Feature: Refugees demand decent living conditions inside Greek state-run camps

About 40 km north of Athens, the Malakasa hot spot hosts approximately 800 people, mostly Afghan families, including 200 unaccompanied minors.

On June 8, Afghan migrants in Malakasa launched a protest denouncing the bad living conditions inside the camp. Families, young women with their babies and little children joined their voices in demand of better hygiene, healthcare, food and clothing.

Moahid lives in this camp for the last three months and talked to Xinhua about the main problems he faces. "People don't want to stay here because the food they give us is bad. We need clothes. We need shampoo. They don't give us," Moahid said.

"We need shoes and stuff and the storerooms are closed. We go elsewhere to take shoes and food. We go to Victoria square (in central Athens) because at the camp the food is not good," he explained.

Mustafa is a teacher from Afghanistan and he came to Greece looking for a gateway to Europe. For the last three months he has been stranded in Malakasa. "They give us junk food that is not worthy for animals, but we still eat it," he said.

The protest was vivid but peaceful. The migrants marched for a short distance holding their hand-made banners and then stopped and chanted their demands.

Twenty-year-old Asef has come from Afghanistan along with his brother's family. He has lived in the camp for about two and a half months.

"We don't have toilets. They closed some of the toilets and bathrooms and they told us that they needed to be fixed, but they closed them. Now they have brought in chemical toilets, but they don't use the chemicals they should and the situation is really bad for women and children. It is dangerous for their health," he said.

The situation seems to have deteriorated over the last month, refugees and migrants say. "During the last month, they don't give us stuff, like diapers for children, personal hygiene products that women, children and men need, like soda to wash our clothes," Asef added.

Hara Stagkou, coordinator of the Malakasa hot spot with the General Secretariat of Migration Policy, said: "The food in this structure is the result of a contract signed by the Army and a catering company. I also understand that they protest about the healthcare that was until recently provided for by the 401 Military Hospital of Athens."

Stagkou admitted conditions inside many state-organized camps are far from perfect, but, she pointed out, Greek authorities are doing their best to improve these conditions.

With the summer heat about to reach its peak and the Greek state struggling to manage its poor resources, refugees and the camp staff across Greece are expected to tackle a situation that is getting harder every day. Endit