Author: Filio Kontrafouri | cgtn.com | 27 September 2018
It stands under the bright, Aegean sun. And yet, it is a dark place overflowing with people, dirt, illness and, above all, desperation.
The refugee camp on the small island of Samos, built with a maximum capacity of 700, currently hosts close to 4,000 asylum seekers. A former military installation on a hill overlooking Vathy, the capital of Samos (population 6,000), the camp has reached a breaking point with tents and makeshift shelters spilling out deep in the forest.
Women, children and men live in squalid conditions, with no running water, amid rotting food, stacks of empty plastic bottles, rodents and even snakes. They spend their days drifting into nothingness, on their mobile phones, in line for hours to get the daily meals provided by the Greek Army inside the camp. Fights there break out almost daily. Each new arrival gets a bundle with a foam mat and a sleeping bag. If there is space, they will be escorted to a tent. If not, they will have to find a spot to settle. Read more>>>