With over 73,000 hectares burnt in six days, the fires around Alexandroupolis, a town on the border with Turkey in north-eastern Greece, are now the most devastating ever recorded in the European Union. Over the past two days, grief over the desolate landscape has given way to rage and even hatred towards a convenient scapegoat: migrants, who have been blamed for the fires by far-right groups operating in the region.
On Tuesday, August 23, 18 suspected migrants – including two children, according to the coroner – who had crossed the Evros river separating Greece and Turkey, were found dead. A few hours after this announcement, rumors started circulating, fueled by far-right groups on social media, accusing the migrants of starting the fires, saying that it was no coincidence that the fires began on the route they had taken. This was followed by a video posted on Facebook by a man showing a group of migrants locked in the trailer of his vehicle. “I’ve loaded up 25 of them,” he said proudly. “They’re going to burn us! Go out and pick them up!”
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