Lesvos. Greece. March 18, 2020. Statement by No Border Kitchen about the Moria camp. The camp is overcrowded with 20.000 people and by allowing only 100 people to get out per hour (between 07:00am until 07:00pm) most people will be locked up for most of the time.
Originally published by No Border Kitchen Lesvos Facebook page.
When is enough enough?
Over the last week the corona virus has almost completely taken over the news cycle. And the measures that are being taken against it especially. Self isolation, “social distancing”, curfews, bans on public gatherings, fines…..
But what does this mean for Moria, the biggest monolith of inhumanity within the european fortress?
As off tommorow it means:
1. Restriction of movement between 19.00-07.00.
2. One person per family is allowed to go to the city per family. This will be checked by the police.
3. Every hour only 100 people can go outside of the camp.
4. The police is responsible for the enforcement of these measures.
Earlier news reports also talked about new fences and things like this, but this remains to be officially confirmed. However, the already annouced measures will have a siginificant impact on an already volatile situation. And the responsability of upholding these new measures fall upon the state’s very own attack dogs, the police. Time and time again have they shown that they care very little about migrants, and their whole excistence is an affront to the freedom of movement.
The increased xenophobia that is terrorizing the island is only amplified by the spread of the “foreign” corona virus, and this too will hit the people trapped on the move. For us, it just makes it completely and utterly clear that places like Moria shouldn’t exist. Europe is forcefully and knowingly putting human beings in positions that are in-human. And the effect that that has will now be amplified a thousandfold.
The conditions in the camp are well known and documented. Much of the conditions imposed on the rest of the world to stop the spread of the virus are impossible to maintain in an overcrowded migrant camp. Hygiene is minimal at best. All space is shared. There is never enough food, and some people stand in line for days without getting any.
People used to be able to go outside of the camp to get additional supplies, and now this too will be next to impossible.
People will be trapped in a place that is overcrowded, dirty and without access to regular meals. It doesn’t take much too realise that it’s a deathtrap. 3 months ago it was impossible to imagine that the situation in Moria could get any worse. And yet somehow it did. And also our fear has come true. The camp will be closed, and a lot of people that came here seeking life, will instead die.
No Border Kitchen Lesvos, March 18, 2020.
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