More than 7,000 people remain in the emergency site at Mavrovouni, established to accommodate those rendered homeless by the fire. "We lack everything in Moria: food, showers, toilets… You have to line up for everything here, all the time." They’ve gone from having three opportunities a day to queue for food, to not receiving food for more than two days. It is yet another attempt of the European Union to render the situation on the Aegean islands invisible.”, A food distribution card from the non-governmental organisation Refugee4Refugees. They’ve gone from sleeping in a tent for shelter, to sleeping on the street; from a shower once a week or more, they’ve gone to not having any sanitation facilities; and from waiting a long time for legal papers or answers, to nothing, as the office has been burned. My sole focus was on finding solutions that would keep me alive — no more goals, no more dreams. For many, however, using their phone was the main activity, either to keep in contact with friends and family back home or simply to kill time. Some were born in Moria and did not know life outside the camp. Photo by Yousif Al Shewaili. Not a Global Citizen yet? The people here are only talking about the current situation, only focusing on the “now”, what we hear from other people, the rumours spreading. Card games were particularly popular among the Afghan community, Photographer Vincent Haiges recalls the scene: “Walking through the remains of Europe’s biggest refugee camp, home for around 13.000 people in its last days, felt unreal. Even in the worst living conditions, people keep dreaming, people keep their faith, people keep being humans. Most asylum seekers were camping in “the jungle” olive groves on … Reza. Others are witnesses of resilience. Some of the refugees on Lesbos have been in Moria for years and have never had their asylum cases processed. It’s easy for us to imagine how the virus would spread very quickly. I started to take my pictures and videos of people living in Moria, to help them shout to the whole world. About the fact that I didn’t have enough food, or money to buy food. Moria has a capacity of 3,000, yet there are currently more than 9,600 people in the camp, who are struggling to cope with often inhumane conditions. Diazepam and Ibuprofen, means to bear what is unbearable. March 25, 2020 I didn’t have drinking water, and was dependent on the distribution in the camp. With facilities meagre in and around the camp, children often lurk around with adults. If seeking a change of capacity contact the lead camp consultant. In the context of the 2015 migrant crisis, the Moria camp in Lesbos was built with an original capacity to shelter some 3,000 asylum seekers. What Coronavirus Means for Europe’s Refugees and How You Can Help. According to a Red Cross report the camp, the biggest of its kind in Europe, was at more than four times capacity. This is the key. The facility was placed under quarantine last week after authorities confirmed that an asylum seeker had tested positive for the coronavirus. Photo by Océane Marache; Courtesy of Yousif Al Shewaili, Image: Photo by Karol Kras; Courtesy of Yousif Al Shewaili, What Coronavirus Means for Europe’s Refugees and How You Can Help. She told me that I would be interviewed for asylum in a year and a half. Bottom row: a French copy of the New Testament. There are too many young people in Moria whose dreams are lost while they are struggling to stay alive. With COVID-19, the situation now for the refugees on Lesvos is out of control. I went through all of that too, crossing the sea, living in the camp for over a year, and I, too, wanted to talk about everything I’d experienced. During the night, the camp often turned into a place of violent confrontation. Some objects are witnesses of violence. I’m from Iraq and have been living in Lesvos, in Greece, for three years now. The atmosphere is very tense, as no one has had proper rest for days, months, or even years. According to a Red Cross. Nearly 11,000 people had to flee. Since that moment, a day hasn’t passed that I haven’t picked up my camera to report on life in the Moria camp, the biggest refugee camp in Europe. Many experienced mental health issues including self-harm and attempted suicide. Moria has the capacity to house some 3,000 people but was sheltering people more than four times its capacity in abysmal conditions, with many of them sleeping rough or in tents. This is how I lived until I received a positive decision on my asylum application. A French copy of the New Testament. The only thing on my mind when I arrived was that, now, I was safe and free. And he says that, currently, Zohra, who works for Doctors Without Borders, was deported to Afghanistan after being denied a visa to enter Greece through asylum papers, so that she is currently in a camp refugees in Bosnia to try to enter Europe through Croatia. Since the fire, large-scale transfers out of Lesbos to the mainland have helped reduce the number of people whose lives have been blighted. The chattering of voices, the clattering of dishes. Here's How You Can