May 2019 | Reception crisis in Northern Greece: three years of emergency solutions cannot communicate also with them. I feel there are no solutions for us here. I lived here for 11 months just to get a rejection.” When RSA spoke with the couple again, their baby was two and half months old. Romeo was still awaiting to hear on his appeal decision and they had applied for a residence permit for their baby based on Noella’s legal status. The living conditions for the young family remained hard. “We have been now for nearly two years in this camp. In the beginning there were a lot of organisations helping families. … We cannot get a flat, they say because my girlfriend has asylum. … When my girlfriend gave birth in Kilkis hospital, she had a caesarean. After five days she came with the baby back to the camp. The doctor had given her a certificate stating that she should not have to live in the camp with the baby for reasons of hygiene and to protect their health from any infections. We gave this paper to the camp doctor and he also said we should get a flat. But we are still here. The caravan is very bad for the baby and for the mom. The heater is not working well, so our child got bronchitis and there is no paediatrician here. We have to bring our child to Kilkis hospital when he is sick. My girlfriend had the operation and for her it was very hard to go to the remote toilets and then it is always dirty. We get both the Cash-Card, but we cannot survive from it because we have many expenses since the child was born. We pay our medicines ourselves, transport costs to the hospital and the Asylum Service, the child needs pampers and clothes… There is no social assistance here. Our baby stays without anything. I tried to find a job in Thessaloniki. I got an offer, but they said it was a problem I live in Nea Kavala…”. KOUTOSCHERO AMMAR K.* (34) AND HIS WIFE JAMILA K.* (27) 6. Ammar K.* (34) and his wife Jamila K.* (27)cxxx from Homs in Syria fled to Greece with their three children aged 8, 5 and 3. When RSA met them at the end of August 2018, they also had a baby that was 40 days old. “I was 7 months pregnant when we arrived on Lesvos… . Two weeks ago, we were finally transferred to Koutsochero camp. It is better than Lesvos, but we are far from the city and we have to wait for a long time for our interview. Our asylum appointment was scheduled for the summer of 2020 in Athens. We have one caravan [prefab] for our family now. It is in the new section of the camp. They have not yet connected well the water and electricity lines. Lights were placed here just two days ago. The water from the tap is dirty. We cannot drink it. When it rains all the floor turns into mud and we cannot move around. Behind us, there is a mine and at times when we can hear the explosions, I wince. I stay always inside the house because I am scared to move around the camp. There are many people living here and we don’t know who is a friend and who is an enemy. There are also many men. The people who live here come from all over Greece: from other camps like Diavata or Vaghiochori and from the islands, like us. At night, it is very dark. I see bad dreams. https://rsaegean.org/en/reception-crisis-in-northern-greece-three-years-of-emergency-solutions 26