Security infrastructure in mainland “The men in the camp [are] insulting me, they are coming to my place, trying to get in, or knock-knocking on the door, you know. I reported it to the camp, but they didn’t take any action. I am suffering. That’s why I spend most of the time inside the cabin. [...] I begged [the administration] to move me to another place where I feel safe and to have privacy, and they promised but they are doing nothing.” reception “I think if camps they [the authorities] give us houses, I would feel safe at night when I’m going to sleep. I would feel safe that no one would enter my room while I’m outside. But [instead] they put two or three people in the same room who we don’t know. [...] Sometimes we feel like we’re in prison. When we want to go out, we need to write our names, what time we went out, and when we come back the staff will write again that we came.” 36 year old woman from Iraqi Kurdistan, Ritsona camp 36 year old man from Palestine, Corinth camp Security and surveillance in mainland camps Whilst the initial structures established to accommodate asylum seekers in 2016 were more open in character, mainland camps in 2024 resemble the prison-like facilities for processing new arrivals which have become renowned on the Aegean islands. Work to transform mainland facilities into so-called Controlled Access Facilities has been branded by the government as a shift towards ‘modernised’ structures that provide security to both residents and surrounding non-migrant communities¹⁵⁹. Contracts between the Ministry and the private company Space Hellas for the delivery of this work in southern¹⁶⁰ and northern¹⁶¹ Greek refugee camps indicate that such ‘upgrades’ include the use of behavioural analysis surveillance systems designed to detect ‘dangerous’ behaviour, controlled entry-exit systems, and the use of drones to surveil camps. The MoMA has explicitly stated that it will continue to roll out controversial surveillance and security systems in mainland reception sites despite receiving a fine of €175,000 from the Greek Data Protection Agency for its failure to carry out adequate data protection risk assessments before implementing related programmes¹⁶². As highlighted by practitioners, the new camps have more internal fences¹⁶³, limiting residents’ freedom of movement and creating cage-like environments within facilities, while the increase in security personnel is contrasted with understaffing of healthcare workers, interpreters and administrative support staff. 41