Almost all participants described being in poor psychological health. Many connected these issues to the experience of being detained and the conditions in detention. Louis told us that many people in detention had psychological illnesses, explaining: “When I first arrived to the camp, I saw the people there as if they were society’s rejects…they would show me pictures of themselves on the outside, and they were normal”. Kamal further explained: “…I have psychological problems, like anyone who has been detained will for sure have psychological problems. I’m really depressed, I don’t get out of the caravan, I don’t talk with anyone inside detention, I don’t spend any time with anyone”. Similarly, Afran stated: “I think being detained for 10 months without an obvious reason, it just makes you mentally exhausted, including the bad food, the bad accommodation, the sleeping problems as well, you can’t really sleep the way that I should be sleeping, and also the place is really dirty and it’s unclean and unhealthy as well”. Others explained that their psychological health was suffering due to their concern for or grief at being separated from their loved ones. Rashid told us: “…I am suffering from overthinking and it’s really hard for me to fall asleep. I just want to tell you that I’m married and I have three children as well and I can’t stop thinking about them and what they’re doing, and thinking about myself in detention. My children are in Syria, and my wife as well with them”. Similarly, Efe explained: “My father in Benin just passed away. I am very sad and stressed about that so I don’t sleep well at night”. Still, others connected their psychological issues to past traumatic experiences. For example, Messan, who survived a shipwreck on his way to Greece, explained: “Yes, I have nightmares all the time. I am dreaming about the shipwreck a lot and also about my parents. I have lost both of them”. Again, each of these individuals remained detained, despite developing various health problems while in detention. Notably, many participants described health problems that were undiagnosed – often, due to the inadequacy of the healthcare services available in detention – but that often appeared severe. Issa described, and we have observed, how he cannot move one of his arms, which constantly trembles. Meanwhile, Khader told us that he has trouble breathing, but that he doesn’t know whether it is asthma. Louis also described being “…sick in the eyes…they were always itchy…I would scratch them and it would hurt. They would water up”. As we have previously highlighted, we have observed that detained persons face immense challenges with gaining access to adequate medical treatment. In the absence of adequate healthcare services, detained persons may experience deteriorating health. However, they may also find themselves unable to procure diagnosis and documentation of their medical conditions, which undermines their ability to file interventions and objections to detention on health grounds. c. Persons with physical disabilities While most participants did not claim having a physical disability, a few described conditions that could be considered disabilities. Mado disclosed visual impairment. Meanwhile, Issa explained that he could not use his arm, and Afran told us that he had lost a finger. Again, these individuals were detained despite these conditions, and were often unable to gain further medical assessments to pursue legal remedies to their detention. d. Survivors of torture and serious violence Nine participants, all single men, disclosed histories of torture and/or serious violence. Zain was arrested and detained by the Assad regime in Syria, where he describes: “They were putting around 20 people there [in the same room] to sleep and eat and shit in the same place…they were torturing us by hitting us with the belt and they put our heads in water…There is no word to describe it. They used to put out their cigarettes in our bodies…”. Meanwhile, Raphael described being kidnapped and beaten on two separate occasions by gangs in Haiti. With respect to the first incident, he explained: “They took me to the woods where they beat me with the intention to kill me – there were marks on my hands, head....and they left me there for dead”. Both Zain and Raphael were visibly traumatised and broke down in tears as they described their ordeals. These experiences had occurred some years ago – yet on their 59 DETENTION OF MIGRANTS ON THE ISLAND OF KOS