Death of Iraqi migrant sparks unrest in a Greek camp

Protestors set fire to part of Vial camp on the Greek island of Chios after a 47-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker died. She had been returned to the camp despite suffering from a febrile illness. The protests allegedly erupted as a result of rumours that she had died of coronavirus. However, Greek authorities claimed that she had tested negative.

Many of the camp’s residents have likely been left without shelter as a result of the fire, according to the UN refugee agency’s spokesperson in Athens, Boris Cheshirkov. Just like the other overcrowded camps, Vial camp hosts more than 5,000 people living in space intended for around 1,000.

TMP _ 20/4/2020
Photo credit: Ververidis Vasilis

Photo caption: Thessaloniki, Greece – April 5, 2019: Migrants clashes with Greek riot police outside of a refugee camp in Diavata. Migrants and refugees gathered to walk to the border of Greece to pass to Europe