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A little more than year ago, over 600 people died when the Adriana, a severely overcrowded fishing trawler filled with an estimated 750 migrants and asylum seekers, capsized near Pylos, Greece. This tragedy highlighted not only the perilous journey that asylum seekers face crossing into Europe, but also the responsibility of the Greek Coast Guard in failing to rescue the ship despite knowing that hundreds of lives at risk, many of which were children.
The Mediterranean crossing continues to be the deadliest route for migrants on record with at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances. However, what is less prominent in media coverage is the continued violence, undignified treatment, and lack of regard for human life that asylum seekers face if they survive the journey.
The refugee crisis in Greece is an ongoing humanitarian issue, with the number of asylum seekers continuing to rise. In 2023, UNHCR recorded a total of 48,721 refugees and migrants arrived in Greece by sea (41,561) and land (7,160), marking a 159% increase compared to 2022 (18,780 arrivals). The Greek government has made reception of asylum seekers in camps isolated from local communities a centerpiece of its policy choices over the past years. The establishment of EU-funded “Closed Controlled Access Centre” (CCACs) across several islands and the mainland since 2021 has raised serious human rights concerns.

These facilities are heavily fortified with multiple barbed-wire fences, CCTV cameras, magnetic gates, and X-ray technology, reflecting an emphasis on isolation and confinement. Despite claims of improved conditions, Greek CCACs have received heavy criticism by local NGOs and international human-rights organizations for their prison-like environments and detrimental impact on mental health.
The encamped reception system, the result of a de facto detention policy and the only form of reception for asylum seekers in Greece, is underpinned by inadequate conditions in sites isolated from urban centers. The system has serious issues with regard to the protection of asylum seekers’ physical and mental health. This is compounded by severe staffing shortages, failure to follow through on financial allowances to the majority of applicants, and the absence of appropriate measures to assist the integration of asylum seekers into the broader society.
De facto detention
Closed and controlled facilities are not a humane or dignified reception option for people seeking international protection, contradicting the EU principle that detention should be a measure of last resort. Despite being labeled as reception centers, CCACs impose severe restrictions on the freedom of movement of asylum seekers, effectively turning them into detention facilities. This problematic policy allows Greek authorities to impose harsh restrictions without due process.
For instance, this September, a six-month-old baby with congenital heart disease and her mother were unlawfully detained for over thirty days without proper medical care, prompting intervention by the European Court of Human Rights. Eight asylum seekers of Palestinian origin were detained in a police station in Samos for a month when they entered voluntarily to register their asylum request, according to Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), a registered non-profit organization working on the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in Greece. Among them was a twenty-year-old woman who, for twenty six days, was held in a cell enclosed by bars – reminiscent of a cage – inside the same cell where the seven men were kept.

Ella Dodd, a legal coordinator at I Have Rights (IHR), a non-profit legal and political organization that addresses unfair and undignified asylum and migration procedures in Samos, told me that the Greek government “doesn’t call it a detention because it would be illegal to detain people in this way. So they call that a “restriction of freedom” order. Legally, they’re not calling it a detention, but in every other way it is one, and this is actually so illegal that the European Commission has even opened infringement proceedings against Greece because this violates EU law.”
The EU Ombudsman office drew similar conclusions in its inquiry into rights violations within the CCAC, writing that “the external fencing and surveillance infrastructure do not create a physical environment conducive to wellbeing and are, rather, reminiscent of detention facilities.” The structure of these reception camps calls into question how respect for human dignity and protection of children and vulnerable individuals can be ensured if residents are forced to stay in such an environment.
Without an asylum applicant card (which is necessary to access the center’s security systems), people are prohibited from leaving the camp. This applies to new arrivals until their asylum applicant’s card has been issued, as well as to those waiting to appeal a negative decision or submit a subsequent asylum application.
Mental health and psychological issues
The journey to Europe, fraught with deliberately violent and highly illegal pushbacks, leaves many asylum seekers deeply traumatized even before they arrive at the CCACs. The profound psychological toll of the dangerous journey is exacerbated by the harsh conditions they encounter upon arrival. Even survivors of shipwrecks are taken to the CCAC immediately after their rescue, without receiving special reception conditions or physiological support.
The constant fear and insecurity, coupled with the lack of freedom and dignity, create an environment that is detrimental to mental health. An Afghan mother of four described to RSA how hopeless she felt in such a restrictive environment. “You can get crazy inside this center. They just threw us here like animals. They want us to die here and then move us out”.

