Thread by @OmairaGill

More thoughts on Pikpa and its threatened closure - when a model camp operates surely this model should be taken & replicated. Instead, more than 5 years into this refugee situation with flows continuing, the Greek govt has consistently responded as if they woke up one day ->

<- to discover a refugee crisis on their doorstep. It's not enough to say 'Well they have a roof over their heads & food' So do prisoners. Refugees are not criminals, they are exercising their international right to seek a better life & in doing so it costs a society ->

Very little to extend a bit of humanity & dignity towards them. It's really not that complicated & Greece has had half a decade to come up with something better. Instead, the mindframe seems to be that if they're not running the camp, no one else can, no matter how good the camp>

This situation is now painting an image of the Greek authorities as hell-bent on making refugee camps as miserable & dehumanising as possible. Moria 2.0 has no running water! IN A PANDEMIC! Nowhere for people to bathe or wash their children

I would really love to hear why it has to be this way. Why, when there are camps that are not interfering with what the govt does & that provide much-needed psychological relief from the misery of being treated like an animal, why it is that those camps need to be shut

Surely it's a false economy because places like Pikpa are doing the work that govt isn't, namely providing relief, dignity & a small sense of comfort. It is NOT enough to simply keep people alive. Humans need to thrive too. This doesn't mean CocoMat mattresses in Moria 2.0>

But it does mean a human touch. It does mean when you see a healthy model that works, you replicate it, rather than the very deliberate cruelty of closing down the only ray of ligh in these people's lives. There is no angle from which this looks good or right. Not one.
#savepikpa

All this is taking place in the shadow of a landmark trial in Greece. If the authorities agree that such racist attitudes are wrong, they need to do better to turn those words into actions & treat their fellow humans with the *bare minimum* of dignity.