In this article, Jardar Alai explains the situation regarding the Moria Refugees and what the European Union is doing to help.
The Moria Refugee camp is situated on the Greek island of Lesvos. Lesvos is located near the Turkish border and is also known as the "gateway" for Europe. Refugees from the war-torn Syria and Iraq (including refugees from other countries with fewer opportunities) have fled their homeland for peace and a better life. Greece is a county with a large debt, leaving many Greeks, unemployed. When the country was hit by the first round of migrants reaching Greek shores in 2014, they placed the refugees in camps. Because many refugees have heard pleasant things about being a migrant in Sweden, Germany, and France, most seek asylum there. Many countries apart from the EU have taken in countless refugees. At the same time, European nations have seen a rise in nationalism and the rise of the far-right. The right is not interested in accepting refugees into their countries. An abundance of refugees had arrived in Lesvos and the camps began to get overcrowded. When the Pandemic had reached Europe, fewer countries wanted to take in migrants. The refugees had nowhere to flee, so they were obliged to remain on camp. On the night of September 9th, 2020, the refugees had awoken to a horrifying fire that destroyed everything in its path. At Moria, 13,000 people had lived in the camp before the fire. People had tried to flee, but the Greek authorities enforced strict restrictions, overruling their plea to leave. Fleeing for their lives, the migrants evacuated and dashed into a nearby forest. As of right now, the camp is currently in ruins with almost nothing left, and the refugees were left unable to vanish into the towns on Lesvos. When journalists and emergency personal were visiting the camp they revealed it was difficult to enter and leave the premise. On Moria, before the fire had started, only 35 cases of the Corona Virus were recorded but the numbers have possibly grown. Now many of the migrants have been sent to live on other camps nearby. The migrants have lost every belonging. They had little in the beginning but now they have almost nothing. The European community has decided to help migrants in many different ways. Some nations have decided to take in many from Moria, but other countries have decided to take few or none. Some countries had decided to give some money to help Greece handle the incident. Norway has decided to only take in 50 migrants from Moria, but Poland and Hungary have decided to take in none. Many citizens from different nations in Europe have made their demand clear that the governments in Europe should take more action in assisting the survivors of this tragic fire. Other citizens have also made their statement to not take in any migrants resulting in the EU proceeding to change its Immigration laws. It is stated that the life of a person is dictated by different policies where migrants are seen as less important and their well-being is not cared for. This incident contributes to a larger debate on immigration and nationalism.
Sources:
Moria migrants: Fire destroys Greek camp leaving 13,000 without shelter
Published BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54082201
NRK (Norwegian State Media) Flyktningleiren Moria slukt av flammer
NRK EU har en plan https://www.nrk.no/urix/eus-nye-migrasjonspakt-krever-innsats-fra-alle�medlemsland-1.15172142
EURO NEWS What is the EU's new migration pact and how has it been
received?https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/24/what-is-the-eu-s-new-migration-pact�and-how-has-it-been-received
NRK Regjeringen henter asylsøkere fra Moria-leiren til Norge
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