Help. Thankfully for me, a little bit of light comes back when I take pictures, when I am able to help others tell their stories. But quickly, every thought of a life outside of the camp collapsed, when the Greek government announced that there was no chance of relocation out of the island — while a new camp is being built a few kilometres away from Moria. Camping reservations can be booked up to six months in advance, and overnight lodging (cottages, safari-style tents, geodesic domes, cabins, yurts and lodges) and shelter reservations can be made up to a year in advance. The Moria camp currently houses 19,000 people, almost seven times its capacity of 2,800 places. These are only small instances of the hell that I and thousands of others have lived through. Rather than thinking about goals and dreams, I instead had to think about my safety all day and all night. The official camp is an old military base with high walls and barbed wire surrounding it. "The overcrowding of the camp, the cold and the waiting doesn't help the situation and makes it harder on everyone," Abassi from MSF says. Mória Reception and Identification Centre (Greek: Κέντρο Υποδοχής και Ταυτοποίησης Μόριας), better known as Mória Refugee Camp, or just "Mória", was the largest refugee camp in Europe until it was burned down in September 2020. Many are still living through it as I write this. Bottom right: a padlock used to secure homes against thieves. Although its official capacity is 3,000, there are 12,500 refugees living in and around it. Network quality in Moria was low and there was only one wifi spot, which was often overstrained. When it became a matter  of saving my life, I left, carrying these hopes and dreams with me, hoping that becoming a refugee would not mean the end of them. This article has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Valentine’s Day is a popular celebration in Afghanistan, “Between the rubbles we found different objects, still witnesses of a former life. It was described by Human Rights Watch as an open air prison. Europe's largest migrant camp, Moria, ... more than six times its maximum capacity of 2,200 people. The fire, while tragic, initially stirred a wave of hope among those living in Moria that it might mean a chance for a better life outside of the camp, maybe on the mainland or in another country. Many left in panic, grabbing their children and leaving behind their few possessions. During the night of 8 September, the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos burst into flames. Despite having a maximum capacity of 3,100, Moria was instead home to around 13,000 people, who had travelled to Europe with the hope of a better life for themselves and their loved ones. For many cooking was a way of keeping the memories of the place they left behind alive.”, Top row: a sim card and phone case. On 08 September, the Moria Reception and Identification Centre in Lesvos, Greece, was destroyed by fire. Then, on Sept. 8, a devastating fire swept through the camp, destroying the homes and possessions of … But not before fighting and fighting to try to make them happen there. One bathroom at the camp had to serve about 1,500 people a day, Aftermath of Moria refugee camp fire – photo essay, uring the night of 8 September, the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos burst into flames. The Moria camp, which hosts more than 12,000 people, was “probably totally destroyed”, a Greek migration official said. Not politics, not money, but keeping humanity. Authorities said they were investigating arson at the sprawling camp. That’s what I’m trying to do every day, showing the dreams, hopes, and dignity of the people in Moria. I will never forget the big tent they took us to first, the “Reception tent”, where I waited with so many people from different countries, nationalities, and speaking a multitude of languages. The UNHCR has warned for some time of the urgent need to address the situation and conditions for asylum seekers on the Aegean islands, where many must cope with dire living conditions and are exposed to security risks including sexual and gender-based violence. It felt as if those objects wanted to say: yes once there were people living here too. Make camping, lodging & shelter reservations. Moria was home to an estimated 13,000 people -- more than six times its capacity. I was one of the many who lost their psychological battle inside the camp, and there are thousands of others losing their own battles as we speak. The fire at Greece’s notorious Moria refugee camp left over 12,000 people without shelter, but the new camp built to replace it holds only 3,000. Please contact us at contact@globalcitizen.org if you would like to re-activate your account. Not much is coming out of there, since access for press is prohibited. In our heads, there is just space for thinking about how we can get food or water, and when we finally lay down to rest, about our dreams — the dreams that pushed us to cross the Aegean Sea to reach Europe. Despite having a maximum capacity of 3,100, Moria was instead home to around 13,000 people, who had travelled to Europe with the hope of a better life for themselves and their loved ones. LESBOS, Greece (AP) — Signaling a shift in policy, Greece’s government said Monday it would accelerate efforts to move thousands of refugees and migrants from Aegean Sea islands to the mainla… Basic services relied on the support of NGOs, whose role became controversial to the extent that some critics maintained their work enabled the continued existence of camps such as Moria, “This is why it is so important to keep the situation of the people seeking asylum alive, even though we only see the object they left behind.”