What is the island of despair in the Aegean Sea?

An Island of Despair in Aegean Sea: Nearly 8,000 refugees are stranded and in a dilemma.

Speaking of Greek islands, perhaps most people think of small houses with blue sky, blue roof and white walls.

However, in the northeast of the Aegean Sea, there is a desperate island-Lesvos Island.

Lesvos Island is a transit point for refugees to the European continent, mainly from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

They usually cross the sea by boat. Some people died in the long journey, but lucky people were able to land on the island.

Nowadays, the life jackets they took off after landing on the island have piled up like mountains.

In 20 16, the EU signed an agreement with Turkey to cut off the route of refugees crossing the Aegean Sea.

According to the agreement, if the asylum application is accepted, the applicant will be sent to mainland Greece. If both applications are rejected, the applicant will be sent back to Turkey.

With the improvement of the threshold for entering the European continent, more and more refugees are stranded on Lesvos Island.

They don't want to go back to the home they left, but they can't move forward. They can only stay on the island and seek opportunities to enter Europe.

However, it seems that no country is willing to accept them, and the screening process of the Greek authorities is long and slow, so that their lives are getting more and more difficult.

It is reported that there are currently more than 7,800 refugees on Lesvos Island.

Among them, Moria refugee camp, the largest refugee camp, has 5,500 detainees, far exceeding the capacity of 2,500.

What's the experience of living in a refugee camp?

It is reported that the life of local refugees is comparable to that of concentration camps.

During the visit, ABC reporter found that the camp was surrounded by barbed wire, and the tent and container were closely connected, with only a narrow and muddy passage between them. The wall at the entrance says "Welcome to the prison".

Refugees living in the camp said that even in the cold winter, power outages, food shortages and insufficient hot water are commonplace.

They often bathe outdoors in the cold wind, and the baths are full of garbage such as plastic bags and bath bottles.

Sometimes, they have to make a fire in the tent to keep warm. Just last year, three refugees died of poisoning.

In addition, conflicts and struggles often break out. Violence, theft and rape are eternal threats.

Amir, from Afghanistan, stayed in Moria for 1 1 month, finally found a job and was lucky to stay in the capital Lesvos. In an interview with The Times, he said:

"This is not a place for people to stay. The police can't control the camp. "

Samir Alhabr, an engineer from Iraq, thinks the camp is a "very dangerous place". He witnessed many cruel killings in this war-torn country, but life in a concentration camp increased his trauma.

He became irritable, repeatedly thinking of traumatic events, auditory hallucinations, insomnia, nightmares, memory loss, and even suicidal tendencies.

The camp doctor thinks he may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

In order to survive, some people try to establish a normal life order, such as renovating churches, playing volleyball and looking for jobs.

In order to facilitate the handling and communication, the authorities also tried to group the refugees by nationality and give the EU a monthly allowance of 90 euros (about RMB 690 yuan).

In fact, Lesvos Island only reflects the tip of the iceberg of the Greek refugee problem.

In the past two years, more than one million refugees have tried to travel to Europe through Greece, which has been struggling between a huge number of immigrants and a faltering domestic economy.

Three years ago, the EU promised to resettle 66,400 refugees stranded in Greece to other member countries, and last year launched an emergency fund of 3.9 million euros to support Greece.

However, the resettlement speed is far behind the plan, and more than 60,000 refugees are still trapped in Greece.

In the venue of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, dense refugee tents accommodated about 1600 refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

Miltos Oikonomidis, an EU policy official, pointed out that Greece needs to reduce the influx of refugees, some of whom are not fleeing the war, but looking for opportunities and freedom.

Today, when conservatism is sweeping the world, I don't know where these refugees should go.