When I spoke with him about it, Yonous Muhammadi, the Director of the Greek Forum of Refugees (GFR), said that the situation is so dire that refugees continue to be affected traumatically even after they get out of such centers. “We have cases where some suffer from permanent psychological problems just because of the conditions in these closed centers or detention centers. There are many, many cases where they have moved to different countries and they are still under medication just because of this situation that they have passed here in Greece in these centers. And they’re not offered any governmental support whatsoever after this.”
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reported that 91% of people supported by their mental health program in Samos experienced anxiety, and 87% exhibited depression-related symptoms, and 41% showed signs of suicidality.
The lack of adequate mental health support and medical care within the CCACs leaves many without the necessary resources to cope with their trauma. For instance, the National Public Health Organisation has only two doctors inside the camp in Lesvos, and announced that from January 11, 2023 until further notice, its Psychosocial Unit would not accept requests for psychological support due to lack of interpreters, leaving asylum seekers with no treatment or aid.
The combination of past traumas, the ongoing fear of pushbacks, and the harsh living conditions in the camps contribute to a pervasive sense of hopelessness and despair among asylum seekers.
Vulnerable populations: Women and unaccompanied minors
Women and children especially experience severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress, often exacerbated by the inhumane conditions in the camps. Eleni Gaitanou from RSA told me that women and unaccompanied minors are among the most vulnerable and face significant risks and traumas because of the harsh conditions and lack of adequate protection.
“In many cases, women experience severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress, which is interpreted primarily as an individual dysfunction, lack of mental resilience or even a psychiatric problem, when in fact it is the policy in place that is responsible for their situation,” she said.
Unaccompanied minors are often detained in segregated areas, essentially prisons within prisons, surrounded by layers of barbed wire. They have limited access to recreational activities and are constantly under surveillance. This confinement exacerbates their trauma and hinders their development and well-being.
“Unaccompanied children are detained in a subsection of the facility, which is essentially a prison within a prison. It’s a barbed wire surrounded area that’s within a barbed wire, layers and layers of barbed wire,” Dodd told me. This segregatative structure and constant monitoring create an environment that is neither safe nor supportive for these vulnerable children.
Women also face significant challenges, including inadequate protection and support. IHR is concerned about the caseworkers’ lack of training and sensitisation; only three of the twenty-three EUAA caseworkers on Samos attended the agency’s training “Trafficking in Human Beings”. The lack of gender-sensitive policies and facilities often leads to situations where women are forced to share living spaces with unrelated men, increasing their risk of exploitation and abuse. For example, Dodd recalled working on a case with a woman who was required to share a bed with an unrelated man, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the acute vulnerabilities of women in these facilities.
Lack of resources
The severe lack of resources is a critical issue contributing to the inhumane conditions in the CCACs. Reports indicate inadequate food quality, insufficient medical care, and a lack of basic necessities, making life in these camps extremely difficult.
A young Palestinian man who resided within a CCAC recounted to RSA the daily struggle for survival due to the scarcity of food and essential supplies: “We were given food once a day, and sometimes we received only one orange in the morning. We had reached the point where we were starving.” This stark reality is echoed by numerous refugees who describe the food as insufficient and often inedible. One individual reported to IHR that they waited for hours to receive meals, which were often so poor in quality that they were left hungry despite the long wait.
The Lesvos CCAC has received reports of shortages in hot water, children’s milk and bed linen, poor quality of mattresses, as well as complaints about the quality of food. Residents and people working in the structure speak of frequent power cuts adding to the other problems.
Dodd described a similar situation in the Samos facility. When it comes to clothing, social support, the care of babies and children, women’s spaces, all of this essential support is provided by NGOs who are mostly based in Vathy, not by facilities. All the CCAC provides, she said, “is moldy, disgusting food once a day. In the morning, it will be around the equivalent of two meals that people have to queue up to receive for hours. There is one psychologist in the facility for a facility of thousands of people”.
Financial instability among asylum seekers is heightened by delays in receiving their monthly allowances, leaving many without the means to buy basic necessities. This financial assistance allowance, which the Greek administration is required to provide to asylum seekers until the processing of their application has been completed, is often delayed for months on ends. In some cases, the financial assistance system even requires getting a Greek mobile number, adding more unnecessary barriers for asylum seekers to receive what is within their rights. This lack of financial support is not just an inconvenience; it severely impacts their ability to sustain themselves and their families.
Postcolonial mindset and discrimination
Migrants and refugees in Samos regularly ask NGO workers about the difference in their treatment. “There are no refugees from Ukraine in the CCAC camp. It’s wrong to have a containment camp in the middle of nowhere with just people of color. It’s such a racist policy,” said Sae Bosco, the communications and advocacy coordinator at Samos Volunteers, a local NGO. He says that it reflects a continuing colonial mindset in Europe.
