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The Cruelty of Containment: The Mental Health Toll of the EU’s ‘Hotspot’ Approach on the Greek Islands
proposals to resolve ongoing issues have generated anger and frustration, as evidenced by the early 2020 protests and attacks against aid workers, refugees and asylumseekers. 28 This increases the atmosphere of threat and danger that people seeking international protection in the camps have to contend with on a daily basis. More than four years later, the recent September 2020 legislative proposals by the European Commission in its new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum offer the promise of a new start. However, they also risk entrenching some of the worrying elements of the failed migration policies applied in Greece, such as the expansion of containment and detention already seen in the hotspots.
c) Perfect storm: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response by the Greek authorities have further revealed the lack of access to services and the unacceptable living conditions in the island hotspots. 29 The pandemic has made it abundantly clear that current policies, practice and
We couldn’t leave Moria [camp] to get to the beach or even sit under the trees. [Through six months of lockdown] we were stuck inside the camp and couldn’t go outside without permission. I was worried, but my mother was very stressed. She cried all the time. Because of her health issues she was really afraid of COVID-19. She couldn’t use the [communal] toilet because it was filthy and we couldn’t even get soap to wash our hands.” Fara,41 16-year old girl from Afghanistan. Moria camp, Lesvos, Greece. August 2020.
infrastructure are totally ill-equipped to protect the health and rights of refugees and asylum-seekers.30 While people across the globe have been urged to self-isolate and practice social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus, thousands of people in the camps were forced to live in close proximity to each other
You talk about social distance? Well it’s not working here in the camp because if you want to go for food, you stand in the queue. You want to go for medical? You stand in the queue.” Baimba, 24-year old man from Sierra Leone. VIAL camp, Chios island, Greece. October 2020.
