I N
L I M B U S
An architectural investigation of the Moria migrant camp on Lesbos
Masterthesis, WS 2021/22 | IMD | Mohammad Reza Abdollahi Bidhendi |5029670
“In Limbus” is an architectural attempt to reveal parts of the bitter truth about Europe’s largest refugee camp, Moria. Limbo: an uncertain situation that cannot be controlled, and in which there is no progress or improvement. (Ref. 01)
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Introduction and Concept explanation: Moria was burned to ashes on September 8, 2020. Since 2015, with the start of the Euro-
One of the objectives of this research is to explore the idea of extracting a concept, i.e.
pean refugee crisis, Moria has turned from a military camp to the first refugee reception
collective memory, and transforming it into a three-dimensional structure which can be
center on the Greek island of Lesbos. As refugee numbers increased and more zones were
seen on the page 102 of this handbook. The use of architectural means plays an im-
added, it gradually became the largest refugee camp in Europe with 20,000 inhabitants.
portant role in this process, which can help us to create a three-dimensional nature. The existing images of Moria are meant to represent two elements to highlight the reality of
Many people have tried to tell the bitter truth about Camp Moria by documenting the story
Moria and to call for an appropriate response to it: These two elements are the refugees
photographically, cinematically, and verbally. The lives of 20,000 people in deplorable condi-
and their lives in inhumane conditions. The aim is to call on the international commu-
tions are now not only stored digitally in the memory of cell phones, hard drives, and servers
nity and the European Union to address this problem and find an appropriate solution.
but have also become part of the collective memory and pain of refugees who found it difficult
In this work, an attempt has been made to present the forced migration of war refugees
to set foot in Europe in search of a better future and happiness. “In Limbus” aims to create an
and the less than warm reception by Europe and its policies with a Storytelling approach.
architectural presentation in the form of a short documentary that uses digital architectural tools and media to recreate a three-dimensional space and transform it into a narrative.
The goal is to reconstruct the already captured reality, have a better spacial understanding of a place that exists no more, and analyze parts of it to keep the storyline informative.
This fea-
The final result is a 12-minute video that depicts excerpts from the story of asylum seekers
ture provides the ability to view a space repeatedly at a specific point in time. Ret-
using visual elements of various techniques. The sound produced by artificial intelligence
rospect allows you to revisit and display objects with two particular character-
accompanies the images and tells the story. The reason for using this type of sound is to
istics: Things that were chosen as the main subject, and things that were not
keep the narrator’s tone of voice neutral in order to prevent any additional sensation and not
the main subject but played an undeniable role in reinforcing the main subject.
to interfere with the audience’s perception of the image. The main challenge in preparing
For example, a red stone between white stones becomes the main motif to express a con-
this work was to maintain a balance between abstraction and pure truth. For this reason,
cept called “contrast”.
images can individually be different but together they will be coherent, and complementary.
Visual aids such as photographs and videos capture the visible space.
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The handbook of “in Limbus” contains various information about each scene, accompanied by complementary and necessary data to make the approach, the visual elements, and the storyline more understandable and informative.
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Intro: The Grandmother’s House
Background:
The story begins with a portrayal of a humble house in the Middle East. The children in the
According to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), since 1951
background sing a song about their grandmother’s house in a happy voice and their mother
until mid-2020, there have been nearly 82.4 million people forcibly displaced worldwide.
asks them if they want some juice.
Among them, an estimated 35 million (42%) are children under the age of 18. (Ref. 02)
An empty living room where almost everything is covered with handmade crochet, kitchen, Family pictures on the walls, a bed and a pink teddy bear. No one is visible in the house. Everything is clearly visible, but nothing is realistic or in focus. It’s a blurry memory. The voices fade away as the sound of jet fighters and falling bombs rises. The camera moves toward the front door and the video goes black. “Alas the day when we don’t have a safe place in our homes”.
