'Moria camp in terrible condition'

ATHENS

Employees of Greece's asylum agency are on strike due to "terrible" conditions in the country's Moria refugee camp on Lesbos Island.

Speaking exclusively to Anadolu Agency, Irini Zanni, one of the employees, said the Moria camp was in "terrible" condition and called for more "humane" treatment of the refugees and asylum seekers held there.

Zanni said that the refugees and asylum seekers were living under "unbelievable" dire conditions on the island.

"I was in Lesbos two weeks ago, I'm saying that I haven't seen anything like this. I was there three years ago, in 2017, but its latest situation has become unbelievable," she said.

Zanni underlined that the camp's capacity was very limited and that families were living "in terrible and unhygienic conditions" with some families living "close to hills and forests."

"We want to have a chance to save these people," Zanni added.

Noting that Athens had taken a "political" stance towards the asylum seekers, she said they have been on strike since yesterday, demanding improved "working conditions" for themselves and "humanitarian" treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.

That is why, Zanni added, they were protesting at Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament.

There are approximately 25,000 asylum-seekers in Moria camp, the first stop of asylum seekers trying to escape from wars and internal turmoil in their countries.

Authorities warn that disease could spread faster in the camp due to overcrowding and unhygienic conditions.

A 40-year-old woman working in a supermarket in the town of Plomari on Lesbos tested positive for the novel coronavirus -- now declared a pandemic -- on Tuesday.

- Detention of asylum seekers

Some 500 asylum-seekers, including women and children, who arrived on the island in March, have been held at the island's port for about a week.

While 450 asylum-seekers are being kept on the Greek-Navy transportation ship named Rhodes, 50 asylum-seekers were forced to spend the night on municipal buses.

Greece suspended asylum applications for one month on March 2, to prevent a refugee crisis. Authorities have yet to make a concrete statement on the fate of asylum seekers.

- Greece violates international, European law: HRW

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday accused Athens of violating international and European law by not allowing people to seek asylum.

"Greece's decision to detain more than 450 people on a naval vessel and refuse to allow them to lodge asylum claims flagrantly violates international and European law," a statement by the HRW said.

"Denying people access to asylum is inhumane and illegal. It may violate the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, the practice of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution," it added.

Ankara recently announced that it would no longer try to stop asylum seekers from reaching Europe.

Thousands of asylum seekers have since flocked to Turkey’s Edirne province -- which borders Greece and Bulgaria -- to make their way to Europe.

The Greek reaction to asylum seekers has been harsh, with many battered, attacked, or tear-gassed, and several killed by Greek forces.

With 3.7 million Syrian migrants in Turkey already, more than any other country in the world, Ankara says it cannot absorb another refugee wave.