Greece: Trapped in island camps

Tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers are held in camps on the Greek islands, crammed together in extremely precarious and appalling conditions. The situation has gotten even worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The camps’ unhealthy living conditions and overcrowding are conducive to the spread of COVID-19. Given the lack of appropriate health services and very limited medical care, the risk that the virus could spread among camp inhabitants has been and remains a cause for concern. How can people comply with preventive measures such as social distancing and handwashing under such conditions? Families of five or six must sleep in spaces smaller than three square metres [32 square feet]. Since March 2020, pandemic-related curfews and restrictions on asylum seekers’ movements in Moria have been extended seven times for a total of more than 150 days. 

Canaj was there on 9 September 2020, when several fires broke out in Moria refugee camp on Lesbos, destroying its infrastructure and forcing 12,000 people to flee yet again.

“It’s shameful what people face on the island every day,” Canaj said. “These fires are only the tip of the iceberg.” In Greece, tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers are living in camps after agreements between the European Union and Turkey took effect in March 2016. The accords, which MSF and multiple organisations have criticized, have trapped thousands of men, women and children in unhealthy, degrading, and dangerous conditions. 

The overcrowded camps, with their harmful conditions, create tensions among the residents. In 2019, Vasilis Stravaridis, general director of MSF Greece, said: “In Vathy, on Samos, more than half of the people living in the camp sleep in tents or under plastic tarps, surrounded by garbage and human faeces.”

Toll on mental health

Everyone here faces obstacles to obtaining medical care. MSF’s teams of psychologists work to provide mental health support, particularly for people suffering from depression, anxiety or psychosis, and to assist victims of torture. Between 2019 and 2020, the mental health clinics on the islands of Chios, Lesbos, and Samos treated 1,369 patients, including many people who were experiencing severe mental illness, particularly post-traumatic stress and depression. More than 180 of the people treated by MSF had suffered injuries due to self-harm or attempted suicide. Two-thirds were children; the youngest was only six years old.

“I have a problem with my kidney,” Golnegar said. “I’m suffering. I have headaches every day, but although I’ve tried to see a doctor in the camp or at the local hospital, I haven’t been able to. All my children have insect bites on their bodies and they often complain that they feel sick, but I can’t do anything for them.”

Her husband adds, “We just want a safe place for our children. We came here to save them from the war and send them to school, but instead we ended up in this camp, waiting in limbo for almost a year.”

Breaking free from a feeling of imprisonment  

“People confront their difficulties, which shows me just how strong and extraordinary we are as human beings,” said Canaj. “The communities come together and help each other. These actions demonstrate that despite dehumanizing conditions, the care that people show to each other within the migrant communities is very present and alive. I strongly believe that that’s what nourishes the soul of those who survive on the island every day.” 

Canaj himself was forced to leave Albania at the age of 11. He feels a deep empathy for the people he photographs. “I know what it means to be trapped, to be undocumented for years, to live in danger,” he said. “All those feelings came back when I was photographing these people and their journeys and stories. Photography helped to ease the feelings I have from all those experiences. I am no longer a passive spectator of reality. And thanks to that, I have found an opportunity to express myself.”  

In spite of everything, many refugees have organized to create a semblance of normal life. 

“I think the sea represents that bittersweet mix I’ve already talked about,” said Canaj. “Thousands of people have reached Europe by the sea. Many did not succeed. Some bodies have been recovered, but others remain in the waters’ depths. It’s also now where children play in the afternoon. Because these people lack the most basic facilities, the sea is where they bathe, wash their clothes… It even provides them with food.” 

Symbol of the European Union’s failed migration policies

Today more than ever, Moria and all of the camps symbolise the failure of the EU’s migration policies. Thousands of vulnerable people have inadvertently become protagonists in a true Greek tragedy. 

“When someone arrives from a country torn apart by war, you can’t just slam the door in their face and say, ‘Enough—that’s enough!’” says Canaj. “The communities come together and help each other, despite the dehumanizing living conditions. Good will and the care shown to others within the migrant communities are very present and alive. We can all learn not just from our own experiences, but also from our new neighbours, who have brought their own cultures, traditions, and colours, as well as their pain and their strength… There is so much to learn from other people. I strongly believe that that’s what nourishes the soul of those who survive on the island every day.”