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Facts: • I was born in 1988, a year before the ceasefire between Iran and Iraq. At that time, Saddam Hussein was constantly bombing cities and Iranian men were fighting on the front lines. As a result, women and children were taken to safe places. In my case, this safe place was my grandmother’s house in a small village. This small house is a symbol of safety for me. A shelter.
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Info: The house was scanned with an iPad equipped with a lidar scanner. By moving the camera in different directions and pointing it at the object or the room, the software constantly captures images, automatically aligns them and creates a 3-D model.
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What is LiDar: Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a method of determining distances (variable distances) by aiming a laser at an object and measuring the time it takes the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can be used to create 3-D digital representations. Lidar is widely used to create high-resolution maps and has applications in surveying, geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry. (Ref. 03) To create this scene, a 2020 iPad Pro was used. The app “3D Scanner” aided in scanning
Figure 07- The 3D model of the house with no texture.
this 67 m² house with almost 1.3 million surfaces. The scale of the 3D model is 1:1, the meshes are optimized in the app, the lighting is implemented in the texture file, and since the scanning was done accurately, no further adjustments to the model were needed in this case. (Ref. 03)
Figure 08- The 3D model of the house with a texture generated from real-time captured images during scanning.
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Chapter 1: War and Flee
Background:
The sounds of battle fade away and a scene appears with a corpse amidst destroyed build-
The Middle Eastern people has been witnessing nearly 70 conflicts and wars due to many
ings. The devastated scene is empty, and the next scene shows people running on 3 bridges.
reasons.(Ref. 06) Political Changes, Coups, Revolutions, regional conflicts, Terrorism, and
Each bridge represents a specific destination:
rise of Extremism.
1. Inland 2. Neighboring countries
Not only in middle east, but also in any part of the world, many reasons can be the cause for
3. Europe, which is the most visible bridge in these frames.
force displacement. Force displacement is one of the results of persecution, conflict, gener-
The main bridge is metaphorically placed on “the Roman aqueduct” in Lesvos, near the vil-
alized violence or human rights violations. Since 15 march 2011 untill March 2011, the Syrian
lage of Moria. An ancient ruin and historical site, 35 minutes away from another part of the
civil war caused estimated 6.7 million internally displaced & 6.6 million refugees. (Ref. 07)
island’s history, the Moria refugee camp. (Ref. 04)
US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the rise of ISIS left more than 43 millions displaced
Each point of this point cloud* is a symbol for each Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees who
people. (Ref. 08-09)
have left their countries.
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Fact: • Not wanting to unintentionally disrespect the people who lost their lives fighting for freedom or the civilians who were killed during a war, I used a 3D scan of a beheaded ISIS member. The video I used was published in the article “Exclusive drone footage captures west Mosul in the throes of war” by CNN on May 1, 2017. (Ref. 05) • Each point of this point cloud is a symbol for each Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees who have left their countries.
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Info: • 3D modeling and photogrammetry were used in the creation of this scene. This part of the video was also rendered using “TwinMotion”, which is one of the real-time rendering software capable of visualizing point clouds. • * A point cloud is a set of data points in space. The points may represent a 3D shape or object. Each point position has its set of Cartesian coordinates (X, Y, Z). Point clouds are generally produced by 3D scanners or by photogrammetry software, which measure many points on the external surfaces of objects around them.(Ref. 10)
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What is Photogrammetry: One of the techniques that makes it possible to transform two-dimensional images into three dimensions with the help of computer software is photogrammetry. With this technique, an object can be transformed into a 3D digital object by analyzing sequential images with different spatial coordinates. Software such as Reality Capture and Metashape are able to find common points in the image and estimate the 3D coordinates and distance between these points in other images. In this way, a digital reconstruction can be created with photo-based materials and textures.This allows us to reuse what’s visible and in-focus in multiple frames. The workflow is divided into two main parts: Capture and Processing.
