Greece Extends Migrant Camp Lockdown Despite Criticism
Sumaira FH Published July 04, 2020 | 10:55 PM
Greece on Saturday announced another extension of a coronavirus lockdown in its teeming migrant camps, despite allegations that it has used the pandemic to limit the movement of migrants
Chios, Greece, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jul, 2020 ) :Greece on Saturday announced another extension of a coronavirus lockdown in its teeming migrant camps, despite allegations that it has used the pandemic to limit the movement of migrants.
The camp lockdown began on March 21 and is now extended until July 19, the migration ministry said.
Migrants are allowed to leave the camps from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm only in groups of less than 10 and no more than 150 people per hour, it said.
Migrants are frustrated with the fifth extension of the lockdown in camps, saying it makes their lives even more difficult.
"I really don't have an idea why they are doing this. I feel so bad, so down because of it," Hamoudi, an asylum-seeker from Somalia and resident of the Vial camp on Chios island, told AFP.
The 24-year-old said he saw no social distancing in the camp and could not think of any health benefits of the lockdown for the migrants.
"Maybe they just want to make it a closed camp," he said. "But closed for what?" The camp lockdown has stopped most NGOs from carrying out normal deliveries of clothing, nappies and other necessities.
"We can't get adequate aid to people. They are messaging us from inside the camp," said Ruhi Akhtar, a volunteer on Chios who regularly gave out clothes and other provisions before the lockdown.
Parwana Ansari, a 16-year-old from Afghanistan who lives in the Vial refugee camp, said people needed to leave the camp just to get the basics.
"We need to go to town to go shopping," she said. "The food in Vial is no good." - 'As invisible as possible' - Marco Sandrone, coordinator of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos, said before the announcement that the lockdowns had nothing to do with public health as there were no cases in the camps.
Greece, with 192 coronavirus deaths, has so far not been as badly hit as many other European countries -- and there have been no deaths in the migrant camps.
But the presence of more than 32,000 asylum seekers on the five Aegean islands -- in camps with a capacity of 5,400 -- has caused major friction with local communities.
The government is transferring thousands of migrants to the mainland, as the country has started letting in foreign visitors for the tourist season.
Some NGOs and volunteers have argued that the lockdown extension is linked to Greece's tourist season.
"They try to make the refugees as invisible as possible, and think that then the tourists would love to come," said Jenny Kalipozi, a Chios island local and volunteer who often brought aid to the Vial refugee camp.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Punjab CM inaugurates Pakistan’s first Virtual Women Police Station
Dutch model Donny Roelvink embraces Islam
Experts raise concerns over introduction of 10-stick packs
Iranian president arrives in Karachi
Law Minister expresses Govt's resolve to address issue of missing persons
Rizwan’s batting order may be changed: Sources
Nawaz Sharif to visit Guangzhou exhibition in China
FM Dar not traveling to China: Foreign Office
PM takes notice of deliberate delay in tax cases
Iranian President visits Allama Iqbal’s mausoleum
Iranian President arrives in Lahore today
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 23 April 2024
More Stories From World
-
Migrant boat capsizes off Djibouti leaving 21 dead
4 hours ago -
Tesla profits tumble 55% as EV sales under pressure
4 hours ago -
Talks on global plastic treaty begin in Canada
5 hours ago -
Migrant deportations loom after parliament passes UK-Rwanda plan
5 hours ago -
Macron in last-ditch bid to halt EU vote battering
5 hours ago -
Ukraine moves to bring military-aged men home to fight
7 hours ago
-
Asia hit hardest by climate change, extreme weather: UN weather agency
7 hours ago -
Muscles and masterpieces: Louvre offers Olympic sport sessions
7 hours ago -
Migrant boat capsizes off Djibouti leaving 16 dead
7 hours ago -
UK Rwanda law sparks fear among migrants hoping to cross Channel
9 hours ago -
China issues highest-level rainstorm warning after deadly floods
9 hours ago -
UK's Sunak announces raised defence spending, new Ukraine aid
9 hours ago