HARMFUL IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH The use of both policy and physical structures to contain individuals in their immediate, securitized surroundings and isolate them from broader society have clear and alarming psychological consequences on those affected. Detention, containment, and social isolation exacerbate pre-existing psychological trauma that many displaced people have endured in their home countries, in transit, and/or once in Greece. The desperate conditions in which they are forced to live and inadequate access to medical and mental healthcare services can also create new trauma.43 The gaps observed in the protection of asylum seekers on both the Aegean islands and the mainland are linked to the containment and deterrence policies that the European and Greek authorities have adopted. It is deeply concerning that the EU and Greece appear to continue the implementation of these policies, despite the proven clear and significant risk they pose to individuals’ health. THREAT TO INTEGRATION AND SOCIAL INCLUSION The intensification of containment measures on both the islands and mainland flies in the face of repeated calls by NGOs for Greece to overhaul its approach to migration and focus on integration and social inclusion. The EU Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion states that the “successful integration of migrants depends both on early action and long-term investment. Providing support to migrants and their receiving communities at the earliest possible moment”.44 Indeed, a recent report by the International Rescue Committee highlights how “early interventions for integration benefit both refugees and asylum-seekers and the receiving society.”45 But the remote locations of and restrictions on movement in the new MPRICs will severely impede asylum seekers’ ability to engage with local populations and access essential services, including education and healthcare. Alarmingly, the Greek government is not only further fortifying and isolating already siloed reception facilities, but directly undoing what few opportunities for integration have been possible. According to new rules that took effect on 1 July 2021, asylum seekers who had managed to secure independent housing in Greece are no longer able to access any financial assistance from the government. To be eligible for cash aid, they must abandon their homes and move into facilities run by the State or its partner organisations.46 As the Greek Council for Refugees points out, people who are currently living in private accommodation are “able to live with people of their choosing…[they] are individuals who, with much struggle, have taken steps towards regaining their autonomy.” By withdrawing financial assistance, the Greek government is forcing people out of their homes and into camps where their individual autonomy and independence will be severely restricted, “a major setback in the integration process that will foster the conditions for ghettoization and marginalization.”47 43. Country Report Greece - Health Care (AIDA, 10 June 2021) <link> accessed 24 August 2021; MSF ‘Constructing crisis at Europe’s border’ (June 2021), page 9 44. EU Commission, ‘Action plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027’ COM (2020) 758 final, page 7 45. IRC ‘The time is now: A plan to realise the potential of refugees in Greece’ (September 2020) 46. A big setback in integration: The cut in aid to asylum seekers (GCR, 24 June 2021) <link> accessed 24 August 2021 47. A big setback in integration: The cut in aid to asylum seekers (GCR, 24 June 2021) <link> accessed 24 August 2021 6