Nimm uns nicht unser schӧnes Schreckenszenario!: 11/09/20

Moving away from purely domestic politics, this caricature addresses the fires which broke out in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos from 8th-10th September. The heading reads 'Don't take away our nice little nightmare scenario', while a representative of Greece whispers conspiratorially to the figure of the EU. Meanwhile, the smoke from the fire forms hostile hands bearing the words 'stay away'.

This is a bleak image of European refugee policy. Political leaders appear unmoved in the face of the tragedy, and it is even suggested that they see some kind of advantage in this turn of events.

The response to the disaster was certainly lacking, as the new sites built to accommodate the refugees did not provide sufficient sanitation and medical care. The true extent of hostility towards the refugees was also exposed: the Greek government initially blamed the refugees for the fires and suggested they were not showing enough respect for their host country.

Furthermore, the displaced refugees were in some cases threatened with violence by local residents, some of whom set up roadblocks and demanded that the refugees be transferred to the mainland. This attitude is represented in the caricature by the raised hands telling the arriving dinghies (presumably carrying more refugees) to stay away.

The caricaturist also addresses the role of the EU, which is here portrayed as a passive onlooker. Although it was hoped that other EU countries would take in victims of the Moria fire, this proved difficult to set in motion. An ongoing problem is the lack of solidarity and consistency when it comes to EU refugee policy, with some countries prepared to take on a far greater burden than others. With the EU paralysed, there were calls for Germany to take unilateral action in the case of Moria. Protests took place in Berlin to demand the evacuation of the camp, with politicians from the SPD and Green Party taking part. In this context, the caricature may be seen as a critical look not so much at Greece as at the EU as a whole, which is portrayed as failing in its duties, causing certain groups in countries such as Germany to consider taking matters into their own hands.

For more information on attitudes to refugee policy in Germany, see: https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/europe-s-shame-the-moria-catastrophe-and-the-eu-s-hypocritical-refugee-policy-a-7a86c0dd-98b1-46fb-aa3b-1401d7d9ab13