Figure 15- 74 Images of a Sea shell as the data set for photogrammetry
Capture is about taking photos of an object that cover the entire object. Processing is about generating the mesh and texture data from the photos. (Ref. 11) The production time depends on the complexity of the object. The application of the photogrammetry method in production is not a simple task, as it depends on the complexity of the object and the retopology time. (Ref. 11) Since the visual resources for this project were primarily amateur video or news footage, and furthermore, the research for this project was done remotely and ranged across multiple times and locations, video-based photogrammetry was the main part of the strategy to approach this project. Figure 16- The final result is a complete 3D model of the same Sea shell
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Recorded videos used for this project were mostly 30fps. That is, each second of the video contains 30 constant frames. By extracting multiple frames from each second, an image dataset can be created. Depending on the quality of the video, the type of recording (drone, handheld, cell phone or digital camera) and the quantity of angles it covers, the quality of the final mesh may vary. One of the challenges in creating these models was finding videos that contained sequential frames of the scene. For low quality videos, a further step of refinement and upscaling of the frames was performed. Figure 17- 203 frames of a video as the data set for photogrammetry
The 1:30 second video used for the following model was uploaded to YouTube on April 27, 2016. It was filmed with a drone. (Ref. 04)
Figure 18- 145/203 frames where used by RealityCapture to generate the 3D model
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Chapter 2: Balkan
Background:
Flying over scattered tents, people wait at the border. The transition connects the crowded
In recent years, the entry of thousands of illegal immigrants from Middle Eastern countries
railroad line with a path in the middle of a farm where a man is standing. Many refugees
from Turkey to Greece has become one of the social crises in Europe, including Greece.
have walked this detour to shorten the journey.
When immigration to Europe peaked in 2015, Greece was a transit country and a gateway to the EU for many immigrants and asylum seekers. Most asylum seekers and migrants
But the path is blocked and will probably remain so.
traveled from the Greek islands to other European countries. With the increase in the flow of refugees from Turkey to Greece and the closure of other European borders, Greece has changed from a transit country for refugees to a host country for refugees. Greece is also an entry point to the “Eastern Mediterranean Route” and the “Western Balkan Route.”
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•Fact: • February 25, 2017, Thousands of migrants were waiting for the right moment to cross the border in the Idomeni region between Greece and northern Macedonia. They were trying to get a chance to reach European countries, but most of their efforts failed. • The second frame shows a path in the middle of farm. Refugees use off-road paths to avoid facing police. • The sea, which can be seen in the last frame, smooths out the narrative flow by creating a visual flow linking it to the next scene.
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Info: • Photogrammetry models were used in the creation of this scene. Rendering was done in “Lumion 12”, since its more capable in regard of camera adjustments and lighting.
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The Western Balkan Route: The Balkan route was closed in March 2016, (Ref. 14) but still it remained an important connecting route for migrants and asylum seekers and an important concern for the countries across it, for the countries of destination, and for the EU in general. The impact of the closure has been many, from the impact on migrants and asylum seekers to political issues related to the role and policies of individual countries and the EU.Lut egeriondiem di publi
Figure 25- The Western Balkan Route accesses
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The Western Balkan Route:
The Eastern Mediterranean Route :
The western Balkan route started making headlines in 2015, during the so-called ‘refugee
Since 2014, the Eastern Mediterranean route has been a major route for refugees, asylum
crisis’, when thousands of people from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – but also from North,
seekers and migrants coming to Europe from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Migration
West and East Africa – tried to reach Northern and Western Europe via Turkey, Greece,
along the Eastern Mediterranean route peaked in 2015, when more than 850,000 people
North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary.
arrived in Greece via Turkey.
