In Pictures

In Pictures: 13,000 chairs to demand Greek migrant camps’ closure

Campaigners place chairs outside German parliament as they call for overcrowded camps in Greek islands to be shut down.

13,000 chairs are placed in front of the Reichstag building, seat of the German lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin on September 7, 2020, in an action to call for the evacuation of the Moria — 13,000 chairs placed in front of the Reichstag building, seat of the German lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin. [Tobias Schwarz/AFP]

Campaigners on Monday placed 13,000 chairs outside the German parliament building in Berlin, in a symbolic protest calling for the overcrowded migrant camps in Greek islands to be shut down.

Each chair represented one of the people stuck in terrible conditions in the Moria camp on Lesbos island, Greece’s largest reception camp, said the organising groups, Seebruecke, Sea-Watch, Campact and LeaveNoOneBehind.

The chairs also recalled that German communes and states, with Berlin at the head, have said they are ready to take responsibility for migrants languishing in the insalubrious camps on several Greek islands.

“The Bundestag was on holiday this summer, the humanitarian catastrophe at the EU [European Union] external borders was not,” the groups said in a statement.

Last week, Greece announced the first coronavirus case in the Moria camp.

Almost 13,000 people live in Moria, which is meant to have a capacity of fewer than 2,800.

Overall, there are nearly 24,000 people in five Greek island camps built to handle fewer than 6,100 people.

Germany has taken in 465 people from these camps, mostly sick children and their families.

Activists set up empty chairs for a protest demanding the evacuation of Greek migrant camps, in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, September 7, 2020. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke — Activists set up empty chairs for the protest demanding the evacuation of Greek migrant camps. [Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters]

German MPs pose with placards amidst 13,000 chairs placed in front of the Reichstag building, seat of the German lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin on September 7, 2020, in an action to cal — German MPs pose with placards amid 13,000 chairs placed in front of the Reichstag building, seat of the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag in Berlin to call for the evacuation of the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. [John Macdougall/AFP]

epa08652805 A sign is placed on one of the symbolic 13 thousand chairs placed on the grass of the Platz der Republik in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany, 07 Septemb — A sign placed on one of the symbolic 13,000 chairs placed on the Platz der Republik. [Flip Singer/EPA]

epa08651937 Activists from Seebruecke and Sea-Watch put chairs on the grass of the Platz der Republick in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany, 07 September 2020. As a — Activists from Seebruecke and Sea-Watch put chairs on the grass of the Platz der Republik in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin. [Hayoung Jeon/EPA]

epa08652825 Protestors stand with banners in front of the symbolic 13 thousand chairs placed on the grass of the Platz der Republik in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin, Germ — Protesters stand with banners in front of the symbolic 13,000 chairs placed in front of the German parliament. [Filip Singer/EPA]

epa08652297 Activists from Seebruecke and Sea-Watch put chairs on the grass of the Platz der Republick in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany, 07 September 2020. As a — Rights activists highlighted the receptivity of migrants and refugees by global cities or countries. [Hayoung Jeon/EPA]

epa08652814 Protestors stand with banners in front of the symbolic 13 thousand chairs placed on the grass of the Platz der Republik in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin, Germ — Greek authorities last week imposed a 14-day quarantine on Moria after a man who had been living in a tent outside the camp fence tested positive for the coronavirus. [Flip Singer/EPA]

epa08652804 A sign is placed on one of the symbolic 13 thousand chairs placed on the grass of the Platz der Republik in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany, 07 Septemb — Germany has agreed to take in a total of 243 children from camps in Greece who need medical treatment, as well their closest relatives. [Flip Singer/EPA]

epa08651934 Activists from Seebruecke and Sea-Watch put chairs on the grass of the Platz der Republick in front of the German parliament Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany, 07 September 2020. As a — Activists behind Monday's protest say the first confirmed coronavirus case at Moria adds urgency to long-standing calls for the camp's evacuation. [Hayoung Jeon/EPA]