Greece is facing its worst fire season in modern history, coinciding with a continued flow of migrants trying to enter Europe. Many accuse them, without proof, of being responsible for the fires.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Greece is experiencing one of the worst forest fire seasons in its history. At least 18 people have died in fires in a mountainous region near the border with Turkey. This is also where migrants enter Greece, often illegally. Journalist Lydia Emmanouilidou affirms that these facts revealed a negative current in Greek society.
LYDIA EMMANOUILIDOU: Officials say lightning likely started the first fire in the Alexandroupolis area nearly two weeks ago, and that flames spread throughout the region due to dry and windy conditions . But locals like Iordannis tell me that’s not the whole story.
IORDANNIS: (Through interpreter) We know very well who lights the fires. We’ve surprised a lot of people lighting them. They are migrants, obviously. Here, they are illegal migrants.
EMMANOUILIDOU: Iordannis asked us not to use his last name so that he could speak openly. He accuses migrants of starting the fires, those who crossed the Greek border from the Turkish border to seek asylum. In private messaging apps and on social media, local far-right militias coordinate their patrols, share locations where they may have observed migrants and call on people to hunt, beat and even murder them.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
EMMANOUILIDOU: In this video that has gone viral, a local resident says he caught several, I quote, “pieces” which, according to him, without proof, lit the fire. He opens the door of his windowless trailer and shows the people he has captured.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
EMMANOUILIDOU: Among those who shared this video is the leader of the ultranationalist Greek Solution political party, one of several far-right parties that Greeks elected to parliament in June’s national elections. Police investigated the video’s claims and discovered that 13 Syrians and Pakistanis were being held captive. Then, based on the testimony of the three men arrested for detaining them, authorities charged the migrants with arson.
ARGYRIS KONTOLAIMOS: They said I’m an immigrant and I’m dangerous.
EMMANOUILIDOU: Argyris Kontolaimos is a former actor who traveled to this region to help with relief efforts. And he discovered that his own photo was circulating in far-right groups.
KONTOLAIMOS: So people start looking for me to beat me or kill me or – I don’t know what they want to do with me.
EMMANOUILIDOU: The photo was removed after he threatened to file a complaint. Furthermore, all those who died in the fires in the Evros region are believed to be migrants. Pavlos Pavlidis is the local coroner in Alexandroupolis.
PAVLOS PAVLIDIS: (non-English language spoken).
EMMANOUILIDOU: Some were found charred in a shed, he says, where it appears they were hiding in a forested mountainous area. Others were found nearby after apparently trying to run down the mountain and escape the fire.
ELENI SPATHANA: So they lost their lives because maybe they didn’t have the opportunity to seek help and protection.
EMMANOUILIDOU: Eleni Spathana is a lawyer with Refugee Support Aegean, an organization that provides legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees. She says Greece and the EU’s harsh policies may force undocumented immigrants into hiding for fear of being violently and illegally returned to Turkey.
SPATHANA: In the Evros border area, we have increasingly, in recent years – especially in recent years, serious incidents of illegal returns.
EMMANOUILIDOU: So-called pushbacks have been documented by media and NGOs and appear to be happening more systematically under Greece’s current conservative government. Greek authorities deny the allegations, but have repeatedly expressed relief that no Greek citizens lost their lives in the fires.
For NPR News, I’m Lydia Emmanouilidou in Alexandroupolis, Greece.
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