The most common countries of origin were Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq. (Ref. 15)
The most common countries of origin during the same period were Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Ref. 16)
Figure 26- Illegal border crossings on the Western Balkan route (Ref. 15)
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Figure 27- Illegal border crossings on the Eastern Mediterranean route (Ref. 16)
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Chapter 3: The Aegean Sea
Background:
The Aegean Sea comes to the foreground. A table of data connects Turkey to the Greek
Ahmad, my syrian friend who came to europe via the same route says:
island of Lesbos. The journey to Moria begins in Turkey, where the refugees have to find a
“...The next day we went shopping for life jackets, small bags, band-aids, etc. Until the evening we
smuggler. Most of them have been saving money for this day. 1000 euros per person is the
prepared, passport, money and cell phones we packed in the bags. At 11:00 in the evening we were
price for a dangerous boat trip, and the passengers will not even equipped with proper life
picked up by the smuggler’s sidekick and brought to the point where we were taken to the beach
jackets.
by a van. But there were 25 of us in the van, most were women and children and a few boys, but we
The video from an Alibaba online store and an instant cut from happy workers holding flow-
had no idea how we fit in there. I personally stood on one foot for the whole trip for 3 hours to get to
ers for the camera to dead bodies on the seashore after using or wearing their products,
the beach. Also, there was no window in the van at all. There was only a small vent in the van roof.
followed by footage of the Greek Coast Guard trying puncture their boat with a Harpoon, are
That was really terrible. At 2:30 to 3:00 we were on the beach, that evening there was a full moon
just part of this sad story.
reflecting in the sea. The boat was fortunately ready and then we got on, and the boat driver was also of course one of our group and was also tested by the smuggler, the smuggler showed us a little light and said that was the direction of the island we were going to....”
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•Fact: • The advertisment is not avalible on Alibaba anymore. (Ref. 17-18-19) • The Video showing Greek coast guard streamed on Skynews on Mar 2, 2020. It’s avalible on SkyNews YouTube page. (Ref. 20)
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Info: • Photogrammetry models were used in the creation of this scene. Rendering was done in “Lumion 12”, since its more capable in regard of camera adjustments and lighting. • To get a sharp and accurate representation of the first scene, I used Google Earth Studio to export a drone-like video orbiting around this location.
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EUROPE
~ 12 000 m
GREECE
Who?
Policies/ Laws
Dangers
NGOs Activists
Asylum Seekers
Hellenic Coast Guard NGOs/ Activists Local Fishers
FRONTEX
The Geneva Convention (5)
The Law of the Sea
Operation Poseidon (3)
Third Pushback
Article 98 (4)
TURKEY
SMUGGLERS
TURKISH COAST GUARD
AEGEAN International Laws
EU-TURKEY Deal (1)
Second Pushback
First Pushback (2)
Extreme Weather Hidden Rocks
Overcrowded Rubber Boats Up to 50Person/ Boat Fake life-vests
Fraud, Lies ~2500$/ Person
Figure 34- Turkey to Lesbos
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1. EU/Turkey Deal:
4. Law of the Sea -Article 98:
On 18 March 2016, the European Council and Turkey reached an agreement aimed at stop-
Every coastal State shall promote the establishment, operation and maintenance of an ad-
ping the flow of irregular migration via Turkey to Europe. According to the EU-Turkey State-
equate and effective search and rescue service regarding safety on and over the sea and,
ment, all new irregular migrants and asylum seekers arriving from Turkey to the Greek
where circumstances so require, by way of mutual regional arrangements cooperate with
islands and whose applications for asylum have been declared inadmissible should be
neighbouring States for this purpose. (Ref. 25)
returned to Turkey. (Ref. 22) 2. Pushback:
5. The Geneva Convention:
Push-backs are a set of state measures by which refugees and migrants are forced back
The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol are the key legal documents that form
over a border – generally immediately after they crossed it – without consideration of their
the basis of our work. With 149 State parties to either or both, they define the term ‘refu-
individual circumstances and without any possibility to apply for asylum or to put forward
gee’ and outlines the rights of refugees, as well as the legal obligations of States to protect
arguments against the measures taken. (Ref.23)
them. (Ref. 26)
3. Operation Posidon: Operation Poseidon supports Greece with border surveillance, saving lives at sea, registration and identification capacities, as well as combatting cross-border crime. The operational area covers the Greek sea borders with Turkey and the Greek islands. Frontex supports Greece with almost 600 guest officers, who perform border surveillance, assist in the identification and registration of incoming migrants, as well as debriefing and screening. (Ref. 24) 42
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Chapter 4: Lesbos
Background:
The camera shows a representation of Mythimna on Lesbos. The writing on the wall hints
Refugees provide an pportunity for local people to earn sometimes large amounts of mon-
at the reality of Moria before they reach it. Physically broken and mentally exhausted, they
ey. One example of such an opportunity is that of the taxi drivers on Lesbos in 2015, when
reach the shore. Reporters and photographers report on their arrival, sometimes 7 boats a
thousands of migrants who had landed on the north of the island needed transport to the
day. The next step for the refugees is to reach the registration center, and for that they have
south-east port of Mytilene in order to continue their journey. The local authorities refused
to walk for 11 hours.
