Unveiling the harsh living conditions, limited resources, and daily challenges faced by people living within the walls of Greece’s prison-like refugee camps.

What is it like to be a refugee living in a camp in Greece? To answer that, we take a look inside the living conditions of Greece’s Closed Controlled Access Centers (CCACs), spread all over isolated parts of the hotspot  islands and the mainland. The camps are on average 14 kilometers from the nearest town. Opened in late 2021 starting with Samos, the camps are built to hold between 2,000-3,000 people; today, the numbers of CCAC residents are nearly double the camp’s capacity. Replacing informal ‘tent city’ camps, the CCACs were designed to be more  “dignified” housing for incoming refugees with an emphasis on sanitation and more space. But they are more reminiscent of prisons than reception centers for vulnerable refugees. After arriving people are unlawfully detained in a specific part of the CCAC for up to 40 days. The whole camp is surrounded by layers of barbed wires, airport-like security including body searches, there is limited freedom of movement (residents are only permitted to leave between 8am and 8pm), restricted running water, and cramped living spaces are just some of the things that residents of these camps make note of. Additionally, the CCACs were also purported to speed up the asylum process with the availability of more data and organization. However, haste in these situations is not always beneficial. With the volume of applications coming in, we are hearing reports of applications being processed en masse based on the applicant’s country of origin. This can have horrific implications for applicants.

Fanta, a Guinean refugee who arrived alone with her newborn daughter, tells me about the cockroach infestation at the camp on Lesvos that was so dire, she used her only blanket as a net to prevent the bugs from falling on her and her daughter as they slept. On Kos, volunteers at The Hub are hearing reports from refugees that new arrivals are no longer being given a mattress or a sleeping bag, and as the temperature drops in these cooler winter months, people are given only two things when they arrive: a thin blanket and a bar of soap. When the soap runs out? Their only option is to travel several kilometers into town in hopes of acquiring some hygiene products from The Hub’s Free Shop – the island’s only Free Shop and Community Space – which services more than 1,600 people each month. However, for the more than 3,600 people in the camp, even this is not always available. Furthermore Kos camp residents are not allowed to enter the CCAC with a bottle of water, although the camp gives out only one litter per person per day, and cooking inside the facility is prohibited.

On Samos, residents of the camp report that running water is turned off twice daily: for several hours in the afternoon, and every evening between 10pm and 8am. Residents also complain of a poor diet; food is distributed only twice per day: some bread and/or fruit in the morning, and a packaged meal at 13:00 which people say often has visible mold, or puffed up packaging from bacteria fermentation. 

With overcrowding on the rise, containers are no longer separated by gender, and women and mothers with small children are having to live with men. Unaccompanied minors are detained in a different part of the CCAC and are not allowed to mix with the rest of the camp population, which leaves them isolated from other people from their community. The overcrowding also leads to increased tensions and violence among the camp residents, as a result of the harsh living conditions and the impact on people’s mental health. There is inadequate medical services, with regular incidences of things such as lice and scabies. In the CCAC there are no permanent doctors working from EODY (the National Public Health Organisation), and besides the presence of nurses a doctor only visits the CCAC once per week. 

Is this the Europe we stand for? 

These camps have altogether cost Greece and the European Union over 250 million euros. Many residents and NGOs are calling for the camps to be shut down and for the funds to be allocated to more dignified solutions for the thousands of people seeking refuge in Europe. We must do better.