KOUTSOCHERO CAMP Official name: Coordinates: Nominal capacity⁶⁸: Operational/actual capacity: Residents: Beneficiaries of reception conditions: Beneficiaries of special reception conditions: Administrative staff: Medical staff: Ratio of residents to medical staff: Distance to nearest health services⁷⁰: Distance to nearest urban centre (Larissa): Koutsochero Controlled Access Facility for the Temporary Accommodation of Asylum Seekers / Ελεγχόμενη Δομή Προσωρινής Φιλοξενίας Αιτούντων Άσυλο Κουτσόχερου 39.61556, 22.245057 1748 1408 0 (as per MoMA data referring to 31/12/23⁶⁹) 0 0 26 16 0 15.8 km 16.6km History Koutsochero camp is situated in an isolated location 16.6 km from the city of Larissa, a city in Greece’s central region of Thessaly. The facility was opened in March 2016 on a former military base. Conditions have been reported by residents as dusty and noisy⁷¹ due to the camp’s proximity to a marble quarry. Protests⁷² including road blocks⁷³ started in 2016 in response to poor living conditions. Camp residents were interviewed by RSA in May 2019 and reported issues related to the camp’s distance from services and hospitals. There is no public transport to Larissa servicing the village closest to the camp and residents are further isolated following the termination of IOM’s transportation service in June 2023⁷⁴. In January 2024, there were reportedly⁷⁵ 250 asylum seekers held in the camp along with 130 local Greek residents who were transferred⁷⁶ to the facility following the destruction of their homes after extensive flooding in September 2023. Approximately 900 camp residents - including children and vulnerable people - were moved⁷⁷ to camps further south at short notice⁷⁸ to accommodate flood victims. A resident in Koutsochero interviewed for this report reported that flood victims are accommodated in a separate area of the camp in conditions which he perceived to be better than those provided to the asylum seeker population. Staff shortages in the camp were noted⁷⁹ in October last year due to non-renewal of around 100 staff contracts including cleaning and security personnel. 19