The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) issued a statement on Friday regarding the living conditions of migrants in camps in Thessaloniki, in northern Greece.
The statement notes that ”newly-arrived asylum seekers in mainland Greece live in a makeshift camp near the old railway station in central Thessaloniki, due to the shortage of reception places.”
According to the Council, several persons report having been left without access to reception centers for months, and having to find their own place to sleep. In the meantime, they are allowed to go to the Diavata camp, over 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from the old train station, only for showers.
The Council also notes that tens of migrants live in “informal accommodation” under bad conditions and without shelter from winter temperatures.
This situation is the result of the Diavata temporary accommodation facility reaching full capacity due to an increasing number of arrivals via the Evros land border with Turkey.
ECRE, established in 1974, is a European network of 95 NGOs in forty European countries.
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