. The camp was built in 2015 with a maximum capacity of 3,000 people, but as many as 20,000 called it home until Wednesday. Camp PROGRAMs maximum camp capacity is subject to the limitations of capacity determined by the Camp SITE. Now you could only hear the birds and the rustling of cats strolling through the remains of the camp.”, A Valentine’s Day mug. image caption The Moria camp held thousands more people than its intended capacity Many local Greeks too want the migrants to leave the island. The Moria camp on Lesbos. Photographers Vincent Haiges and Julian Busch picked through the wreckage. My name is Yousif Al Shewaili, I’m 21 years old. After the fire on Sept. 8, about 13,000 people — including those with confirmed cases of COVID-19 — are forced to live on a single street without any access to sanitary facilities or face masks. Though this feeling of estrangement was not caused by the overwhelming presence of destruction but rather the absence of sound. I wanted, as an individual, to speak to the heads of this world. The deliberate overcrowding flies in the face of anti-COVID measures, but it also has a clear political message: asylum seekers’ lives are more dispensable than European citizens’. Enclosed with barbed wire and a chain-link fence, the military camp served as a European Union “hotspot”. A Fire Has Decimated Europe's Largest Refugee Camp. Moria, in a former military base, opened in 2015 as a center to register new arrivals but is now at four times its capacity and it has spilled over into a muddy, garbage-strewn olive grove. I returned to my tent, and words wouldn’t come. ... adjacent to the Moria camp. The Moria camp has capacity for 3,000 people, and in 2020 it numbered 25,000. Then, on Sept. 8, a devastating fire swept through the camp, destroying the homes and possessions of those who lived there. The Moria refugee camp is the largest refugee camp in Greece located on the island of Lesbos. Here, 21-year-old photographer and refugee Yousif Al Shewaili, who has been living in Lesvos for the past three years, shares his story of life in the Moria camp — and what life is like now for the thousands of refugees on Lesvos following the fire. According to a Red Cross report the camp, the biggest of its kind in Europe, was at more than four times capacity. The majority of people lost everything in the fire, and therefore need everything — clothes, blankets, medication. Greece has opened a 3,000-capacity tent camp for the migrants made homeless by the Moria fire — but amid unrest over conditions only a few hundred have entered so far. The smallest clash quickly grows into a fight. At first, I sat by myself a lot, waiting, thinking, and trying to make peace with what I had survived and wondering if the dreams I had for myself would ever come true. Conditions were already bad before the fire, the camp only had an official capacity of 2,800 people. Here's How You Can Help. Moria Camp’s section B has the capacity to accommodate 160 children, but the number of children there currently exceeds 520. Children in the camp were particularly vulnerable. The Moria facility, which hosts some 13,000 people – more than four times its stated capacity – has been frequently criticised by aid groups for poor living conditions. The Moria camp is a 10-minute drive from the port of Mitilini, the largest city on Lesbos. The Moria camp was four times over capacity with a population of 12,000 refugees, including 4,000 children. To show the difficulties of our lives and the challenges we are facing to survive, without taking away from our strength. Sign in to start taking action. You can check out our Privacy Policy to see how we safeguard and use the information you provide us with. Yousif Al Shewaili.Image: Photo by Karol Kras; Courtesy of Yousif Al Shewaili. It was located outside the village of Moria (Greek: Μόρια, Mória) near Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. No answer came to me, just a ringing in my ears like I’d been punched. Nearly 11,000 people had to flee. Showing that we are all humans. