Greek Islands

Closed centres for refugees arriving on the Greek islands: one year later, “everyone is suffering from psychological distress”

by

Trying to see a doctor; getting hold of insulin treatment for diabetes; seeking legal advice prior to an asylum interview. All of these are a challenge for the refugees, migrants and asylum-seekers stuck in the isolated and highly securitised Zervou centre on the Greek island of Samos. Zervou centre is the result of an aggressive … Read more

Migration crisis: Enough is enough: new pact, same misery for refugees

by

Op-ed by Dr Christos Christou, International President, Médecins Sans Frontières This op-ed was first published in Geneva Solutions on 3 October 2020. When I visited Moria camp, Greece, last November, I was shocked by what I saw. I could barely believe the appalling conditions men, women and children were forced to live in on European soil. I told European … Read more

Greece: MSF forced to close COVID-19 centre on Lesbos

by

ATHENS – A COVID-19 isolation centre set up on the island of Lesbos, Greece, by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been forced to close, after local authorities imposed fines with potential criminal charges, related to urban planning regulations. MSF strongly condemns the authorities’ failure to identify a solution to keep the isolation centre open when there is … Read more

European leaders: Stop punishing asylum seekers on the Greek islands

by

Open letter by Dr Christos Christou, International President, Médecins Sans Frontières Dear European leaders I have just come back from the Greek islands, and I was shocked by what I saw and by the accounts I heard from my colleagues on the ground. They told me about a 12-year-old boy who came to our clinic … Read more