Migration crisis stokes desperation on Lesbos island people in Greece

LESBOS ISLAND, Apr 01 (AFP): When thousands of people fleeing war and poverty began arriving on their Greek island, many on Lesbos welcomed them. Four years later a sprawling local camp is packed with desperate asylum-seekers and migrants - and islanders' patience is wearing thin.

In the small village of Moria, local people living next to one of the region's largest migrant camps have grown tired of their role at the centre of Europe's migration crisis, while those trapped inside despair of overcrowded conditions and the long wait for asylum.

"There's a great indignation among locals. Europe must understand this burden, Greece shouldn't lift it by itself, it should be shared, every state must take its part," said Nikos Trakellis, Moria village chairman.

He said it was as yet unclear how the issue would affect voting in local and European elections in May, with fears that the far-right could capitalise on anti-immigration sentiment across the bloc.

"There are issues every day… all their sewage, the dirt we breathe it," he said, accusing migrants from the camps of stealing livestock and food.

At around 7,000, refugees and migrants on Lesbos currently outnumber the local population by 2.5 to one. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the situation is even more explosive on the island of Samos, at six to one.

But it's not as if the migrants and refugees want to stay on Lesbos.

Ibrahim Adamou, a 27-year-old from Togo, spent six months in the Moria camp, witnessing "disgusting" conditions and sleeping "on the ground, in the cold". He has been offered an asylum hearing in October.

"Europe must not disappoint us," said Lesbos' outgoing mayor Spyros Galinos.

"We are still waiting for pressure on the Moria camp to be lifted. They keep coming and this creates a bottleneck," he told AFP.

Most migrants want to move on to wealthier EU states such as Germany and France to rejoin relatives and find work unavailable in crisis-hit Greece. But EU borders have been closed for the past three years.

Both economic migrants and war refugees register for asylum regardless of their chances of success, clogging the system.

"I thought I would find freedom in Europe," said Mohamed from Syria.

He said he has been trapped on Lesbos for three years.

The camp's deputy commander Dimitrios Vafeas admitted "there's a huge waiting list" to process claims.

"We have arrivals every day, 90 percent of them Afghans. It's important to continue accelerating the transfers to the mainland," he told AFP.

The government has already transferred hundreds of the most vulnerable refugees to camps elsewhere in Greece. They are replaced within days by new arrivals.

Living under such confined conditions further saps the fragile health of camp residents.

Caroline Willemen, Lesbos coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, said people suffered ailments associated with poor hygiene, diarrhoea, respiratory problems and mental illness.