Greece: Thousands homeless after fire destroys refugee camp

Moria refugee camp 2019 - picture of an earlier fire image CPT

Source: Caritas Europa

More than 12,000 people are homeless since the overcrowded camp of Moria went up in smoke on Friday. In a statement last night Caritas Europe said: "We are shocked by this humanitarian disaster, which is the direct consequence of flawed EU asylum policies that we have challenged for years. Caritas Hellas staff and other NGO are providing the best support they can on the ground, in a tense and challenging environment.

"While we welcome the evacuation of 400 children to the Greek mainland, we call for urgent European solidarity: all migrants must be brought to safety and be relocated to EU countries. Detention cannot be an option. In this vein, we urge EU Member states to respond to the recent call for relocation made by the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

"The Moria catastrophe is showing that EU asylum and migration system based on containment and deterrence policies is unsustainable and inhumane. As EU leaders are finalising the upcoming pact on asylum and migration, such a predictable tragedy should serve as a wakeup call, warning leaders to avoid duplicating this model, which was doomed to fail from the start. A fair and permanent relocation mechanism ensuring solidarity and responsibility sharing among EU Member States, anchored in human rights and human dignity, must be urgently put into place."

Read a joint statement from civil societies across Europe HERE

See also: Vatican News today: Caritas Europa calls for solidarity and action for migrants and refugees

Caritas Europa calls for solidarity and action for migrants and refugees