Asylum seekers living at Moria, the reception and identification center on the Greek island of Lesvos, are under enormous mental strain. With no choice but to live in unacceptable conditions, with little concrete information about their futures and long waits to have their asylum claims heard, suicide rates among clients of the IRC mental health centre are astonishingly high: thirty percent of our clients have attempted suicide. Sixty percent have considered attempting suicide. Over the past six months, the IRC has been gathering the testimony of clients who attend our mental health centre in Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos. This brief outlines our findings and puts forward recommendations for the Greek local and central government, EU leaders and donors, to ensure that all asylum seekers at Moria in need of mental health services are able to access it and that living conditions do not trigger or exacerbate existing trauma.

Asylum seekers living at Moria, the reception and identification center on the Greek island of Lesvos, are under enormous mental strain. With no choice but to live in unacceptable conditions, with little concrete information about their futures and long waits to have their asylum claims heard, suicide rates among clients of the IRC mental health centre are astonishingly high: thirty percent of our clients have attempted suicide. Sixty percent have considered attempting suicide. Over the past six months, the IRC has been gathering the testimony of clients who attend our mental health centre in Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos. This brief outlines our findings and puts forward recommendations for the Greek local and central government, EU leaders and donors, to ensure that all asylum seekers at Moria in need of mental health services are able to access it and that living conditions do not trigger or exacerbate existing trauma.

The Mental Health Toll of the EU’s ‘Hotspot’ Approach on the Greek Islands

Since 2015, several reports have shed light on the shortcomings of mental health support offered to asylum seekers and refugees both on the islands and mainland Greece.

Mental Health and Psycho Social Support in Greece July 2019