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The Cruelty of Containment: The Mental Health Toll of the EU’s ‘Hotspot’ Approach on the Greek Islands
We wait for food for hours. My mother would go to the food line at 5 in the morning and come back at 9 or 10: 1,500 people queue there. Sometimes the food is not enough for those at the end of the line.” Fara, 16-year old, girl from Afghanistan. Moria camp, Lesvos island, Greece. August 2020. At the new Lesvos RIC, significant efforts have been made to try to improve conditions. However, a 10 November assessment by organisations responsible for WASH in the camp found that at least one in three (35%) of the 422 chemical toilets available for more than 7,500 people residing there, were considered unfit for use, while none were accessible for people with physical disabilities. There is severely limited access to hot water or meaningful access to electricity in the camp.77,78 The camp is not yet connected to the island water system, so people must use a ‘bucket’ showering system or wash themselves in the cold sea, as the temperatures plummet.
You can take two or three steps forward here but something will always push you back. I sleep in a tent with snakes, rats, the cold. If you see me alive now after the last winter, it is something to celebrate.” Charisma, 32- year old man from the DRC, living in Vathy camp. Samos, Greece. September 2020.
iii) Uncertain futures: Lack of information, legal support and early integration The entire asylum procedure is a cause of significant stress for people in the hotspots, and there is an alarming absence of sufficient support to help them through the process. The lack of access to reliable information creates much confusion and uncertainty. While leaflets describing the process are available in various languages, such a complex and constantly changing procedure requires more in-depth support and guidance. The Greek asylum system does not offer legal assistance before the asylum interview and there are very few NGO lawyers to help asylum-seekers with their cases. As a result, people do not know what to expect or what is expected from them; they cannot fully understand the procedure that will determine their entire future, Recent legal reforms79 have had a severe impact. Previously, people seeking asylum and categorised as vulnerable by state authorities would be exempted from fast-track, truncated border procedures. These people, including those with mental health conditions, would also then be exempted from the geographical restriction that forces asylum-seekers to stay on the Greek islands. However, since January 2020, this is
