Moria, a hell on earth

Was it a fire-fire, neglect, or maybe just a cruel accident? We don't know that yet. But it does not take any particular ingenuity to understand what is obvious: If in a camp that is designed for a maximum of 2,500 people is home to more than 13,000 people under very difficult conditions, then the situation gets angry and after smoke comes the flame. As Moria camp has now been involved in the flames of 2016 and 2019.

This time it became even worse - favored by winds of up to 70 miles [70 km] an hour, the fire went on for hours and destroyed most of the camp even because the firemen had concentrated to extinguish another forest fire.

For years the crowded refugee camp in Moria on the island of Lesbo is named as Europe's <x0). But even for Greece, this camp is no glory. Quite the opposite: from time to time politicians from all directions in Athens have promised to fight this stain and close Morian. But if they do, they will have to put refugees and migrants stuck somewhere else in the country, which no one seems to want.

In recent years Greece has received billions of euros in EU aid to provide housing and food for newcomers. But government officials in Athens have done very little. And the often announced reshuffle of the asylum procedure continues to wait too long. Currently, a newcomer usually has to wait over a year for his first meeting at the asylum office.

So much for the bad situation in Greece. Unfortunately, the rest of Europe has been sitting back for a long time and just watched. The question is, who really is “Europe”? Success is always a lot of fathers, but in cases of failure no one answers. However, it is sovereign member states that decide ours in Brussels, even if the EU Commission always makes formal proposals. The same member states, which then do not adhere to common decisions.

A pleasant side effect of this practice: for successes everyone says they have their share, for everything else they refer to Brussels. The refugee policy is a prime example. All member states strongly refuse to follow a common line and ignore not only EU decisions at the highest level, but also the decisions of the European Court of Justice. This seriously damages the European idea. Only when horrible images appear in Moria on television do statements of remorse begin to flow from the lips.

Whoever's ever been to camp knows pictures are not the worst in this hell on earth. No, the worst is the foul smell - a mixture of rotten waste, smoke, sweat, and human waste that quickly catches its nose and ceases to pull away. It's the bad smell of death that thousands of people in the middle of Europe have to endure, and sometimes they can't take it anymore.

But that may be the very goal. Perhaps some in Europe quietly accept Mori's hell at least as an obstacle to stopping immigration: see what awaits you if you come to us, that's probably the motto. But a really preventative effect does not have to be expected. Because given the ongoing fighting in Syria or Afghanistan, the endless reception on Lesbo Island remains the best option. / DW/