10 November 2023

Greek migrant reception centers are overflowing and can barely cope, Greece’s Refugee Council and aid organizations have warned. Asylum seekers in Kos don’t have access to a doctor, new arrivals in Rhodes are met without housing and some migrants in Lesvos have reportedly been held in detention for over a month and denied access to food.

Greece’s “malfunctioning” refugee reception system is depriving asylum seekers and refugees of basic services while reception centers “remain in a state of overcrowding,” the country’s Council on Refugees declared on Thursday (November 9).

The Council, which collaborates with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), released the statement also signed by 29 other organizations including the Greek Forum of Migrants and Avocats sans Frontières France (Lawyers without Borders). In it, they warned Greece’s lack of rights and services for migrants violates European Union (EU) and national legislation.

New arrivals met with inadequate food supplies, housing or medicine

The island of Kos was singled out as particularly struggling from overcrowding in its refugee reception facilities. Migrants at its centers don’t even have access to doctors, following the departure of medical staff at the end of October, the Council noted. Refugees on the island of Samos have also been met with a lack of access to health services. One military doctor occasionally visits to monitor the almost 4,000 migrants.

A number of popular migrant sea entry points in Greece are also not equipped with reception facilities, which means new arrivals don’t receive housing, food or health care. This is the case for Rhodes, which has seen nearly 5,000 arrivals since the beginning of 2023. The island “completely lacks” in infrastructure and reception services, the humanitarian organizations warn.

On the island of Lesvos, people are reportedly being detained for more than a month upon arrival. In some cases, they are even denied their access to health care and food while in detention, the Council statement noted.

Humanitarian groups ‘doubtful’ migrant children are being cared for

Greece’s central administration is responsible for providing basic services and rights for migrants. But in their absence, local authorities, civil society and volunteers decide how to deal with Greece’s steady rise in migrant arrivals.

On mainland Greece, refugee accommodation facilities have also reached their full capacity, leaving vulnerable groups such as victims of torture with nowhere to go. Migrant families are forced to look for their own housing solutions.

The organizations also flagged that asylum seekers with special medical needs, such as cardiac patients and diabetics “do not have access to adequate treatment and nutrition.” They also noted that they felt “doubtful” whether child migrants were being properly cared for.

“The Greek State, with the assistance of the EU, must immediately ensure that the needs of all those seeking protection are met and that the long-term sustainability of the reception system is guaranteed,” the 30 organizations urged, stressing the need for permanent medical and psychosocial staff.

Greece’s migration ministry has said “efforts” to improve conditions on the islands “are in place and will be accelerated in the days and weeks ahead,” French news agency AFP reported on November 10.

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