Migrants in Greece living in ‘horrible’ conditions, says Europe rights watchdog
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A European human rights watchdog on Thursday slammed living conditions as “horrible” for thousands of asylum seekers in overcrowded Greek camps, including waits spanning several hours for food and toilets and a lack of access to medicine.
Dunja Mijatovic, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, said she had witnessed people queuing for food or to use a bathroom for more than three hours at refugee camps for asylum seekers on two Greek islands.
“The people I have met are living in horrible conditions and an unbearable limbo,” she told a news briefing, saying the migrants were struggling to cope with overcrowding, lack of shelter, poor hygiene conditions and substandard access to medical care.
Greece is currently struggling with the biggest resurgence in refugee arrivals since 2015, when more than a million people crossed into Europe from Turkey via Greece. About 34,000 asylum seekers and refugees are currently being held in camps on the Aegean islands close to Turkey.
Although the conservative government has started moving more people to the mainland, the surge in migrant arrivals means they are being replaced as quickly as they depart.
