(Reuters) Weather conditions took a turn for the worse in Idomeni on Tuesday (April 26) with deteriorating living conditions for thousands of migrants stuck at Greece’s makeshift border camp.
Following two days of heavy rainfall, gale force winds swept through the overcrowded camp, tearing and toppling tents. Temperatures dropped to 15 degrees celsius overnight.
Aid organisations have repeatedly said that living conditions at the sprawling tent city are appalling. A lack of hygiene facilities, shortages in food and medicine make it tough for the camp’s residents and especially for the most vulnerable, women and children.
Along with the decline in weather conditions, migrants have also had to brave snakes that are waking up from their winter hibernation and appearing more frequently inside the camp.
“Yes, we have seen some snakes. For the moment it’s more or less under control but we are trying to put in place some measures to diminish the population of the snakes in the camp,” said MSF co-ordinator at Idomeni, Emanuel Massart.
More than 10,000 people are camped out in the fields that stretch between Greece and Macedonia and the Greek government is trying to persuade them for months to move to official organised camps built by authorities.
But only a trickle of migrants, compared to the thousands living there, have been persuaded to leave as they still cling to a last hope that they will find a way across the Greek border and continue their journey to other European countries such as Germany.
Last month, Turkey and the EU sealed a controversial deal intended to halt the flow of illegal migrants into Greece from Turkey in return for financial and political rewards for Ankara.
But the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said last week that boats carrying migrants are landing in Greece at the rate of about 150 a day from Turkey after a hiatus, indicating that the “hermetic sealing” appears to be over.
An estimated 180,245 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea so far this year, the bulk of 154,227 to Greece, while at least 1,232 have died, the IOM said.
Reuters
