Humanitarianism in crisis

 

12 

HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE

p

eopLe

 

waitinG

 

in

 

Line

 

for

 

food

, k

ara

 t

epe

 

camp

.

seeking shelter and protection from the elements. As the port became saturated, many 

refugees were forced to settle in the center of the city, in parks and squares, sleeping 

mostly under trees or on cardboard boxes, straining an already delicate relationship with 

locals trying themselves to cope with a changing city and the extent of the crisis. 

Lack of food

As the camps lack the proper infrastructure for cooking or food storage, the task of 

preparing or storing food for daily consumption is a challenge for all. Those who have 

money can buy food in the local stores, but the majority does not have this ability. These 

people depend on the limited ability of the local people and of international NGOs and 

other volunteers to provide food, but these efforts are unable to meet the needs of all 

those in need. 

Among these efforts is Social Kitchen “The Other Human,” a communal movement with 

the goal of providing free food, whose members work alongside locals as well as with 

members of the migrant and refugee population. According to volunteers, distributing 

food is a heartbreaking process in which they are forced to turn away children whom 

they know have not eaten for days in order to feed those who had been waiting for 

hours in line. 

Lack of proper health care

The island’s health care system was quickly overwhelmed with cases of malnutrition, 

exposure, and exhaustion. From the beginning of 2015 until early September, 773 

refugees and immigrants were treated in the emergency room of Mytilene’s Vostaneion 

General Hospital; 326 were hospitalized. By November, according to hospital records 

and interviews with doctors, only one individual was diagnosed with tuberculosis and 

two with Hepatitis B, assuaging a growing fear of an exogenous health epidemic or a 

contagion effect. 

Doctors contend with a shortage of medical equipment and supplies, along with 

language barriers. Despite these difficulties, they offer their help generously, without 

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HARVARD FXB CENTER – HUMANITARIANISM IN CRISIS: LESBOS, GREECE

7 

A hotspot is a key arrival point for migrants and refugees, where screening and fingerprinting are 

conducted.

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aitinG

 

in

 

Line

, m

oria

 

reGistration

 

center

.                                                                   c

redit

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regard for the cost which, according to hospital records, surpassed Euro 168,920 as of 

September 2015. 

The situation was improved when Doctors Without Borders started conducting health 

screenings and medical checks in Kare Tepe. Doctors of the World did the same in 

Moria. Patients were referred to the hospital in cases of emergency. These efforts were 

further helped by the presence of Greek NGOs as well as by international NGOs who 

began arriving in September to offer aid. 

Problems at the registration point 

Until late September 2015 registration was conducted in a small, rundown shipping 

container turned processing center in the port of Mytilene, staffed by a small number of 

police and Coast Guard officials, resulting in long queues and frustration for everyone. 

Registrants receive documents that prevent them from being arrested/deported for a 

period of 30 days. 

The process was hampered by a lack of translators, which contributed to verbal 

conflicts between officials and refugees. Tensions between nationalities added to the 

frustrations caused by the delays; some demanded their registration be prioritized 

ahead of others, leading to growing conflict between refugees, at times necessitating 

the presence of riot police to dissipate outbreaks.

On October 16, the registration point was relocated to the Moria reception camp, which 

became the first “hotspot”

7

 in Greece. Following criticism about Greece’s screening and 

registration shortfalls, the European border agency Frontex, which systematically targets 

the identification and screening of “illegal” immigrants trying to enter the European 

Union, has been handling registration. Their registration approach focuses more on 

identifying those who have no grounds to seek asylum and deporting them. This policy 

marks the first known instance on the island of systematic discrimination. 

The absence of the necessary management infrastructure and the lack of a functioning 

queuing system or any form of crowd control has resulted in registration lines that 

extend several miles. People are forced to stand in line for days on end exposed to rain, 

mud, and cold while suffering from exhaustion, fatigue, and malnourishment. 

“

People are 

forced to 

stand in line 

for days on 

end exposed to 

rain, mud, 

and cold 

while suffering 

from exhaustion, 

fatigue, and 

malnourishment.

”

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