHT, A POT BOILING OUTSIDE TENT ON CHARCOAL FIRE VARIOUS OF WOMAN WASHING CUTLERY IN DARKNESS WITH A SPONGE AND A BOTTLE OF WATER
- Embargoed: 16th October 2019 12:45
- Keywords: Greece migrants Lesbos
- Location: LESBOS, GREECE
- City: LESBOS, GREECE
- Country: Greece
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZEN8EF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Jan Ali Razaie, a father of two from Afghanistan, said he made the long journey from his home to Greece for a better future for his sons.
But sitting in a tent on the ground next to the overcrowded Moria migrants camp on Lesbos island, he said he never expected to be living like this.
"If I had known what it was like here, we wouldn't have come here, death would have been better that this," he says.
"We had a very hard journey and came across the sea to get here. But look, my children are riddled with bugs, look! My wife, my sons, myself, we are all being bitten by bugs. We have 16 people living in one tent which is only fit to hold for 4 people," he adds.
Other migrants speak of rain, cold and illness, lack of food and safety, dirty toilets and water shortages. At the food queues, "there are fights over bread", says Khadijeh, from Iran.
Moria camp is buckling under the pressure of thousands of migrants, so much so that the camp has spilled out of its gates onto the surrounding fields. There are often reports of violence in Moria and deaths have occurred, either from accidents or incidents.
Altogether there are about 14,400 migrants on Lesbos island, UN refugee agency UNHCR says. Moria is built for 3,000. And recently the island has been coping with a new surge in sea arrivals.
UNHCR spokesperson on Lesbos Astrid Castelein says the situation is critical. The agency struggles to provide services for so many migrants, and their health and safety are at risk, especially some 5,000 children in the camp. More migrants need to be transferred off the islands, and more accommodation needs to be found, she said, adding that EU member states needed to share the burden.
On Sunday a fire in Moria camp killed one woman. Violent clashes between migrants and police ensued. The next day the government moved 180 migrants and refugees from Lesbos to mainland camps. Besides transfers, government officials said on Monday Greece aims to deport 10,000 migrants by the end of next year. It will also strengthen border patrols and speed up asylum applications. Hotels and apartments are also being used to house migrants around the country.
(Production: Vassilis Triandafyllou, Deborah Kyvrikosaios) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
