basic needs with respect to food and water were not met. Every one of the 24 participants who spoke on the subject also reported that the quality of the food is very poor. This issue has also repeatedly surfaced during Equal Rights’ everyday conversations with clients. Louis described the food provided in the camp in detail: They would give me three meals a day. In the morning, a jug of water, bread, and an orange or apple. Five days out of the month they would only give us bread and water, no orange or apple. At noon they would give us really badly cooked rice that we could barely eat, and the same thing for dinner at night…the food was raw…The food had no salt…sometimes they would give us food made earlier during the day, and later that afternoon, and for dinner. Daouda was similarly critical of the food he was provided, describing it as “fit for the bin”, while Boubacar told us it was “miserable…not good…disgusting”. Meanwhile, Hana broke down when describing her daily meals: “… The only thing that humans can eat is the breakfast, lunch and dinner are in a bad quality. Nobody can eat it and nearly nobody actually eats that food (cries)”. Participants also reported that the food provided was sometimes spoilt. Zain told us that he was once provided lentils “like a rock…even the police couldn’t smell it and thought it was gross”. Faiza noted: “Sometimes they were giving us food that was melted and it’s expired as well”. Haroun told a similar story, stating: “Dinner is really bad. The eggs are purple sometimes. Generally the quality is really bad. Sometimes the food has gone off already, its moulded”. Louis also told us that while the food sometimes smelled bad, he would always eat it, as he had no other means of obtaining food. Four participants further explained that the poor-quality food provided had either exacerbated existing health conditions, or instigated health problems they had previously not experienced. Jeanne told us: “…Oh, I don’t know how to talk about it…the rice is really badly cooked and it gives me stomach problems…The food has really made my health conditions worse. Efe similarly explained that the food provided made him ill: “I believe that the food might be the cause of my stomach problem. It worsens the problem in any case. The doctor told me that I should not eat any rice. However, they serve a lot of rice here in the PRDC. In any case, the other food also gives me stomach-ache so I don’t see a big difference to eating rice or noodles or whatever it would be”. Issa admitted that he avoids eating the meals provided as they make his health worse, stating: “When I eat, it makes me sick, so I often sleep without eating”. Other participants also expressed concerns that their health would deteriorate in the future their health due to the poor-quality of the food they were eating. Saeed expressed concern over potentially becoming ill due to the food provided, stating: “I think the more we spend more time eating this food, I think we will have more diseases too, there’s no vitamins inside, it doesn’t have all the things humans should have in their food, like vitamins or other proteins or things. Some have become ill due to the food provided in the PRDC, while others have been concerned about their future health. Six participants reported that the food provided did not meet their medical or religious dietary requirements. Zain told us that while he is allergic to rice, which is frequently served in the PRDC, he has not told the authorities about his allergy. Based on his past interactions with authorities regarding the food in the camp, he believes they would make no effort to meet his needs. He therefore simply avoids eating rice when it is provided. Additionally, while Zain is Muslim and usually adheres to halal dietary requirements, he informed us that he cannot follow these requirements in detention and accepts whatever food he is given. He explained: “We’ve been forced to eat it, there’s no other choice. Even in the supermarket, they only sell pork and tuna and canned meat…”. Faiza noted that she was unsure as to whether her religious dietary requirements were met in detention, stating: “…I’m Muslim and I can’t eat pork…Actually I don’t know if they were catered for. It’s rare for them to bring meat, and I can’t tell if it has pork or not. But I don’t think they were giving us pork”. During Ramadan this 48 DETENTION OF MIGRANTS ON THE ISLAND OF KOS