After a fire broke out and devastated the migration facility on the island of Lesbos, the Czech Republic has offered support. Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček released funds of EUR 100,000 from the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help the Greek island recover. Photo: In Moria Refugee Camp. Credit: By Faktengebunden – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Czech Rep., Sep 17 (BD) – The Czech Republic will donate EUR 100,000 in financial aid to Greece, following a devastating fire at a migration facility on the island of Lesbos. The decision to release the money was made last Friday, two days after the fire broke out and almost completely destroyed the migration facility of Moria on the island of Lesbos. Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petříček sent the assistance to Greece to manage the urgent consequences of the fire.
The best use for the financial aid is currently being discussed between the Greek government and the Czech Embassy in Athens. Petříček informed the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, about the aid in a phone call. Dendias will be visiting the Czech Republic on a work trip tomorrow.
This year, CZK 4.4 million was given in aid to refugee facilities by the Ministry of the Interior through MEDEVAC, to help refugees and migrants in need. The ministry provided a further CZK 2.7 million through the Aid in Place programme after the EU Civilian Defence Mechanism was activated. The EU’s external border protection in Greece has also received financial support from the Czech Republic. A total of CZK 27 million was given to provide equipment to protect land and maritime borders.
The fire was started after 35 people tested positive for coronavirus and four asylum seekers protested going into isolation after the long lockdown period. The facility was almost completely destroyed, leaving more than 12,000 refugees without shelter, and with a shortage of food and water. 1,800 refugees were moved to Kara Tepe on Thursday, and Germany will take in a further 1,500 people.
