In a press release dated May 25 MSF denounces the constant deterioration of living conditions of migrants and refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, where many cases of violence, alleged kidnappings, rejections, and lack of food and shelter were registered.

"Since June 2022, when MSF began to provide medical and emergency assistance to the people arriving by sea in Lesbos, we have been unable to locate approximately 940 persons at the locations where we had been told they were," declared Nihal Osma, MSF project coordinator in Lesbos.

Several patients reportedly told the MSF team they had been intercepted in a traumatic way and rejected by force at sea while they were trying to reach Greece.

They also said they encountered masked men who to gain their trust pretended to be doctors or, as recently reported by the New York Times, even posed as MSF staff.

MSF said that in some cases, its staff noticed near the premises of the interventions unidentified vehicles without license plates, often driven by persons covering their faces.

The NGO stressed that humanitarian assistance for the newly arrived is considerably reduced due to the fear of criminalization, and that they are now the only independent actor present capable of providing support to the migrants who arrive in Lesbos.

'Food as leverage to force people out'

Migrants and asylum seekers who arrive in Lesbos are sent to two centers according to where they land: Mavrovouni and Megala Therma.

In Mavrovouni, one of the various closed centers with controlled access financed by the EU, up to 2,700 persons were reportedly allowed to enter in 2023.

MSF underscores that the centers were presented as an improvement for the lives of migrants, but in reality, they were devised to severely limit the movement of people and to keep them confined in structures that resemble prisons.

The NGO highlights that on May 17 Greek authorities stopped providing food for refugees, announcing the intention of kicking them out.

Furthermore, children who belonged to families who had been denied international protection lost their social security number, which means they could not receive basic vaccinations and thereby violating their rights.

"The authorities are using food as leverage to force people to abandon the structure," commented Osman.

Alarming situation in Megala Therma

MSF also expressed concern about the situation in Megala Therma on the northern coast of Lesbos where MSF provides health assistance since 2020.

Previously it was a government center for Covid-19 quarantines, the structure now shelters people prior to their transfer to Mavrovouni.

MSF points its finger against Megala Therma, saying that people are not registered and are effectively arbitrarily detained for days -- in some cases for over two weeks -- before they are transferred to the Mavrovouni center.

Once in Megala refugees are exposed to worrisome living conditions, says MSF. At times 14 persons are crammed in one housing unit that is only meant to house five persons.

MSF's requests to Greece and to the European Commission

"The Megala Therma camp is emblematic of the cruel and dysfunctional approach adopted by access and closed control centers supported by EU members and financed by the European Commission. MSF has criticized and denounced these policies at length," concludes Osman.

MSF called on Greek authorities and the European Commission to conduct an immediate inquiry to look into the accusations made by people who said they were threatened, kidnapped, and mistreated by unidentified masked individuals who are systematically conducting rejections and placing in danger the lives of people arriving by sea and by land.

The organization also called for guaranteed medical assistance and the end of the arbitrary detention of newly arrived migrants registered in Megala Therma.