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UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is supporting the government-led response after a series of fires destroyed the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria (Lesvos).
UNHCR has scaled up its support for all asylum-seekers affected and urges for comprehensive and humane solutions to address overcrowding on Greek islands.
BACKGROUND
After fires completely destroyed the Moria Reception and Identification Centre (RIC), the Greek authorities have been leading and coordinating the response to assist some 12,000 asylum-seekers who were left homeless overnight. An emergency site was set up within days in Kara Tepe, an area close to Mytilene, to temporarily shelter affected asylum-seekers and refugees. According to the authorities, by 8 October, some 7,800 asylum-seekers were hosted in the new emergency site while several hundred vulnerable asylum-seekers had been transferred to safe accommodations on the island or relocated to the mainland.
UNHCR is concerned that the emergency site is not apt yet for the upcoming winter, despite efforts by authorities, UN agencies and other actors. To avoid deterioration of living conditions, improvements are needed without delay in terms of shelter and drainage, hygiene and sanitation, health and other concrete measures for those with specific needs. The initial emergency response should quickly give way to more sustainable interventions that can guarantee dignified living conditions for the nearly 8,000 residents.
Organized transfers to the mainland and alternative accommodations help ease the situation by reducing the population in the emergency site, which had reached some 10,000 residents at its peak. This week, some 950 recognised refugees and vulnerable asylum-seekers from Lesvos were transferred to accommodations on mainland Greece. Since the aftermath of the fires, some 2,300 people have been transferred out of Lesvos, including 231 to UNHCR ESTIA accommodation apartments on the mainland. UNHCR supported this effort with logistics, preparation arrangements and providing targeted information sessions along with IOM and EASO.
UNHCR continues to advocate for comprehensive solutions, calling for continuous European support and responsibility-sharing.
UNHCR’S RESPONSE
Site planning and shelter
UNHCR has supported the Government in setting up the emergency site as a temporary measure to provide immediate shelter and protection to asylum-seekers who were affected by the fires. 1,100 family tents – 900 of which were provided by UNHCR – four UNHCR Rubb Halls and eight IOM Rubb Halls are sheltering the site residents. UNHCR also has made available an additional 1,300 family tents and continues advocating for better shelter arrangements that take into consideration the needs of women, children and vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities.
At the request of the Government, UNHCR continues to support with targeted technical interventions in the site. Given its location near the seashore, the site is exposed to challenging weather conditions and safety hazards, compounded by the approaching winter season. As of 8 October, UNHCR had placed flooring under 216 tents, providing more stability and protection, and had delivered 1,600 m3 of gravel to help protect tents and common areas from rain and flooding. UNHCR also started delivering kits to insulate the family tents. UNHCR and other actors have highlighted to authorities that large-scale efforts are required to ensure proper drainage throughout the site ahead of winter.
During the night from 8 to 9 October, heavy rains have tested the installations and exacerbated the situation for residents in the emergency site. Some have seen their tents flooded. UNHCR conducted protection monitoring visits to assess the situation following the rainfalls and prioritised tarpaulins for people whose tents were affected. Site residents have resorted to interim solutions by digging water channels and trenches around tents to prevent flooding, in substitution of the proper drainage that is still lacking.