20.06.2022 PAGE 4 Finally, as the migratory journey can have a heavy toll on a person’s mental health, the provision of psychological care is of utmost importance, yet completely disregarded, as pointed out by one current camp resident, who is yet to receive any psychological support from the camp: ACCESS TO INFORMATION “[coming] from Turkey to here. Even, [passing] through that sea.. you will develop psychological problems.” “it’s difficult to have people in the camp who inform you about your rights, and who teach you about the [asylum] procedure. We [camp residents] are always trying to look for information about how to do things, it’s to have a minimum knowledge, but the majority of people ignore completely. I didn’t know anything [about the asylum process].” This is only exacerbated by being forced to live in a closed facility for a long and unknown period of time: "When will I get out of this place? When? When? When? When? And then after you start having bad thoughts, I need someone that can talk to me”. The inadequacy of the camp to uphold the most basic rights of asylum seekers was further seen when the water supply in the camp was interrupted for 17 days in May 2022 due to a broken pump. Tap water supply was limited to two hours a day and around six extra 1.5L water bottles per person were distributed, but the situation deteriorated quickly over the days. A camp resident told us: “[We get] two bottles each person and the tap was on for only 20 minutes. I couldn’t even take a bath.” Meanwhile, people are forced to live in this environment for an unknown period of time, having limited or no access to information about the asylum procedure nor the stage of their claim. Prince* explained that A common sentiment voiced by residents is the general lack of trust in the staff and lawyers provided by the Greek Asylum Service: “I don’t trust the asylum lawyers. No, no one trusts them.” A further obstacle to fair access to information is the low availability and competence of translators working for the asylum service. As a consequence, people prefer relying on the legal support provided by NGOs working in the town of Vathy. As people were forced to use water bottles for drinking, cooking, washing, and flushing the lavatory, the distribution was not enough to meet the daily needs of water supply that, according to the Sphere standards in humanitarian action, should amount to at least 15L per day per person. LIFE IN THE CLOSED CONTROLLED ACCESS CENTRE IN SAMOS

Επιλογή στοχευμένης παραγράφου3