Refugees flee camp in Samos after fire destroys shelters of up to 700 people
“I’ve got to go. I think we have to close our Alpha centre now,” Jasmine Doust told me when I asked her about the fire that engulfed a huge section of the refugee camp on the Greek island of Samos last night.
Doust leads Samos Volunteers, a group that provides respite and services to thousands of refugees stranded on the island. Late last night, they opened the doors of the Alpha centre, usually reserved for daytime activities, to more than two-hundred women and children fleeing fire, fighting and tear gas.
“People sheltering in the Centre were scared, exhausted and dealing with the symptoms of tear gas. Children’s eyes were streaming from the gas. People lost everything they owned.”
“Tents, clothing, any last belongings they might have had from their home countries.”
The fire started after a fight yesterday evening and spread quickly through flimsy canvas tents where gas bottles used for cooking and heating exploded. As the extent of the wreckage became clear this morning, it is estimated that the shelter and belongings of up to 700 people have been destroyed.
Tensions on Samos are growing, where nearly 6,000 people now live in a camp designed for 648 people.
“The intense overcrowding and lack of basic services means the smallest issues are prone to rapid escalation. This is not the first time that a fight has broken out — and it won’t be the last — but it has been the most devastating incident we’ve experienced in the last three and a half years. Today, for the safety of our volunteers and service users, we had to close the Alpha Centre.’’
Last night a live video, posted by Samos News 24, shows those who fled the fire and tear gas police used to clear the camp, watching the flames from beneath the camp on the hills.
“Electricity went down and you could only hear the sounds of sirens and explosions in the darkness. Imagine how it was for kids who just fled the war,” said an NGO employee on Samos who asked that their name wasn’t published.
Over the last few months, the situation on the Greek islands, where asylum seekers and migrants attempting to reach Europe via. Turkey arrive, has reached breaking point. So far this year, nearly 50,000 people have reached Greece and 1/5 of them arrived in September alone.
The crisis, which has prevailed since a deal was struck between Turkey and Europe in March 2016 to prevent the entry of asylum seekers to Greece and return most new arrivals to Turkey, is getting worse. The Greek island camps have remained overcrowded and under-resourced, meanwhile legal procedures have buckled under the pressure. The reality of the deal is that asylum seekers and migrants continue to reach Greece. Currently, over 16,500 people are contained in appalling conditions with no idea of when, or if, they will leave.
Since the spike in arrivals that has continued since August, NGOs and campaigners are warning a crisis reminiscent of 2015 gripping the islands. Less than two weeks ago, a fire destroyed a large section of the infamous Moria camp on Lesvos that receives the majority of refugees and the number of boats that capsize attempting to reach Greece is increasing again.
As winter approaches, people stranded in these camps take more risks to stay warm and eat hot food. Two years ago, an elderly woman and her grandchild were killed in Lesvos when a gas canister they were using to make a warm meal exploded in a tent. It is not just fighting that causes these fires but overcrowding, severely unsafe structures, gas canisters that are used for cooking and heating and overloaded electricity supplies.
Doust warns that without drastic action, this will not be the last disaster and that so far, on Samos, authorities have done nothing to respond to the increase in arrivals which has created an emergency.
“We don’t know what is going to happen tonight. Many families have been leaving the camp and moving down to the town with all their belongings and blankets. We believe many will sleep on the streets tonight rather than risk staying in the camp.”
Samos Volunteers are collecting donations to respond to the urgent needs of people affected and displaced by last nights fire.
You can donate online here.
