The invisibilisation process was further grotesquely evident in the ways migrants’ dead bodies were treated by the authorities. The Deaths at the Borders Database estimated that at least 847 people had lost their lives trying to cross from Turkey to Greece between 1990 and 2013 (Tselepi et al., 2016).49 Despite there being a clear legal framework outlining the procedures of death management at the borders, the researchers found a vast number of instances of negligence.50 Border deaths were never investigated, some were not registered at all and when registered they were commonly named as ‘unidentified corpse’ leaving large sections of death certificates empty. Due to there being no relatives in most cases and with the excuse of the lack of financial resources, burial procedures were rushed with unnamed bodies placed in unlabeled graves; thus, complicating their future traceability. Yet again, migrants’ bodies, whether alive or dead, were treated with a diffuse social indifference, raising serious concerns about the visibility (or invisibility) of the context and causes of deaths in these regions (see also Topak, 2014). Consolidating the detention system Those who managed to make it to Greece were arrested and detained at the border. The establishment of the new special holding facilities for aliens (ΕΧΠΑ) represented an opportunity for Greece to adopt an approach more in line with the norms and standards developed within Europe. The authorities, however, resorted to using makeshift temporary facilities; former industrial houses or warehouses, outdoor accommodation (camps), containers and hotels (Iliadi, 2015). They are most often found in non-residential areas, outside the urban fabric, while access to them is limited, as they are connected to the main road network through rural roads, or dirt roads. Yet, they are mainly located in specific areas of geopolitical interest (both for Greece and Europe), i.e., close to entry and exit points to European soil; thus, creating specific geographies of containment. Moreover, there are no signs to them, while the spaces near them are usually either abandoned shells and outdoor spaces, or parking spaces, so there is no human activity on them on a daily basis (Ergon Eksivrisi, 2007; Kiritsi, 2014). The slovenliness with which the facilities were prepared to ‘host’ new arrivals is evident in their squalid state of repair. This number is likely to be higher as it refers only to bodies found and registered. To visit the database, see Human Costs of Border Control (n.d.). 49 For details on the legal framework see Tselepi et al. (2016), where they describe the legal and official procedures that have to be followed after a dead body is found. 50 82