European policies continue to trap thousands in inhuman conditions on Greek islands

Empty promises

Approximately 7,600 people displaced from Moria are living in a new tent camp near the ocean on the island of Lesbos, including 15 people confirmed to have COVID-19. There is no real protection against the weather, and our teams fear that the first rainstorms will cause flooding and miserable conditions. Our patients have reported that there are no showers in the new camp and tell our teams that the conditions are worse than Moria. Tents are shared by multiple families and are not adequately isolated. Some do not even have flooring and people are forced to sleep on dirt and rocks. The tent for single men is hosting approximately 100 people. 

Meanwhile, thousands of other refugees and asylum seekers, including pregnant women, elderly people, people with chronic disease, and children, are forced to sleep on the streets.

MSF continues to provide primary care, sexual and reproductive care, and mental health care to refugees and asylum seekers trapped on the islands of Lesbos, Samos, and Chios. Among them are thousands of children and hundreds of victims of torture and violence that have been retraumatized to a point that our doctors have repeatedly described as a mental health emergency. Our teams in Lesbos have identified 87 patients that require urgent evacuation to the mainland for specialized treatment, including 31 children and 56 patients who are victims of torture, sexual violence, or ill treatment.

A mental health emergency

Vathy camp, on the island of Samos, has the capacity to host 650 people, but 4,500 are currently held there. MSF runs a day care center near the camp offering mental health support and sexual and reproductive healthcare. We also provide more than 26,000 gallons of water to the majority of residents in the camp each day. 

“Right here, right now in Vathy camp, we are treating the tremendous suffering inflicted by cruel containment policies on our patients who have already been through so much trauma,” said Jonathan Vigneron, MSF field coordinator in Samos. “In this camp [there are] more than 1,000 children living in dirt and rubbish among rats and scorpions. It is an insult to thousands of people suffering in abhorrent and dangerous camps across the Greek islands to hear the European Union (EU) say there will never be another Moria.”

On September 20, the second fire in just a few days erupted in Vathy camp. The fire was controlled, and MSF’s mobile team treated people who were affected.

“In Moria, we have seen what can happen when this horrific recipe for disaster is ignored: the ticking time bomb exploded,” said Vigneron. “In Vathy we see exactly the same conditions, and we are warning the authorities of an undeniable storm on the horizon. Action has to be taken and it has to happen now before it is too late.”

“Enough is enough”

There are now more than 90 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Vathy camp, and MSF is particularly concerned about the lack of protection for elderly people and people who have chronic and acute medical conditions. Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 are isolated in terrible conditions with no access to medical treatment. The authorities have failed to implement or provide details of any response plan to prevent further spread of the virus in the camp. 

Stories from Vathy camp 

At the end of July, MSF collected testimonies from patients living in Vathy camp. Since then, COVID-19 has reached the camp. Some patients have been transferred to other accommodation in Samos or on the mainland, but others are still trapped in Vathy camp living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions that make it impossible to implement measures that will help to protect them from COVID-19. 

> > Read the full testimonies here.