Vienna comes to Moria’s aid with 300,000 euros

After the refugee camp in Greece burned down earlier this year, not enough has been done to protect the people living there, according to Vienna’s local authorities

Earlier this year, the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos burned down, leaving hundreds of people stranded, without a home and without any hope of leading a normal life. The EU as a whole immediately sent assistance to Greek authorities in order to help bring the camp back to order, while several member states opted for taking in parts of the camp’s population.

Austria, however, was not one of those countries. Thus, the city of Vienna decided to act on its own in helping the migrants at Moria, by sending some 300,000 euros to several charity organisations that will make life better for those living on the Greek island.

Acting where central authorities will not

The City of Vienna will support Caritas, Diakonie and Arbeiter-Samariterbund with a total of 300,000 euros - the money will go to help the people in the refugee camps on the Greek islands, specifically for those families and children who are living in inhumane conditions in Moria or on Lesvos have to live.

The announcement was made by Mayor Michael Ludwig and Vice Mayor Christoph Wiederkehr earlier this week with Ludwig explaining that the city wants to provide immediate help "for those people who have to live under the most difficult conditions in the refugee camps. The conditions in the refugee camps are untenable. It is a shame that there is something like this on the soil of the EU,” he explained.

The mayor further recalled the offer by the City of Vienna to take in 100 children from the Moria refugee camp, stating that "We are ready. The offer of help fails because of the federal government, which is responsible for the right of residence.”

The 300,000 euros from the city of Vienna will be distributed equally to Caritas, Diakonie, represented in Greece, and the Arbeiter-Samariterbund. "We don't want a PR campaign with planes full of objects that don't arrive," said Ludwig. The money should be used on-site and benefit people directly, according to Vienna’s local authorities.