to arrange bus services for the newcomers and this provided the taxi drivers with a golden opportunity to charge excessive rates (around 300-400 euros) for a 70 km trip. (Ref. 28)
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Fact: • The building is an abandoned pasta factory on the road between MITILINI and MAVROVOUNI camp, which has become a local anti-fascist graffiti site. (Ref. 27)
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Info: • The seashore scene was created using 2 separate photogrammetry models. • The foreground is from the same video playing in the scene. It was uploaded to Youtube: BBC News Channel: Drone video shows migrants arrival on September 23, 2015. (Ref. 29) • The background is from a drone shot from a short documentary by David Clancy: Refugess are human on November 30, 2020. (Ref. 30) • The map was exported from QGIS Desktop and rendered in Lumion 12. (Ref. 31)
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Lesbos: The island of Lesvos, one of the largest islands in Greece with an area of 1633 square kilometers, hosts a large number of asylum seekers and migrants. The island is located on the border with the European Union, 12 km off the west coast of Turkey and has about 114,880 inhabitants. (Ref. 32) The geographical location of the island of Lesvos on the EU border has increased the island’s attractiveness to many asylum-seeking migrants traveling to Europe.
12km
Figure 41- Lesbos location on the map
Figure 42- 12km of distance between Turkey and Lesbos
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Mithymna
Agia
Μέσα
Lampou Mili
Moria
Figure 43- The path from Mithymna to Moria
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Chapter 5: Moria
Background:
Poor organization and lack of staff caused chaos and problems in the registration center
Moria camp is located in the south-east of the island and ca. six kilometers away from the island cap-
from the very beginning. Refugees had to wait in a long line for their turn to enter the small
ital Mytilini. It was built in a former military camp and is surrounded with fences, walls, and gates. In
registration center. but even after their turns, things were not working properly.
2015, when the refugee crisis began, it became the first refugee detention center on Lesbos. It covered 5 hectares of land and could accommodate 3,000 people. As time went on and more refugees showed
The camera switches from a 2D image to a 3D reconstruction of the registration center.
up on the island, the camp expanded into 12 different zones. making it Europe’s largest refugee camp
There are a maximum of two chairs in each room, in contrast to the many people waiting
with nearly 20,000 inhabitants.
outside the registration center in the images. After zooming in on an actual satellite image
The main entrance is guarded by Hellenic Police officers and RIS (Reception and Identification Service)
of Moria, which can be seen on Google Earth, a 3D reconstruction of Moria is revealed.
staff. A closed area with a big tent and a system of seven containers used for basic registration purposes as well as a first contact point with various NGOs. There is only one entrance and one exit gate, both guarded by Hellenic Police, and only people who need medical treatment in a hospital and those who have gone successfully through the registration and identification procedure may exit the area.
