Plan to police new camp on Lesvos
As Greek authorities press on with efforts to rehouse thousands of migrants left homeless after fires razed the Moria reception center on Lesvos last week, amid protests by both the migrants themselves and local authorities, plans are afoot to police the new facility being set up on the island, Kathimerini understands.
Around 5,000 out of 12,000 migrants left without housing spent the night in a new camp set up at an old military firing range on Lesvos. However, many migrants insisted on sleeping on the street, reluctant to enter another camp.
Some of the Afghan migrants on the islands told Kathimerini that they viewed the new facility as a “prison.”
Meanwhile, in a bid to ensure tensions are kept in check, the citizens’ protection minister is planning the creation of a special service to police the new migrant center, Kathimerini has learned. The unit is to be staffed with newly hired border guards and local police officers.
As European officials attempt to present a united response to the new crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EC would present its proposal for a new migration and asylum policy on September 23.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for her part, noted that Greece, due its location at the EU’s external borders “has shouldered a large share of the responsibility and has won the right to our support.” Germany would offer “substantial” support to the European response, she said.
