Voices from the Camps:
Living Conditions and Access to Services in Refugee Camps on the Greek Mainland
Evidence of the failure to provide adequate material reception conditions to asylum seekers in Greece
Mobile Info Team and Refugee Legal Support
JULY 2024
“Member States shall ensure that material reception conditions provide an adequate standard of living for applicants, which guarantees their subsistence and protects their physical and mental health.”
- Article 17 of the European Union Reception Conditions Directive
This report looks at living conditions and access to services for asylum seekers in Greece, drawing on interviews with people living in nine refugee camps on the mainland: Corinth, Katsikas, Kavala, Koutsochero, Lagkadikia, Malakasa, Oinofyta, Ritsona and Serres. With attention often directed to the inhumane, EU-funded Closed Controlled Access Centres on the Aegean islands, the findings of this research reveal a troubling picture of neglect and mismanagement on the mainland as well.
The only accommodation that the Greek state provides asylum seekers is in camps. Many of these facilities are located on former military bases in industrial or agricultural areas, far from cities and with limited or non-existent public transport connections.
The isolated locations of most camps and the lack of services provided inside them, has resulted in severe limitations on asylum seekers’ access to social services, legal support, and healthcare. Gaps in the provision of interpretation and transportation are fundamental and create additional barriers to accessing essential services. Meanwhile, daily lives in the camps are characterised by constant surveillance, restricted movement and a fundamental lack of opportunities for learning, community-building and joy. Many people wait months or years in these conditions, struggling to meet their basic human needs, move on with their lives or integrate into society.
This report provides strong evidence that conditions in the mainland camps fall far short of Greece’s legal obligation to provide reception conditions which protect the physical and mental health of people seeking international protection. Based on the findings of this report, we call on the Greek State to reintroduce housing programmes which accommodate applicants in apartments and houses in cities.
Key findings:
The remote location of mainland facilities has multiple negative impacts - preventing asylum seekers from integrating into Greek society, obstructing access to essential services, and hindering access to legal support
Financial and contractual mismanagement by the Greek authorities has resulted in gaps in essential services including interpretation and transportation, leaving people stranded and unable to connect and communicate
Applicants cannot survive on the monthly financial allowance, particularly given the costs of transportation and medicine as these are not consistently provided by the state
The physical conditions of facilities in mainland camps are often neglected and dilapidated, with necessary repairs not being carried out
Mainland camps are especially unsuitable for vulnerable people whose needs are not met by the physical environments of camps and the critical lack of access to support
Millions of euros have been spent on upgrading security infrastructure and surveillance systems, but people feel unsafe in camps and do not feel this technology is benefiting them
The lack of integration policies means that beneficiaries of international protection continue to reside in camps after receiving a positive decision but are not guaranteed access to basic support including food
