09 January 2017
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
"Humanitarian agencies have warned that without adequate housing refugees in Greece may die as the country continues to be gripped by freezing winter weather.
Parts of the country have seen more than a metre (three feet) of snow and temperatures as low as - 18 degrees Celsius over the weekend, and communication lines and roads are out of action on several islands.
In Moria, a large camp on the island of Lesvos, around 15,000 people are still living in overcrowded conditions in thin summer tents."
See: Refugees in Greece 'could freeze to death' in snow due to inadequate winter preparations, warn aid groups (The Independent, link)
And: Commission calls the plight of refugees on Greek islands ‘untenable’ (EurActiv, link):
"Shocking footage has emerged showing how migrants are living in snow-covered tents with no heating on the Greek island of Lesbos. The Commission called their situation “untenable”...
The footage is likely to embarrass the Greek government. Greek Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas was quoted as saying two days before that there were no refugees or migrants living in the cold."
Things are no better elsewhere: Asylum Seekers Left in the Cold (Human Rights Watch, link): "Temperatures in Hungary and Serbia have dropped to minus 20 degrees centigrade at night. Yet nearly 2,000 asylum seekers and migrants are sleeping rough in Belgrade, in front of Hungary’s “transit zones” on the Serbian border, or inside a tattered government-run tent camp in Hungary without enough aid."
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.
Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.