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Fact: • The building is an abandoned pasta factory on the road between MITILINI and MAVROVOUNI camp, which has become a local anti-fascist graffiti site. (Ref. 33)
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Info: • This scene was created by using 2 photogrammetry models, 3D Modeling and the Photo-Matching technique. • The datasets for photogrammetry were extracted from the screen recording when manually orbiting around the camp in Google Earth Pro. • Lumios 12 was used to create this scene.
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Registration Center and The Camp: The arrivals are split into smaller groups and fed, almost tayloristically, in a “registration street” – a term commonly used by Frontex officers on site. The procedure is split into several distinct steps, and each step is carried out by one specialized team in one container. Frontex officers as “screeners” and document experts called “ALDOs” identify the arrivals. Frontex “fingerprinters” generate fingerprints and set up data profiles in several databases. Subsequently, Greek RIS staff creates legal documents while MdM is responsible for medical screening, inter alia to separate the so-called vulnerable cases from the others. Finally, the procedure ends with RIS sorting and channeling those newly registered and referring them to different authorities. Police decide on a grade of freedom of movement, and then “the migrants are ready to get out of the system”. As of January 2015, the number of Registered unaccompanied minors reached 1,049. According to HRW, women with young children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities or health problems were often not identified as vulnerable groups and were not ensured that they could register and receive adequate access to basic services such as food and health care. (Ref. 33)
Figure 50- Moria Registration Center
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According to a tweet by Fred Abrahams , the associate program director at HRW (Human Rights Watch), the reason for having blurred image of Moria on Google Earth is : “Google uses aerial photography taken from planes rather than sat imagery, and those photos are subject to EU privacy rules. Other camps in area also blurred, as are military bases in Europe.” (Ref. 34) However, satellite images of Moria’s in the past years are still available on Google Earth Pro. The plans avalible on next pages are based on Figure-52.
Figure 51- Moria on Gooogle Earth
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Figure 52- Moria on Gooogle Earth Pro - May 2020
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Scale 1:4000
Scale 1:4000 0 100
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400
800m
0 100
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800 m
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Shelters:
Background:
In this scene, the ideal situation is compared to the reality in Moria. The white cubes be-
According to UNHCR, Regardless of the type of emergency shelter used, a series of princi-
come fractions of reality and are then turned into a cutout of an IKEA refugee shelter.
ples such as the followingo nes generally apply (Ref. 36):
As the narrator describes the ideal situation, figures emerge to show the limited living space
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Refugee shelters should be culturally and socially appropriate and familiar where possible.
each family had in Moria.
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Blankets, mats, and tarpaulin must be provided as needed.
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A Minimum OF 3.5m2 covered living space per person.
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The individual family shelter should always be preferred to communal accommodation as it provides the necessary privacy, psychological comfort, and emotional safety.
But in Moria, each family had to live in a cabin with four other families, which reduced the standard living space to less than 1m². The same problem applied to the tents. Considering that almost 63 percent of the inhabitants were families, it is easy to see that the infrastructure of the camp was not even sufficient for half of the refugees.
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Fact: • IKEA’s flat-packed refugee housing solution, the “Better Shelter,” has been announced as the winner of the Beazley Design of the Year 2016. Presented by the Design Museum in London, the award is given to the project that best meets the criteria of design that “promotes or delivers change,” “captures the spirit of the year,” “enables access,” and “work that has extended design practice.” (Ref. 35) •
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Info: • This scene was created by using 1 photogrammetry model and the Photo-Matching technique. • The video used for photogrammetry was a 360 degree video uploaded on youtube by Samaritans Purse on December 18, 2015. (Ref.37) • The Better Shelter was modeled using the reference images available on the Internet. • This scene was rendered and animated in Lumion 12. The cut plane and figures were animated through phases in the software.
