outside the urban fabric’.822As noted by a single woman refugee from Afghanistan residing in the mainland camp of Diavata in May 2021, ‘At night, when I look behind the camp’s barbed wire fences, I realise how different my life here is from the rest […] I can only observe the beauty of the city lights from afar, without even knowing for how long I have to stay here’.823 This came close to a month after the MoMA issued a public call for tenders for the construction of fencing and the necessary infrastructure for enhancing security in Migrant Accommodation Structures. 824 At the beginning of February 2022, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum assigned a contractor -selected in an international tender- the work of fencing and installing security infrastructure in the camps of Koutsochero, Vagiochori, Lagadikia, Alexandria, Filippiada and Serres until the end of April 2022. The same happened in the camp of Katsikas in Ioannina. 825 Due to the installation of the “HYPERION” surveillance system under the Greek Data Protection Authority review, cameras were installed, with private security guards controlling the entry and exit to and from the camp, demanding residents identify themselves. These practices, in conjunction with the isolated nature of the camps and the frequent inability of residents to access means of transportation, have led to the establishment of prison-like structures, which make residents feel like they are being imprisoned. 826 ‘I feel trapped’ stated a single Afghan father of a 12-yearold girl, who was forced to leave ESTIA and return to a camp. ‘I felt I had been dumped there. Around the camp, there is nothing. To enter and exit, you need to show your papers. There are walls around the camp. I feel imprisoned even though I am allowed to go out’, added a 21-year-old Afghan resident after his transfer to the camp. As noted by RSA, there was a victim of gender-based violence in his country of origin and had been a victim of assault during his previous stay in Moria camp. His transfer to a camp took place in blatant disregard for his mental health condition or previous efforts to re-establish a semblance of ‘normal’ life: ‘To go to Athens from here I have to walk 30 minutes to the nearest bus station and then ride a bus for more than one hour. I have to pay 6.10 euros for each ride. The busses don’t go to Athens often. I receive a 70€ allowance per month, so going to Athens is a luxury I cannot often afford and it is likewise hard for my partner to visit me here. I have many doctor’s appointments in Athens, sometimes three a week and is really hard to attend them. I have also enrolled on Greek classes in Athens but I cannot go there anymore. In the camp I went three times to find classes but there was nobody there. As I have almost no possibility to go anywhere, I am forced to stay most of the time in the camp and far from my friends. Since I’ve been in the camp, I keep thinking all the time. My psychological situation is worse’.827 On this note, it should be recalled that camps are not per se suitable for long-term accommodation as ‘camps can have significant negative impacts over the longer term for all concerned. Living in camps can engender dependency and weaken the ability of refugees to manage their own lives, which perpetuates the trauma of displacement and creates barriers to solutions, whatever form they take. In some contexts, 822 823 824 825 826 827 Alterthess, ‘New fence in the Diavata camp raises questions’ (‘Νέος φράχτης στο καμπ των Διαβατών προκαλεί ερωτήματα’), 21 April 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/2Rs9Gbl. Also see Eidiseis.gr, ‘Three meter wall surrounds the hospitality center of Nea Kavala’ (‘Τείχος τριών μέτρων κυκλώνει τη δομή φιλοξενίας Νέας Καβάλας ‘), 22 April 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3wiwE3h and Efsyn, ‘Walls of shame in refugee facilities’ (‘Τείχη της ντροπής σε προσφυγικές δομές’), 23 April 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/2S1IHTV. Solomon, ‘We call it modernisation’ – The facilities for refugees on the islands and the mainland are closed’, 10 May 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/372ij3X. MoMA, Conducting a public tender according to article 27 of law 4412/2016, through the National System of Electronic Public Procurement (ESIDIS), for the assignment of an Agreement - Framework of the project ‘Fencing works and installation of security infrastructure’ in the facilities of the mainland’, 31 March 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3op9p59. EFSYN, «Υψώνουν τείχος στη δομή των Ιωαννίνων» (Greek), 14 February 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3C2pjKi. RSA ‘A step backwards for protection and integration: On the termination of the ESTIA II housing programme for asylum applicants’, 22 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/43vr3Y5. Ibid. 172