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لسبوس | لزبوس | ΛΕΣΒΟΣ | Lesbos by Raphael Knipping & Michael Trammer
AN ATTEMPT TO DOCUMENT THIS MOMENT.
Map
Chapter 1: Moria
Chapter 2: Locals
Chapter 3: Racist Mobilisation Thermi
Chapter 4: The Crossing
Chapter 4: The Crossing
Chapter 4: The Crossing
Chaoter 5: The North & NGO's
Chapter 6: Now ?
Perspectives
About this Project
News
Summary
Moria
Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first pageThe other viewRefugees document Moria
Equipped with a disposable camera, five people have taken different photographic approaches and thus show their very own reality. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the cameras are stuck in Moria - soon their pictures will follow.
Locals
Goto first page Goto first pageThermi
Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first pageCrossing
Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first pageThe North
Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first pageNGO's
Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first pagePerspectives
Goto first pageDisappearing Refugees
In the night from September 8th to 9th, Moria burns down. The cause of the fire is unclear, Greek authorities assume arson and present six suspects after a few days. Protests are said to have taken place in the camp before the fire.
More than ten thousand people lose their homes that night. They now sleep in olive groves and on streets around the camp. The police shoot at refugees with tear gas. The access for journalists is limited.
Picture by Murat Tueremis (Instagram Photostory)
Summary
Summary
The misery in Moria camp is a burden for everyone involved on Lesbos. Refugees have to live in inhuman conditions for several years, the island population lacks income from tourism and NGOs are not able to provide adequate aid.
By shifting asylum procedures to the European external borders, the system of so-called "hotspots", and the Dublin II regulation, there is an asymmetrical distribution of the humanitarian responsibility in Europe to provide access to an asylum procedure and to ensure decent accommodation for the period of examination. The fact that the asylum procedure is tied to the first country of arrival and the promised redistribution of refugees to all EU member states has not been achieved, increases the burden on individual states. Greece, Italy and Spain are only a few examples of economically weaker regions of Europe that are affected by this.
The real effects of the European policy of isolation against refugees are manifested in everyday conflicts on Lesbos. The history of many local islanders is marked by the experiences of their ancestors fleeing and the atrocities committed by the German occupying forces during the Second World War. Many are in solidarity with refugees from war zones and demand a humane treatment of these. When hundreds of thousands of people arrived on the island in 2015, the local residents distributed clothing and food. However, the more crowded the camp Moria has become over the years, the more the islanders felt left alone with the humane accommodation of the refugees and threatened by the situation.
The Greek government has been pursuing a tough course against refugees for years. Particularly after the election of the new Greek government with the "liberal-conservative" Nea Demokratia in July 2019, the social discourse, similar to that in many other European countries, has drastically turned against refugees. Narratives such as that of an "invasion" of Greece by refugees, conspiracy theories and the serving of racist resentments have contributed to this. Similar to Germany, the public discourse has shifted from a " welcoming culture" to a closed-off culture. Right-wing populists have paved the way for current events on Europe's external border by dehumanising refugees, especially people of the Muslim faith, for years. As Erdoğan announces the opening of the border, Ursula von der Leyen stages herself in a video with wartime aesthetics and calls Greece a European "protective shield". Images that depict fleeing people as a threat that must be fended off have motivated right-wing radicals across Europe to travel to the external border in order to further intensify the discourse. As long as migration continues to be seen as the "mother of all problems" and the EU's approach to refugees does not change drastically, the situation cannot be reconciled with the simplest human rights.
As mentioned above, there are still people supporting refugees in Lesbos in 2020 and they are more urgently needed than ever. Whether NGOs or social initiatives. It is more important than ever to stand up for the human right to seek asylum and also to support people on the ground.
News
About
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Starboy
Goto first pageNaquibullah Ghaznawi
Goto first pageNasrim
About the project "Faces"
We take pictures and publish them to show the world that thousands of people live in Moria.
We photograph you and if you have WhatsApp, we will send the pictures to you.