During the month of August Greece faced fires. The population accused migrants of being at the origin of this tragedy.
Since then, hatred has developed online against them, reports the television channel TV5 monde. Videos are broadcast online stirring up hatred against migrants, continues TV5 Monde, which took up a comment from a user in these terms: “Do not show them… Burn them! ». According to the same source, the migrants were charged with illegal entry and attempted arson by an Alexandroupoli prosecutor.
Reporter points out that under the encouragement of the far right, citizens capture migrants whom they hold responsible for the fires. In an interview, a resident of Dadia, in northeastern Greece, openly accused: “You see, over there it’s last year’s fire and now it’s burning on the other side. Of course, they are the ones who came back to finish their work. We are in danger.” And the Reporter media to specify that these are accusations without any evidence.
These accusations come not only from ordinary citizens but also from the authorities. This is the case of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who did not hesitate to point fingers at migrants by saying that the fire was lit on the routes used by illegal migrants.
Franceinfo reports that migrants, according to netizens, would cause these fires to help them to more easily enter Greece by mentioning that the region plagued by these fires is bordering Turkey. Several citizens, encouraged by the far right, continues Franceinfo media, have filmed themselves arresting migrants, whom they hold responsible for this fire. “I loaded 25 pieces,” boasted in a video shared on social networks, a man who had just loaded a dozen asylum seekers in a trailer.
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Racist and hateful statements have been accentuated by misinformation. Some media have conveyed false information, reports Reporter , which specifies that these speeches go hand in hand with the misinformation by certain media. A local news portal reported on Tuesday that 20 migrants had been arrested near Alexandroupoli after exchanging fire with police. The authorities have denied these claims. Open TV also issued a correction after mistakenly reporting that two migrants had been caught starting a fire in the nearby Rodopi region.
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