The North Aegean Region is filing a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office against a group of asylum seekers that has formed a Non-Government Organisation on the island of Lesvos and is operating in the Moria migrant camp under the name of “Moria Coronavirus Awareness Team.”
It was announced on Sunday afternoon by the North Aegean Regional Governor Konstantinos Moutzouris that the group of Afghan illegal immigrants challenged “our undisputed national sovereignty.”
The organisation said “we are a group of people in Moria Camp in Lesvos who are organising us to face the Coronavirus Crisis. We are cooperating with the Greeks and organisation who want to help. We are teachers, pharmacists and other professionals from many nationalities.”
However, a post made on Thursday sent Greek social media users into a frenzy when the NGO said the “Greek side of island,” insinuating there is a non-Greek side of the island, as reported by Greek City Times.
Moria Corona Awareness TeamOne of biggest Norwegian newspapers reported very nicely about us and our work. Unfortunately some wrong information was given by people interviewed who were not here. Moria camp was never totally closed and people could come in and out. From the first day we from MCAT in the name of so may other refugees welcomed the lockdown measures of Greek government, because this protected us from Corona on Greek side of island. We even put posters with this message in the camp and made video messages too. We knew this will bring so many hardships on us refugees but it was the only way. Please, you have our numbers and contacts. If you want to know information you can contact us directly for the right information. "30-year-old Deen Mohammed Alizadah, along with his friends, has formed a group they call the Moria Corona Awareness team. The group, which is made up of refugees in the camp, tells the other residents about the danger of infection, about the importance of washing their hands and keeping as much distance as possible. –There is a water shortage in the camp, so it is difficult to wash your hands as much as is recommended. In addition, social distance is impossible. The conditions are only getting worse here," he told VG."
In a so-called “clarification,” the NGO still said “For us there is Moria, the hell, and the rest of Lesvos and we call it the Greek side,” without realising that Moria, whatever they consider it, is still Greece and is for the hundreds of Greek citizens that lived there before the illegal immigrants began arriving.
In a comment after the clarification, the NGO then said “We would like Moria to be Greece not only by name but by reality,” insinuating that Moria is not a part of Greece in reality, which only caused Greek Facebook users to become upset.
Moutzouris said in his statement that the NGO implied that “the territory of the structure is not Greek territory.”
