Everyone has heard of the fire happening in Moria. Most have an opinion on it, but not many have a clear picture of the situation in the camp and how something like this could happen. To start off, fires were not a rarity in Moria, there would be small fires multiple times a week due to multiple reasons: kitchens in tents, unsafe electricity lines, campfires, boredone of the youth etc. But to understand how this particular fire happened, as I understood it, you have to go back to the first Covid positive person, or maybe even way further to their arrival.
All refugees on Lesbos arrived on the island by boat, provided by human traffickers. After months of traveling to the Turkish borders, the refugees hand the human traffickers an insane amount of money to get them to Europe, a place they hope will provide them with safety, a future, an education for their children, for their girls to have a life beyond marriage. And don’t forget, this is a human right, to seek asylum, to arrive in a country as a refugee and ask for help.
But in order to get to Europe they need to step on an unreliable boat, with 60 other people and fake lifejackets, that’s how much they hope that Europe will be better. They step onto this boat, they are asked who wants to be the driver, none of them have ever driven a boat, but one of them will have to get them to the otherside of the ocean. When halfway, many are met by the Greek Coastguard, thinking they are safe. Instead the coastguard gets to their boat, takes their motor and pushes the boat back to the Turkish side of the water. THey are not welcome, they are not wanted, not in Greece, not in Turkey. So the Turkish Coastguard often waits up to three days before taking the boat back to shore. Three day. Three days with 60 people on a boat, without drinking water, without food, without shelter. Three days.
And still, many will try again, and again. Not because they enjoy the trip, not because they just want to become rich. They are willing to experience this trauma because they know going back is not an option. Going back means returning to war, returning to terror, taking away their children’s future.
So they make it to Europe, the place where life should become better, but instead they arrive at the most inhumane place that Europe has to offer. Not because they can’t handle, or because they didn’t have the time or money to build adequate shelter. But due to unwillingness and the hope that these unbearable circumstances will keep others away. So there they are, packed together in tents, often for more than a year
And then the first covid person is diagnosed and soon after more than 30 others test positive as well. They are isolated and put in quarantine, but terrified that they will be put back on those boats and be brought back to Turkey because they are a threat to Europe. Meanwhile camp Moria is put in total Lockdown. 13.000 people living on top of eachother, now forced to just wait it out, wait till they will get Covid, until their enderly parents will get it, their sick children, just wait it out. You have to understand, there is no way for people to protect themselves, they live of 120 euros a month per family and masks are selling for 5 euro’s piece inside the camp. The facilities are very limited with 1 toilet per 70 people and insufficient water points. So they are literally forced to wait till they will get the disease.
And this is the situation. The situation that led to the fires.
A cry for help, cause while Europe was busy with their own Covid-disaser, the people in Moria were left for dead. And they still are.
Within three days the new camp was built. The new camp does not have showers, up to today, and people have to wash themselves in the salty sea. The Dixie toilets are not emptied and have turned into a complete mess. The people are provided with 1.5 liters of water a day, for drinking, washing of themselves, their clothes and the dishes and cooking.
And ofcourse, the Greek Government tries, they try to fix a problem that is made entirely their problem. And Europe…. Donates some money.
There are countries that have stepped up, Germany as one.
Holland is not one of these countries though and it hurts me to see the reaction of people.
The selfishness, the ignorance.
But ignorance can be fixed by educating.
To understand you have to be willing to open your hearts, to understand the people, to hear their stories. So go on Instagram and strat following some of them. by.milene and yousif_alshewaili are good ones to start with.
By seeing their struggles, their dreams, their hopes and snapshots of their daily lives, they start to become part of yours. Opening our hearts for people in need, and helping others to open theirs will create understanding, willingness to help and an eagerness to create change.
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