Lesbos: The new refugee camp at Lesbos will not be ready in time

He spent the winter time in tents a few meters from the coast. The wind whistled through the tents, the people froze, the camp was repeatedly submerged in mud. It snowed in January.

Around 7,000 refugees are currently living in temporary refugee camps on the Greek island Teenagers, Which includes more than 2000 children. Aid organizations report trauma to girls and boys who tear their hair out in frustration.

Actually, the warehouse is for transition only, so no containers or houses are even built. An Interim Solution. He was in september 2020 Moria Slum Camp burnt down, In early September 2021, before freezing, a new warehouse must be ready. A camp that should meet European standards should have heated containers, playgrounds and classrooms. At least that is what the Greek government and the European Union Commission promised. No more ugly pictures should come from Lesbos.

But according to SPIEGEL information, the new camp on Lesbos will not be ready most of the time. Refugees are in danger of another winter in the tents of the refugee camp.

A new warehouse is to be built next to a landfill

The new camp for refugees is to be built a few kilometers from a landfill to the north-east of the island. A gravel road leads to private property that officials want to rent. Vastaria is the name of the region. There is still only one meadow here.

According to the schedule, Greek authorities should tender the procurement process for the construction of the camp in December 2020. The government should submit funding applications to the European Union by the end of 20 January at the latest. A camp manager should be appointed by March. Nothing like this has happened so far.

The camp will surely end later, they say in Brussels. Disappointment runs deep. Found one Greece A “huge amount of money” has been made available, it should now finally begin. The European Union plans to provide 155 million euros for camps on Lesbos and Chios.

The European Union has not completed an investigation into applications for funding for a new camp on Lesbos, with Greek Minister of Migration notice Mitrachi recently opposing a request from SPIEEL. He also acknowledges: At the moment it does not seem that completion in September is a realistic one.

The main reason for the delay is differences between the Greek government and the European Union Commission. They both have different ideas of what the new warehouse should look like.

Too much fence, too little education

Responsible EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson wants to build an open, humane camp. There should be an entry control, but not a prison. Johansson speaks of schools for children “so that precious years are not lost”.

On the other hand, the Greek government of Prime Minister Kyrgakos Mitsotakis repeatedly talks explicitly about “closed camps”. He was chosen with the promise of bringing order to the migration policy. Closed camps were an important part of the strategy to pacify the inhabitants of the Aegean Islands.

A closed camp should not be financed by the European Union at all, with EU guidelines banning the reception of refugees. There has been a lot of emphasis on fences and very little on education for children, it said. The authorities will have to improve.

Angry residents chased police officers off the island once before

But Mitsotakis is under pressure. Many of Lesbos voters do not want a new camp at all, with only a slim majority voting after a long struggle in the decisive municipal council for a new “closed” camp on Lesbos. There were protests again in February, he missed her One year ago rebellion. At that time, protesters chased police from the island to secure the construction of a new camp. The government wanted to turn Lesbo into a “warehouse for souls”, warning the protesters. His militancy was praised by regional governor Kostas Mutzoris, a party friend of Mitsotakis.