A German activist, artist and photographer, Rebecca Somer, has made shocking claims about the role of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Greek refugee camps and about what she believes are state actors looking to intentionally cause disruption and strife in the region.
On September 10th, she gave a telephone interview to liberal German online magazine, Tichys Einblick, in which she made a number of startling allegations. She claims that the fire that ravaged the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos was intentionally started by a man and a woman from a German NGO and that they aimed to blame the residents of Lesbos for the fire. The fire has left thousands of refugees homeless and without shelter.
It has now been revealed by the Greek authorities that 5 young migrants have been arrested for starting the fire, two of which are Afghans under the age of 16; contrary to the claims made by Somer.
She also claimed that many of the refugees themselves were violent and aggressive towards residents of the island. She said:
"Firefighters and volunteers sit outside the migrant camp and wait to intervene if necessary. Many times during the weeks I was on the island there were fires. Most of the asylum seekers here in Moria show no respect and are extremely aggressive towards the police. Monday afternoon was particularly bad. The firefighters' attempt to extinguish the fire was violently thwarted. They are violent and armed."
She added:
"Residents of the surrounding villages are worried because some of those who left the Reception Center are violent and armed. They circulate in groups of five or ten people. Some people have iron bars. They have all kinds of weapons in the camp. I have seen from swords to knives. There are also rumors of weapons from ErdoÄŸan's army."
It has been widely speculated that Turkish President Recep Erdogan has used the flow of migrants into Turkey, many seeking a way into Europe via Greece, as a political tool. In March 2020, Erdogan threatened to open the borders to Europe and allow millions of refugees to flood in as a way of pressuring the EU to support Turkey and halt criticism of the Turkish regime's actions. Particularly in the Syrian war.
Turkey has been accused of funding militant Islamist groups in both Syria and Libya, and Somer points out that extreme Islamists do seem to be among the refugees she has witnessed inside the camps. She said:
"There are a lot of jihadists here, strictly pious Muslims, even the Taliban. You can distinguish them from their Taliban clothes. It is a very specific way of dressing. They were shown to me by the residents of the camp."
She then went on to add that very few Syrians appear to be among the refugees:
"Syrians are almost non-existent. Many come from Africa. Many women were sitting in the camp, beautiful and well-groomed, with extensions and long nails. The vast majority we have here are Afghans, mainly from the Hazaras, who are also the main group of Afghans in Germany. Young boys with modern haircuts and mobile phones and often with stylish clothes."
While much of Somer's statement may create alarm, it could also be the case that there are political motivations behind her statement. The spread with which her statement went viral on social media indicates that it is possible that there are anti-Turkish or anti-immigrant actors seeking to spread disinformation.
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