The disparity in treatment reflects a broader policy of exclusion and control, rooted in historical and racial biases and systemic discrimination. The EU hotspot approach, which created the political and legal basis for the Greek CCACs, suspends the mobility of people arriving as refugees. The “hotspots’ were meant to be first reception and relocation facilities for refugees arriving in the EU, but only Italy and Greece have them and the low levels of relocation mean that the camps are overcrowded with poor amenities.
This double standard is starkly evident in the contrast between the reception of Ukrainian refugees, who benefit from the Temporary Protection Directive that was activated when Russia invaded Ukraine. All EU member states must accept these refugees and minimize bureaucratic red tape to ensure fast acceptance. So while Ukrainian refugees have experienced a more open-door migration policy, including easier access to services and protection, refugees from countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, and Syria face harsher conditions and greater obstacles.
Gaitanou emphasized that the Greek asylum system often fails to provide individual assessments, instead relying on broad categorizations based on nationality. This approach violates the fundamental principle of treating each asylum claim individually and contributes to a pervasive system of discrimination and human rights violations. “We’ve seen that based on nationality, if you are from these nationalities which are perceived to be dealt with in a third country, your asylum claim is not even examined, which is a suspected violation as well.”
Muhammadi from GFR notes that this double standard for different nationalities is not a coincidence. “Even in the media and society, they have accepted that Ukrainians are different because they are white, they are Europeans, they are Christians, so we should have a different attitude towards them.” But he emphasizes how this rather speaks to the EU’s management of humanitarian crises, and its approach according to political interest rather than human values. He says that GFR works to “raise awareness that what was done for Ukraine, it was the best thing. But we don’t ask why the EU did it for Ukraine. We ask why they don’t do it for others.”
Location and isolation

The remote location of CCACs makes it difficult for the refugees to access essential services and integrate into local communities. Transport is scarce and costly, adding to their financial burden and exacerbating their isolation.
Asylum seekers often have to walk long distances or take expensive taxis to reach essential services in urban centers. This isolation not only affects their daily lives but also hinders their ability to access healthcare, legal support, and other critical services. The price of a bus ticket to get to Vathy, the urban center closest to the Samos CCAC, for example, is 1.60 euros one way or 3.20 euros round trip, which is not always accessible to CCAC residents, especially considering the delays in cash assistance.
The lack of transportation also poses a significant barrier to accessing legal and medical services. Asylum seekers often miss important appointments due to the unavailability of transport, further complicating their legal and health situations.
Gaitanou described the situation of a pregnant woman who was beginning labour. “She could not afford to go to the hospital and was told she had to transfer herself with her own ability, which means we had to act as intermediaries to find a way to transfer her to the hospital.”
This isolating policy choice was a deliberate choice by authorities, Dodd said. “The authorities had a choice of two locations. There was one that was quite a lot closer to Vathy and they chose the Zervu site which is much further away. We see this also being replicated with the other Closed Controlled Access Centres that have been built on the other islands.”
She said that the remote location of the CCACs creates further division between people who are in that facility and other people on Samos, creating a sense of separation from society that further hinders their opportunities for integration.
Reintegration and integration Issues
The lack of integration policies in Greece poses significant challenges for recognized refugees. Once granted asylum, many are left without support, struggling to find housing, jobs, and access to healthcare.
The lack of government support and reliance on NGOs for crisis response rather than long-term integration leaves refugees in a state of perpetual uncertainty and marginalization, Gaitanou said. “We have an extreme lack of integration policies in Greece, which means that even when a refugee is recognized as a refugee, there is nothing.”
Muhammadi explained that the systemic lack of integration policies forces many refugees to leave Greece: “From 2020 till now, 70,000 of recognized refugees in Greece have applied again for asylum in Germany. That means that they applied here for asylum, they are recognized, they got their travel document and they take their ticket and they leave. And they apply again in Germany.”
The absence of long-term integration policies not only affects the refugees but also has broader societal implications. Without proper integration, refugees remain unable to contribute fully to the society, reinforcing a pervasive cycle of exclusion.
The refugee crisis in Greece, exemplified by the conditions in CCACs, highlights severe human rights violations and systemic failures. From push backs to de facto detention, lack of resources, and inadequate support for vulnerable populations, the situation calls for urgent action. The current policies reflect a broader trend of exclusion and control, prioritizing security and convenience over human rights. A shift towards more humane and inclusive policies is essential to protect the rights and dignity of asylum seekers and to ensure that they have the opportunity to rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.
The graphic of the Samos camp is by the author. Photos are from the OSCE Migration Committee visit to Samos, Zervou CCAC, 22 March 2022, CC 2.0 usage licence.