Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi defended this Wednesday (06.09.02021) the use of sound cannons on its border with Turkey to deter migrants, a “strange” and questionable practice, according to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs , Ylva Johansson .
Greek police reported the previous week the placement of two sound cannons south and north of the Evros River, the border with Turkey and the entry route used by many migrants. “I think it’s a strange way to protect their borders,” Johansson told a press conference in Brussels after a meeting with Mitarachi.
“It’s not something that has been funded by the European Commission. And I hope it’s in line with fundamental rights, it needs to be clarified,” the Swedish commissioner for the European Union executive said. , who the previous week expressed his “concern”.
The issue of these guns, which emit painful sounds at high intensity, was not discussed during the meeting with the Greek minister, who dealt with the situation of around 10,000 asylum seekers currently on the Greek islands and construction of new land to accommodate them.
Asked about these weapons during the joint press conference, Mitarachi refused to address “the operational problems which concern the Greek police”. “Our position is to use technology in a way that does not violate international law” to protect borders, he said. “Everything we do must be efficient and respectful of European regulations”, he added, specifying that he was ready to “provide information at a technical level”.
The Greek police acquired this state-of-the-art equipment after the flow of migrants that occurred in February 2020 when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would let migrants wishing to join the European Union through.
These tools, denounced as dangerous by human rights organizations, can emit a sound of up to 162 decibels, while a normal conversation has an average of 60 decibels and a jet about 120, according to the chain of Skai Greek television. (AFP)
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
the night of the fires
On Wednesday evening, fires broke out in several places in the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos. Therefore, it is suspected that the fires were started deliberately. Some camp residents spoke of a fire started by the villagers. But there are also reports that the refugees themselves may have started the flames.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
live on the street
The inhabitants of the totally overcrowded refugee camp were able to save themselves, apparently there were no deaths or injuries. According to Greek media, many people fled to the hills and forests near the camp. According to reports from rescue workers, thousands of people are wandering the streets. There is no food or water and conditions are chaotic.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
miserable conditions
Moria was designed for 2,800 people. By the time it all burned down, however, around 12,600 refugees were living there. Living conditions in the refugee camp were considered dire long before the fire. Images taken after the disaster show that a decent life will probably no longer be possible there in the near future.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
Moria is close to Turkey
The Moria refugee camp is located east of the Greek island of Lesbos. The distance to the Turkish coast is about 15 kilometers. Lesbos is the third largest island in Greece and has around 90,000 inhabitants. About 38,000 people live in the capital, Mytilene, which is only a few kilometers from Moria.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
pixelated refugee camp
Who wants to see the Moria refugee camp from the air on Google Maps, will not reach it easily. The whole camp there is unrecognizable. At DW’s request, the only information obtained from the computer giant was that “Google does not manipulate satellite images”. But they targeted the vendors that produce the satellite images. It is unknown why the camp was pixelated.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
The Unpixelated Camp
This aerial photograph, from which we have chosen a similar sector, shows that the environment has been greatly enlarged. While on the Google Maps satellite photo the house with the red roof was still totally free, here it seems to have been gradually surrounded by the camp.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
A look into the past
The “Street View” images of the area, photographed, were taken in December 2011. At that time, the refugee camp did not yet exist. In its place was a former military installation. Asylum seekers started registering on this site from October 2015, before being transferred to mainland Greece.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
The stay in Moria extends
While at the time the migrants had only stayed for a short time – this photo was taken in October 2015 – the EU-Turkey agreement of March 2016 considerably extended the duration of their stay. Since then, people who have applied for asylum have been waiting here to be distributed to other EU states or to be deported.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
when all that’s left to do is wait
Under the agreement between the EU and Turkey, migrants can no longer be transferred to mainland Greece. Since EU countries are divided on how many migrants each country takes in, they sometimes stay in the camp for a long time. People of various nationalities crowd into a small space: it is not uncommon for tensions to arise.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
Tensions at their peak
Tensions had already erupted in September 2016 during violent clashes during which fires broke out. At that time, there were “only” about 3,000 migrants in the camp. Large parts of Moria have been destroyed. Just a month later, several hundred migrants set fire to EU asylum authority containers, protesting the lengthy processing.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
Another fire, with victims
In September 2019, another big fire broke out. At that time, an olive grove in which the camp had spread first caught fire. Twenty minutes later, another fire broke out inside the fortified camp. This fire killed two people: that of a woman and that of her baby. At that time, there were already more than 12,000 people in the refugee camp.
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Fire in hell: Moria refugee camp in flames
A crisis is also an opportunity
A completely overcrowded camp, deplorable sanitary and medical conditions, ethnic tensions and, as if that were not enough, the first cases of COVID-19 have recently appeared. A catastrophic situation. And that was before the fire. Is this the imminent apocalypse or perhaps the starting point for a more humane solution? So far, no one can or wants to answer this question.
Author: Marco Müller
