MALAKASA CAMP Image: Google Earth/2024 Airbus Official name: Coordinates: Nominal capacity : Operational/actual capacity: Residents: Beneficiaries of reception conditions: Beneficiaries of special reception conditions: Administrative staff: Medical staff: Ratio of residents to medical staff: Distance to nearest health services⁸⁸: Distance to nearest urban centre (Athens): Malakasa Controlled Access Facility for the Temporary Accommodation of Asylum Seekers / Ελεγχόμενη Δομή Προσωρινής Φιλοξενίας Αιτούντων ‘Άσυλο Μαλακάσας 38.239922, 23.779786 3741 (data is combined for RIC and CAFTAA)⁸⁷ 3021 2565 2124 154 No data provided 15 171:1 13.2 km 40 km History Malakasa camp is located in a remote setting 40 km from Athens. The site was established on a former military base, Gerakini, located in a remote mountainous location 50 km from Athens. It was established in March 2016⁸⁹ and expanded in 2020 with the construction of ‘New Malakasa’, a facility located 1 km from the (old) Malakasa camp which now operates as a Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) for screening and registration of new arrivals. An early visit to Malakasa camp in 2016 found⁹⁰ shocking conditions including undernourishment and limited access to even basic healthcare. Residents lived in fabric tents where snakes and scorpions were regularly found inside. Protests have occurred at the camp highlighting poor living conditions and flooding in the camp with residents demanding to be transferred to accommodation in cities⁹¹. In 2020⁹² residents were accommodated in overheated shipping containers and tents and reported overcrowded conditions and limited access to health care⁹³. Still in 2024, poor physical conditions were reported including containers without heating or cooling facilities⁹⁴. Evacuations of residents between Ritsona and Malakasa⁹⁵ have occurred⁹⁶ in recent years during summer months as a result of fires in the vicinity of both camps, leading to cramped conditions and loss of belongings⁹⁷. 21