"It is extremely sad and worrying that refugees have to stay in these conditions and that the EU is not doing more to help relocate and speed up the asylum process," says our expert Patric Mansour, deployed to UNHCR on Lesvos.
He has worked on the island since the start of the refugee influx in August 2015, where he coordinated large parts of the humanitarian response on the island.
Broken promises
Today, Patric is in charge of moving refugees from flimsy, cold tents to warmer shelters where they are properly shielded from the snow, wind and rain.
"The refugees are tired, frustrated and desperate. They feel they've been forgotten by the EU and constantly ask us why they have to stay for months in these conditions only to be denied access to Europe and forced to return home," he explains.
Several refugees have told us they'd rather return home than stay in Greece, not knowing how long they will have to wait or what the outcome may be.
The European Commission has proposed to relocate the 66.000 asylum seekers in Greece to other European countries, but so far only 8000 have been able to leave, according to Mansour.
Additionally, Syrians and Iraqis are being prioritized, while individual protection concerns, regardless of nationality, are not considered to the same extent.
Therefore, 60,000 refugees and migrants remain stranded in uncertainty on the Greek mainland and islands.
Life-threatening risks
In response to the freezing temperatures and snow earlier this week, Greek authorities have urgently stepped up their work to move refugees and migrants to warm shelters.
"The severe weather conditions caused extreme concerns for the welfare of most of the refugees and migrants living in tents. We were requested to coordinate the establishment of new accommodations," our safety expert, Anthony Geddes says.
Together with other colleagues, he has worked around the clock the last few days to assist those living in tents with better protection from the winter weather.
"In partnership with UNHCR and Eurorelief (INGO), we identified the most vulnerable and immediately referred them to the new accommodations," he explains.
"There are still a large number of people living in tents. Although the density of the camp population has been reduced, it is still exceeding recommended standards," Geddes says.
The current situation leaves refugees and migrants more anxious, and we urge the EU to accelerate the relocation process.
"Those who have gained a place in indoor shelter have told us that they are extremely thankful for our support. I was told "you are very kind man" a number of times. Those who remain in tented accommodation say they are very cold and curse the conditions at Moria", Anthony Geddes says.
