May 2019 | Reception crisis in Northern Greece: three years of emergency solutions Diavata and Lagadikia camps were overcrowded and the hotspots in the Aegean had to be decongested.cxxii Residents interviewed by RSA in August 2018 said that the conditions in the tents exposed to the weather were tough, as rain would flood them. They said that there was no heating, air conditioning or electricity. They described how sewage water would run inside the tents that were set up next to the toilets and showers. Food catering was offered once a day for the new arrivals, who had not yet received cash-cards. Old residents had to make fires to cook and to warm themselves. A group of volunteers provided activities for children outside the camp to play with the children but there were no formal or informal educational activities offered for children and for adults inside the camp. People said that they felt ‘abandoned’ and spoke of a deteriorating mental health as a result of the poor conditions and the trauma they experienced during their flight and then stay in the Aegean hotspots. “I get crazy here. I wake up and I search a shadow and I sit there until the day is over. We are abandoned here. I wake up in the nights from the stress about our future. … We pregnant women are not safe because the hospitals are very far. Even if the ambulance would come at the end, who would bring us back here? Everything is far from here. One day I couldn’t feel my baby moving anymore. I was terrified. I thought what I would do in an emergency case. … We were in hell and now we are alone in the desert.” Salima M.* (32)cxxiii Kurdish from Syria, Vaghiochori The pregnant woman lived with her two children (a boy age 7 and a girl age 3) and her husband Mohammed M.* (34). “I am pregnant, our daughter has a serious medical problem and is in need of an operation. She suffers also from psychological problems. Also, my husband has a problem with his liver. ... (W)e were told our medical problems would get a good treatment as soon as we would be transferred to the mainland. From the first day we arrived here I am telling them about our medical problems, but nothing happens… The soldiers here are just telling us to have patience. Then one day at the end of August the heartbeat of our baby was very low. They called an ambulance. I wanted my husband to go with me. … He had to stay in the camp because of our kids. In the hospital they said I should return another day for a second appointment. …. I don’t speak English. It was 8pm and the latest bus had left two hours earlier. I didn’t know what to do. My husband couldn’t help me also. He was trying to find help in the camp, but no one was listening to him. He cut his arms in front of them.” Alma K.* (26)cxxiv from Syria, Vaghiochori The mother lived with her husband Mahmoud K.* (36) and their four children https://rsaegean.org/en/reception-crisis-in-northern-greece-three-years-of-emergency-solutions 20