Almost five years on from the establishment of five EU-funded Reception and Identification Centres (RICs) or ‘hotspots’ on the Greek islands, nearly 15,000 people remain stranded in these camps.

In September 2018, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) published ‘Unprotected, Unsupported, Uncertain’. This report detailed the shortcomings at the heart of the EU’s asylum and migration policies and their detrimental impact on the mental health of asylum-seekers living in Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesvos.

Two years later, this new IRC report finds that the situation has worsened significantly. It draws on fresh data spanning two and a half years to October 2020. The data was collected from 904 people supported by the IRC’s mental health programmes on the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos, and is backed up by testimonies and interviews. This report sets out proposals for immediate action to improve the dire conditions they endure.

Available documents & links