ATHENS – An Afghan woman has been charged with arson after attempting to burn herself this week in a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesvos, officials said Thursday.
The charges are the latest in a series of sentences against refugees and asylum seekers on the island, rights groups say, and reflect the Greek government’s tough stance on migrants. The episode is also a clear example of the impact that the dire conditions in Greek shelters have on the mental health of refugees.
The woman, 27 and 8 months pregnant, lives in a temporary camp with her husband and three children. She set fire to her tent on Sunday after being told that her family’s planned move to Germany was being delayed, an official from the Greek ministry of migration said, who noted that her trip had been delayed due to the advanced state of her pregnancy.
The woman, whose name was not released by authorities, was in her burning tent in an attempt to commit suicide and was hospitalized with non-life-threatening burns after neighbors dragged her out of the fire, a Lesvos fire official said. No one else was hurt.
Thousands of people live in desperate conditions in Greek refugee and migrant camps spread across the islands, a situation that human rights organizations consistently view as inhumane. Groups there have long warned of a growing mental health crisis as the thousands who have fled war and economic hardship remain in the dark.
Although the number of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea by boat from Turkey to the Greek islands has fallen sharply this year – by more than 90 percent in January, according to authorities – the camps remain overcrowded. Dozens of facilities on the mainland have been closed as part of a government policy to discourage further arrivals.
And although the processing of asylum applications has accelerated since last year, a significant backlog remains.
In the case of the woman in Lesvos, her application for asylum had been approved and granted refugee status, and her desperate act appeared to be motivated by the delay in her relocation to Germany. The makeshift camp, like other facilities across the country, remains locked due to the pandemic.
The woman arrived in Greece in 2019 and had been living in a camp on the island for over a year, according to the migration ministry. She would make a statement to a court official and the prosecutor on Thursday from her hospital bed, officials said.
A Greek police spokesman said that while her treatment may seem harsh, her actions cannot go unpunished, as arson attacks are frequent and endanger other camp inmates.
“The law must be enforced,” said spokesman, Theodoros Chronopoulos. “A message must be sent. This could have caused a bigger fire. “
The incident took place in a temporary camp set up after a series of fires destroyed the sprawling Moria camp in September. Six Afghan migrants were charged with arson in connection with the fire and are awaiting trial.
Eva Cossé, a Western European researcher for Human Rights Watch, said it was difficult to overestimate the toll such conditions take on people in the camps.
“The psychological impact of years of conflict, exacerbated by the harsh conditions in the Greek islands and the uncertainty of inhumane policies, may not be as visible as physical wounds,” she said. “But as this case shows, it is no less life-threatening.”
“The impulse to persecute her rather than help her,” added Ms Cossé, “is not only a sign of what is wrong with the European approach to migration, but also shows the lack of compassion and humanity in Greece . “
In recent months, rights groups have denounced the Greek authorities’ increasingly harsh actions against migrants. In November, an Afghan man was charged with endangering his son’s life after the 6-year-old drowned off the coast of another Aegean island when their boat capsized from Turkey. The man has since been granted asylum, but according to his lawyer is still waiting for his trial.
Last week, Notis Mitarachi, the Greek migration minister, said authorities are working to speed up asylum applications and the return of migrants to Turkey in an effort to reduce overcrowding in camps and discourage further arrivals.
He noted that the number of asylum seekers at reception centers across the country had fallen from nearly 100,000 early last year to just over 60,000, while 57 facilities on the mainland have been closed completely.
“We will continue to implement a strict but fair migration policy so that our country is no longer a gateway to Europe for illegal smuggling rackets,” he said.