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters Last week, the government rushed in emergency aid in the form of containers – enough to … Top row: cooking their own food was for many a way of preserving their cultural identity. The next step for me, is to follow the same path as my first step. A new camp is being set up to accommodate those left homeless. For the thousands of people living in Moria refugee camp, on the Greek island of Lesvos, life was already about a fight to survive — to find enough nutritious food, clean water, shelter, and safety. The only thing we all had in common was our journey on the sea and our memories of what we had left behind. I want to see them closing it, in front of me, and I will do everything I can to make that happen as soon as possible. Many settled on a one-and-a-half kilometre stretch of coastal road, close to Mytilene, the small capital of Lesbos. There are about 13,000 humans now living in inhumane conditions. When I managed to set up an appointment with EASO [European Asylum Support Office], the asylum application office of the camp, I waited for hours before my name was called. Day camp SITEs capacity is determined by the available approved outside space, inside space, and toilet facilities. It seemed unthinkable, but life had just become even worse than in Moria. Related Stories Welcome back! Now I would be able to build a beautiful future for myself and I would be able to achieve my dreams. Sign up. Prevention, treatment and control of diseases. Makeshift tents in the camp surrounding Moria detention center, April 6th 2020. The September blaze that ravaged the Moria refugee camp in Greece left thousands of people homeless overnight. The blaze at Moria, on the Greek island of Lesbos, began at 2 a.m., Greek news agency ANA reported. When I landed in Greece, I was taken from the beach where I arrived to a strange place, more like a prison or worse. I didn’t have papers to work, to be able to leave the camp. In order to create your account we need you to provide your email address. People slept on the pavement and used trees and foliage to erect makeshift shelters to protect themselves from the sun. Built on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2015 for a maximum capacity of 3,100, Camp Moria is desperately overcrowded, with many NGOs believing the true figure to be well over what has been reported. I will stay on the island of Lesvos until there is no inhumane refugee camp anymore. Initially built for 2,200 people, the camp has hosted almost ten times the amount of people it … Related Stories Migrants flee blazing camp on Greek island Sept. 9, 2020 01:12 All gone. There was just one thing going round and round in my head: how would I stay alive, feed myself, protect myself. Moria camp on Lesbos has been criticized many times, for instance, a year ago when MSF psychiatrist Alessandro Barberio sent an open letter in 2018 alarming the emergency situation of the camp. It gives me hope for the future, to take as an example those people that I meet every day. I want to tell our stories to the world, to depict our suffering, without taking away from our dignity. According to the UNHCR UN high commissioner for refugees, there are approximately 121,100 asylum seekers and migrants in Greece, including 4,200 children who arrived unaccompanied, or were separated from their families on the way. A big part of Moria was burned down on Tuesday September 8. Sept. 9, 2020 Charred soap. This is not just a number — these are 13,000 silenced voices. The Greek prime minister announced a four-month state of emergency on the island. It is estimated that about 40% of Moria’s 13,000 residents were children, with seven out of 10 under the age of 12. If your Facebook account does not have an attached e-mail address, you'll need to add that before you can sign up. When I arrived in Greece after my journey from Iraq, I arrived with many ambitions and dreams. Now, more than 12,000 people have been left without shelter, and without proper sanitation in the midst of a global pandemic. They strongly oppose plans to rebuild a temporary camp. These two Afghan girls currently reside there. On the last day of entry, 8 May 8, 2019, there were 4,752 people living in Moria, even though its capacity at the time was only 3,100. An old Afghan man with his son are seen sitting against the wall of Moria Camp. Overcrowding is widespread on the Aegean islands and by the end of September about 21,400 people were crammed into spaces with an estimated combined capacity of 6,200. Photos and videos posted to social media show the extent of the blaze, as well as the aftermath seen in the light of day. A lock used to protect someone’s home and family from mugging. The overcrowded, underequipped Camp Moria, had an official capacity for just 2,800. Department of Natural Resources - Camping and lodging. A Fire Has Decimated Europe's Largest Refugee Camp. Migrants take part in a rally near the town of Mytilene, Lesbos on … Moria is the most populated refugee camp. Its population had been as high as 20,000 refugees, a number … The charred kitchen grater used for cooking. Nikos Xypolytas. MORIA, Greece -- Moria refugee camp was never far from crisis. Thanks for signing up as a global citizen. Moria Refugee Camp There were 12 different African Christian communities in Moria. It was Moria camp. Nearly 11,000 people had to flee. Maybe belonging to the Congolese community, who so vividly hold their services between the olive trees?