UK sends vital aid to refugees affected by Greek camp fire
UK support will help nearly 2,000 vulnerable families prepare, cook and serve food, and solar lanterns will help people stay safe.
- Trucks arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos carrying UK aid to help families affected by camp fire.
- The package, which includes basic supplies such as plates, cutlery, and solar lamps, will be distributed to people in need.
- Minister for Europe Wendy Morton says the UK is standing by Greece and working together to support those in dire need.
The UK has sent much needed plates, cutlery and solar lamps to Moria camp in Greece following a devastating fire which left thousands of people homeless, Minister for Europe Wendy Morton announced today, 1st October.
Many of the people staying in the camp had fled from conflict zones, such as the decade-long war in Syria, and will have lost the few possessions they owned.
Today’s UK aid package will mean nearly 2,000 vulnerable families can prepare, cook and serve food, as well as being kept safe with solar lanterns. The 2,000 lanterns can be used to charge torches and mobiles phones.
The UK Government is working closely with the Government of Greece to make sure people living in Moria camp have access to food and shelter.
Minister for Europe, Wendy Morton, said:
We have all been moved by the devastating images of the fire in Lesbos, and my thoughts are with the thousands of people who have been left with nothing.
The UK is standing by Greece and working together to support those in dire need. Our aid will help the most vulnerable families to stay safe and make sure they are able to feed themselves.
Today’s support is in addition to over £500,000 of support provided earlier this year to the International Organization for Migration to provide supplies to vulnerable people on Lesbos and other islands, including tents, shelter kits, towels and x-ray machines to help treat minor injuries.
Notes to editors
The items – totaling around £150,000 – were sent from the FCDO’s UK warehouse and a supplier in Belgium, and travelled by land through to Greece. The 1,854 kitchen sets arrived in Greece today, and the solar lanterns are expected in the coming days. They will be distributed by the Government of Greece.