It is unclear as to why the UNHCR stepped down in September from its central role within Greece’s RCA programme, however this shift is in alignment with the Greek government’s explicit desire to end the ‘migration crisis’ once and for all. In a statement issued by the Greek Ministry for Migration and Asylum, the government body “thanks the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for its cooperation so far and the European Commission for funding,” reminding interlocutors how “the country covers its obligations to provide material assistance to asylum seekers,” and how “the transition of the programs from the international organisations to the Ministry…constitutes part of the government’s plan for full recovery of control in migration.” In the middle of October, just two weeks after the RCA changed bureaucratic hands, more than 36,000 eligible recipients of cash assistance had not received their support, as reported by twenty-six organisations working on the ground. In response, the ministry contended that, in fact, “no delay” was undergone regarding pay-outs to camp residents and that cards would be reloaded by the end of the month. UNHCR Greece, on their website, maintain that they are still not privy to “the future modality to provide assistance to cover basic needs” by the Greek authorities, leading to further questions of the Ministry’s commitment to durable material solutions for PoM. To this day, those who are eligible for cash assistance – dependent on their present status – have received back payments, with many only receiving a halved figure if they are being provided meals through the continuation of catering programmes within camp facilities. Furthermore, thousands who no longer have ‘legal status’ still await cash assistance back-payments from the end of 2021 and local organisations report 60% of camp residents across Greece without access to sufficient food since the start of the new year – a harbinger of a prolonged ‘hunger crisis’. Hunger Crisis The middle of October 2021 saw widespread demonstrations by POM, aid workers and those in solidarity across Greece due to restrictive access – and at times an absence altogether – to food. In Nea Kavala reception camp in northern Greece, asylum seekers bore cardboard signs with messages to the Greek government: “Do your kids go to school without food?” and “No Food!!!!!!! We want our money Mitsotakis give us our money!!!!" According to legislation, passed in October 2020 (Article 114 of the Law 4636/2019, Law 4636/2019 amended by Article 111 of the Law 4674/2020, Law 4674/2020), all material support provided by the Greek government will, in effect, cease thirty days following an asylum decision; a cessation which comprises accommodation and cash assistance as well as alimental and hygienic provisions. Those living in camps in Greece who have received a rejected claim for asylum, or are deemed ineligible, based on nationality, are subsequently denied the right to food, cash assistance, and accommodation, in some instances, prior to thirty days following the decision. According to IOM Greece, there are over 16,000 people living in reception centres across the Greek mainland. Catering contracts provided by the Ministry indicate that just over 10,000 camp residents are allowed meals, leaving nearly 40% of camp residents on the mainland – wherein 40% of the population are children – without access to food. With added pressure from the European Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, calling upon Greece to ensure the safety and material security of ‘the vulnerable’ – discursively positioned in terms of an obligation on behalf of the commissioner – the General Secretariat for Reception of Asylum Seekers, Manos Logothetis, affirms that such allegations have been manufactured by NGOs. Many have responded to Logothetis’s comments, pointing blame to Greece’s failure to integrate refugees into the Greek housing and labour markets in the long-term, and the imminent ineptitude to meet fundamental human rights in the short-term. Larger discussions of Greece's obligation to feed residents of reception centres remain contingent on notions of ‘illegality’. While the Ministry of Migration and Asylum has assured the international community that their provisioning of material need is in line with national and international law, Johansson has underscored the EU’s position remains that “all persons, irrespective of their status, should benefit from the provisions of EU law, notably the provisions of the Reception Conditions Directive, the Qualifications Directive and the Return Directive, and from the relevant provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.” The IRC has openly called for the Greek government to provide belated cash assistance payments and to ensure the provision of food regardless of legal status, to assure the health and well-being of those forced to remain in camps, in line with the commissioner’s appraisal. Unceremonious of juridic-legal interpretations, residents of Greece’s camps, dependent on state-provided food, are left to fend for themselves, on an empty stomach. 8