ANGELIKI DIMITRIADI 4. 4. Seeking to effect change in the hotspots The hotspot in Moria (Lesvos) resembles the detention facility of Amygdaleza in Athens19. Although originally it was not meant to be a detention facility, its outline, structure and fencing mimic those of migrant detention facilities, signalling from the beginning that the hotspot is a space within a space, a boundary on the island. Containers are lined up and divided into sections, while barbed-wire fences surround each section and the structure as a whole. The site used to be a former military camp that had been abandoned for years. Similar spaces have been used on other islands, such as Samos, to house irregular arrivals. The Moria hotspot is comprised of sectors made up of pre-fabricated shelters and tents. Unaccompanied minors, vulnerable groups (women and families) and single men are held in separate sectors. The hotspot is «divided» internally with razor-wire fences upon which clothes are often hung. As the arrivals continued, the tents expanded beyond the space that was initially provided for those unable to find a place in the shelters. Despite the advent of the winter, not much changed in the facility. Police guarded the outer perimeter and the sectors. Each agency (FRONTEX, Europol, Interpol, EASO, asylum service) had its own container for the provision of services. When the facilities were initially set up, various NGOs were heavily involved in the hotspots. They perceived the facilities as a type of «one-stop shop» for arrivals and offered information on asylum, health care, shelter, identification of needs and the opportunity to accurately record incoming numbers. The EU-Turkey Statement and the indiscriminate detention of arrivals in the facilities (as well as the threat of return) raised significant protests from NGOs, many of which resorted to offering minimum services or opted out entirely of collaborating with the facilities (for example Doctors Without Borders). During the initial twenty-five days, the facilities are meant to function as standard detention and mobility is restricted to the area of the hotspot (usually in the section where one’s container is located). Although this is required by law, it is worth noting that detention can be more of a descriptive rather than factual practice. This is important, since on some islands, the number of migrants greatly exceeds that of police officers with the officers subsequently unwilling to impose order for fear of their personal safety. In the hotspot of Moria, physical immobility is imposed until the limit expires, whenever possible. According to a recent report by ECRE (2016), «The practice of mandatory detention has been applied indiscriminately even to vulnerable cases, such as unaccompanied minors, families with small children, or persons with disabilities». Once the twenty-five days expire, the law establishes freedom of movement and the right to leave the hotspot but not the island. Indirectly, a geographical limitation to mobility is put in place. The Statement, the hotspot and the islands become intrinsically interconnected. Without documents (either an admissibility decision or a positive decision on asylum) the migrant cannot board a vessel for the mainland. x Thus, the figure of the migrant is presented once more in a securitised context, as the threat that has been tackled, but only temporarily, and looms in the distant horizon! 19 For a discussion on Amygdaleza, see Angeli et al. (2014). – 84 –