Image 9: Photo of the Megala Therma
quarantine camp, as published by Aegean
Boat Report70
Arrival and entry of asylum seekers
into the quarantine facility: Upon arrival outside the government-run facility
of Megala Therma, the asylum seekers
encountered two police officers on
duty who led them inside the facility.
The authorities did not give the newly arrived people any basic supplies or
information. While waiting for instructions, the group of asylum seekers met
and discussed with the camp residents,
i.e. asylum seekers who had arrived in
Lesvos the previous days; the latter
gave them blankets and raisins. Subsequently, the group of asylum seekers were informed by the police officer
that they would be taken to be tested
for Covid-19, although it was too late at
night and the camp residents had told
the asylum seekers that this process is
carried out during the day. The officers
ordered the newly arrived asylum seekers to hand over their phones and walk
out of the facility towards a dirt path.
They initially refused to leave the facility
but realized they had no other option as
the officers insisted and were carrying
guns. A man of the group with mobility
issues was denied medical care. Another man who asked for medical help for
his pregnant wife was beaten.
Illegally detained in an isolated container on a hill: Soon after they arrived
at a place uphill with one container,
where vehicles arrived carrying men
70
AegeanBoatReport, Small Children Left Drifting in Life Rafts in the Aegean Sea!, 22 February 2021,
available at: https://bit.ly/3EWB1XS
AT EUROPE’S BORDERS: BETWEEN IMPUNITY AND CRIMINALIZATION
37
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