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Time-Collage:
Background:
A 3D reconstruction of Moria with several scans from different times emerges from the
Important infrastructure facilities such as Registration Center, Medical Clinic, water storag-
ground.
es, sanitation facilities, and food supply center were located inside the main camp. For this
The reason that the photogrammetry models are being shown slowly after the 2D drawings
reason, in addition to the residents of the main camp, many people who had settled in the
or simple 3D models is a visual metaphor of the Farsi proverb: The sun will not always re-
vicinity of it had to go to it to meet their daily needs.
main behind the cloud.
The high population density, as well as the lack of sufficient facilities, led to serious health and hygiene problems. and the lack of standardized accommodation for asylum seekers
This means that the truth will eventually come to light, either verbally or visually.
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and also their quarantine during the Corona pandemic led to a humanitarian disaster.
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Fact: • Due to the fact that filming was banned in the camp, parts of the camp were reconstructed in this video by using videos that were secretly taken by people or documented by official news agencies.
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Info: • This scene was created by using 7 photogrammetry models and Multiple simple 3D models. • The Photogrammetry models have been created by using videos from diffrent times. • A video by “Urban lad” where he film the camp months after fire, uploaded to YouTube on Dec 16, 2021(Ref. 38)- A video uploaded by Dailymail to “YouTube” on Sep 11, 2020 (Ref. 39)- Drone video by Ruptly on upladed to YouTube on 10 Sept 2020 - (Ref. 40)- Stock footages on Pond5. com, the exact date is not avalible. (Ref. 41, 42, 43) • Stock footages have been upscaled frame by frame using Topaz Gigapixel AI. (Ref. 44)
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Hygiene:
Background:
There were only 22 stationary toilets, the rest were portable toilet cabins. According to
According to an international volunteer (Ref. 49), the toilets were extremely filthy, stained with
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) (Ref. 45), there were 90 toilets and 90 showers in the main
mud, damp, and reeking of foul odors. There was no water to flush trash bins or toilet paper.
camp. Outside in the overflow, there were less than thirty, while no attention was paid to
To use the toilet, the refugees needed to bring their own water, usually in plastic bottles that
access for people with special needs.
were subsequently left piled up inside the toilets. Many of the camp’s residents prefered to
The lack of a sewage system and daily garbage disposal made the portable toilets com-
walk up the nearby hill instead of using the toilets in the camp.
pletely unusable. In addition, the water supply was interrupted by daily power outages.
Without running water, there were no showers at the camp either. In the late summer, many
Refugees were forced to use water bottles or diapers.
residents resorted to the sea for a quick wash. The lack of privacy made it even harder for
The camera moves slowly to ensure that viewers get a good view of the filthy toilets. It also
women.Diseases like scabies and diarrhea are very common in the camp, and given the lack of
focuses on plastic bottles scattered everywhere while the narrator talks about facts and
sanitation systems, proper treatment was hard to find.
statistics.
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Fact: • The bathrooms are few and far in the overflow, therefor women frequently were wearing diapers to avoid walking to the toilets alone at night. (Ref. 46) • No precise data are available on how many refugees were infected with Covid-19. A Pulitzer Center report speaks of about 35 at the time of the fire outbreak (Ref. 47). This surprisingly low number of Covid-19 infections in a camp with a population of nearly 20,000 shows how isolated it was from the outside world. However, more than 240 people returned a positive result after 7,000 tests were conducted after the fire. (Ref. 48)
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Info: • This scene was created by using 3 photogrammetry models. • The Photogrammetry models have been created by using videos from diffrent times.. • Video by “Urban lad”, uploaded to YouTube on Dec 16, 2021(Ref. 38)- video uploaded by Eric Maddox to YouTube on Jan 29, 2020 (Ref. 50).
