Moria close to 7,500 mark as ministry vows transfers

A batch of new arrivals over the weekend pushed the population at the already overcrowded Moria refugee camp on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos close to the 7,500 mark, after it had managed to ease down to 6,872 late last week – meager respite at a facility built for a maximum of 3,000 people.

“We had no new arrivals today, but they were quite significant in previous days,” the deputy director of the Moria migrant processing and reception center, Dimitris Vafeas, told Kathimerini Monday.

“This is a problem that obstructs the Moria camp’s operation,” he added.

Responding to these and other similar concerns, sources at the Migration Ministry have suggested that the camp should expect some relief over the next few weeks, as 2,000 to 3,000 asylum seekers will be transferred from Lesvos to facilities on the Greek mainland.