A migrant looks at the burned Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.
Photo: Petros Giannakouris—AP A cardinal said that Europe should be “ashamed” after fire devastated the continent’s largest refugee camp, leaving 13,000 people without shelter.
In a September 9 interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), lamented the destruction of the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
He said: “I think it’s a shame for Europe because it’s not only camp Moria that’s on fire, but it’s the identity of Europe which is on fire. People came to Europe for help in their distress and we left them on a small Greek island. Many words, but no deeds. Europe should be ashamed because this is the result of the despair in the heart of people.”
Ruin
Fire broke out at the camp, which was built to house 3,000 people, on the evening of September 8. The blaze spread quickly due to high winds and by the following morning most of the camp was a smoking ruin.
The cause of the fire is currently unclear. Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said that the blaze “began with the asylum seekers” after quarantine was imposed following an outbreak of Covid-19. But he did not say that the fires were the result of arson.