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Figure 65
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Figure 66
Figure 67
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Figure 68
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Figure 69
Figure 70
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Every Man for Himself:
Background:
The camera moves through part of the camp and shows a small market next to the por-
According to a series of tweet by “Mare Liberum” (a NGO based in Berlin) (Ref. 52) on April 22,
table toilets with only a few boxes of fruit and vegetables for sale, while there was a Lidl
2020:
supermarket near Moria. In Moria there was only one official supermarket and people had to wait for hours to get
“Normally, migrants in Moria get a money card & can withdraw money in Mytilene. Now with
what they needed. Therefore, small stores like barber shops, bakeries, etc. started to grow
Corona regulations, they can’t withdraw & can only pay in two shops, which limits their choices
in the camp.
drastically. Worst: It excludes the self-organized shops in the camp! Due to COVID19 regula-
The camera switches to an isometric view and the narrator explains how the inhabitants
tions, refugees in Moria can’t leave the camp. They can only buy food in 1 shop inside using a
had to take care of the place where they work or live, polluting the environment with tons of
cashcard. People queue from 5am and some don’t even make it inside. Then, it’s often too late
plastic and cutting olive trees.
to queue in the camp‘s food line. The Lidl supermarket near Moria camp has now established the racist procedure of denying residents of Moria to enter. This is making it even harder for them to get food.” (Ref. 53)
Figure 71
Figure 72
Figure 73
Fact: • Far-right groups are increasingly converging on the Greek island of Lesbos seeking to capitalise on the high numbers of migrants present to create a new front in Europe’s periphery. (Ref. 51)
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Figure 74
Figure 75
Figure 76
Info: • The scene was created using 1photogrammetry model and Photo-Matching technique . • The Market video was uploaded to YouTube by Waheed Orya on May 27, 2020. (Ref. 54) He is an Afghan journalist who lived in Moria with his family for 6 months. He also supported this project by providing me with raw footages and information from the camp, giving me a better insight and understanding of the situation.
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Figure 71
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Figure 72
Figure 73
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Figure 74
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Figure 75
Figure 76
89
The Overflow:
Background:
The camera reaches the final destination and the narrator’s perspective becomes more
On September 8, 2020, Moria burned down and the inhabitants were forced to move to a
sympathetic. He talks about how the humanitarian laws and regulations about Moria, which
new camp with the same situation. In recent years, the European Union has failed to find a
have now become a permanent and bitter part of modern Europe, have been ignored. The
common policy for the distribution of asylum seekers among its member states and still,
scene darkens and merges with real images. The thin shells of the handmade tents, the
no possible solution is in sight.
dirty water flowing between the passages and the garbage bags in the corners, the children’s clothes being dried and the steep slope where children play.
Figure 77
Figure 78
Figure 79
Fact: • “In Limbo” ends with a question, followed by a scene from Ukraine: “Are people really the equal?” • Since March 22, Hungary and Romania (Which are listed in the countries that have closed the Balkan route) have taken in nearly one million refugees from Ukraine. (Ref. 55)
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Figure 80
Figure 81
Figure 82
Info: • The scene was created using 3 photogrammetry model and Photo-Matching technique . • 2 Video uploaded to YouTube by Eric Maddox on Feb 21, 2020 and Jan 31, 2020 (Ref. 56, 57) • This scene was rendered by Lumion 12 and TwinMotion.
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Figure 77
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Figure 78
Figure 79
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Figure 80
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Figure 82
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Figure 83
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Figure 85
Figure 86
Figure 87
Figure 88
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Figure 83
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Figure 84
Figure 85
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Figure 86
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Figure 87
Figure 88
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Because all I can think tonight is how deep the sea, and how vast, how indifferent. How powerless I am to protect you from it. All I can do is pray. Pray God steers the vessel true, when the shores slip out of eyeshot and we are a flyspeck in the heaving waters, keeling and titling, easily swallowed. Because you, you are precious cargo, Marwan, the most precious there ever was. I pray the sea knows this. Inshallah. How I pray the sea knows this... by Khaled Hosseini
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105
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107
Models:
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109
110
111
112
113
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