After a first stopover in Cyprus, the Pope begins this Saturday, December 4, a three-day visit to Greece, which will be marked in particular by a visit to Lesbos on Sunday. This will be the Pope’s second visit, after that of 2016, to this island symbol of migratory flows, which notably housed the Moria camp – long the largest in Europe – destroyed by fire in September 2020.
With our special correspondent in Lesbos, Joel bronner
In recent days, the reception conditions of the temporary camp, which replaced that of Moria, have been partly improved just before the symbolic and media visit of the Pope. In Lesbos, even if they are happy about it, many smile. A situation described, among others, by Marion Bouchetel, from the NGO Legal Center Lesvos: ” Several tents have been replaced, the large tents which housed 80 to 100 people and which burned down in mid-November were evacuated. There are a lot of builds and cleanups going on. But this is not representative of what is happening and the living conditions imposed on people in these camps. “(19s)
Beyond the cosmetic changes brought about by the arrival of the Pope, for George Pallis, former deputy and pharmacist, who talks daily with the inhabitants of the capital of the island of Mytilene, this coming of the sovereign pontiff does not arouse as much expectations than that of 2016.
” The first time, when the Pope came, the mood was different, people were hoping for a change, something different. This time the enthusiasm is not the same. “
At the very least, the imminent visit of the Pope will have already brought about a slight change: that, just before winter, of the accommodation conditions for asylum seekers in the Lesbos camp.
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