Greek authorities move 300 asylum-seekers from Lesvos camp to mainland

Piraeus (Greece), Dec 01 (ANI): As many as 300 asylum-seekers were moved from the island of Lesvos to the mainland. The Greek authorities moved the asylum-seekers on Thursday in an effort to ease overcrowding in its camps. Thirty-year old Afghanistan-based Mohammad Firuz said he escaped "hell" and that arriving in Athens felt like "heaven". Firuz stayed in Moria camp on Lesvos for two months. Thousands of asylum-seekers were stranded on Lesvos and four other islands near Turkey since the European Union agreed to shut down the route through Greece in a deal with Ankara in March 2016. Firuz was among more than 300 people aboard a ferry that reached the port of Piraeus early on Thursday. The asylum seekers will be transferred to camps and apartments on the mainland.