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Kennedy Goodwin

Phillips

AP Language/Period 4

14 December 2018

Madness in Moria

Plastic tents, a sewage-covered ground, and molded food are seen everywhere. This

sounds like a scene from a movie, but it is real life for the refugees living in Moria, which is a

refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. Lesbos is located off the coast of Turkey, but

Greece owns the island. The conditions inside Moria are so dire that Rasha Al-Ahmed, a refugee

from Turkey, said, "Europe does not see us as human" (Kakissis). Currently, there are more than

8,000 people living in a space built for a capacity of 3,100, which leads to all sorts of problems

ranging from physical illnesses and violence to PTSD (Stubley). Conditions at Greek refugee

camps elicit mental issues and cause refugees to contract physical diseases, both of which result

from the lack of funding.

To outsiders, living in Greece seems like a luxury. People come to Greece looking for a

fresh start. It is similar to people moving to America hundreds of years ago, but now the

conditions are much worse. The camp is like an unkept prison, and conditions on Lesbos have

only worsened since 2015 when the refugee crisis in Greece was at its peak (Witte). A majority

of refugees come from the war-riddled countries of Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and they have

big dreams as they are crossing the Mediterranean Sea in their makeshift raft. Refugees arrive on

Lesbos with only the clothes on their backs and few belongings. One of these refugees is

Rahmuddin Ashrafi, who came to Greece with his wife and three young children after their home

in Afghanistan was destroyed. Before he arrived, Ashrafi never could've imagined what the camp
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would be like. He and his family had only been in Moria for four months when he explained,

"Before, I thought that Greece would be one of the best places to live. Now I feel it would have

been better to drown while crossing the sea" (Kingsley). With these two sentences, Ashrafi was

able to show what Moria is really like: unfathomable.

It is 4 am, and Rahmuddin Ashrafi's day is just beginning. Every single day after he

wakes, he joins thousands of other refugees in the line for breakfast. Lines for every meal are

four hours long, so up to half of a day will be wasted in line, waiting and hoping to receive some

food, most of which is inedible. While walking through Moria, sewage can be seen in almost

every space, and there are upwards of a hundred people for each shower and toilet. In addition to

these awful conditions, assaults, fights, and attacks are common in Moria (Kingsley). According

to local officials, there is an "uncontrollable amount of waste" in Moria, which is "dangerous for

public health and the environment." Nobody should have to live in these conditions, especially

for an extended period of time. At the beginning of September 2018, officials gave the leaders of

Moria 30 days to resolve the issue, or else the camp was facing closure. There have been no

further updates, which suggests that they got it cleaned up for now (Stubley). While Moria may

still be open, it is far too late for the effects of the camp to be resolved.

The effects of the repulsive camp conditions on refugees are colossal. First and

foremost are the mental issues that are present among refugees. Oftentimes, refugees arrive at

Moria suffering from a mental disorder that stems from the situations in their home countries, but

the conditions of the camp exacerbate their symptoms (Kotsiou). Alessandro Barberio is a

psychologist on Lesbos who works with Doctors Without Borders. He sees the effects of Moria

every day, and he concluded, "Moria has become a trigger for acute expression of psychosis and

post-traumatic stress disorder" (Kingsley). There is no doubt that the awful conditions that
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refugees are forced to live in are the cause of the evident PTSD and psychosis. Even with the

high number of psychological diagnoses that are present in Moria, there is little help. Refugees

even have to convince doctors to see them. Samir Alhabr is a refugee from Iraq who had

countless psychological symptoms, including the contemplation of killing himself. After visiting

the medical team, he was diagnosed with PTSD. Although he had a diagnosis, he explained, "But

[in Moria], I get no help for myself" (Magra). The only time many refugees get help for their

ailments is when they can finally leave the camp and go to mainland Greece and other European

countries. Mental illness is not only present in adults, but children, too. A study was conducted

that compared psychological diagnoses in a group of Greek children and a group of immigrants.

While only 49% of the Greek group received a diagnosis, 91% of the immigrant children

received one (Kotsiou). The camp is much more traumatizing for children who don't understand

what's happening. It's like they were kidnapped; they were taken from their home to a strange,

unsafe, and dirty place. However, their parents know that it is best in the long run for them, but

the children are unaware of this. All they know is that their lives changed forever. Whether the

problem is mental or physical, Amir Ali, a refugee living in Moria, states "Even if you are

healthy, in Moria you'll get a problem" (Magra).

Physical and communicable diseases are easily transmitted throughout Moria. The

sewage-filled camp is a breeding ground for a variety of illnesses ranging from a simple cold to

diarrhea. These diseases are prevalent among refugees due to tight quarters, not enough food or

facilities, and a dirty environment. Viruses spread quickly in such a small area packed with

people (Kotsiou). Much like a daycare, when one person gets sick, everyone gets sick. This

occurs in Moria because there aren't enough resources to promote good hygiene or to quarantine

ill refugees. There is really no way to avoid the illnesses that are present in Moria, and these
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illnesses will be a never-ending circle until the living conditions in Moria improve. Nobody

would treat any other human the way the Greek government treats refugees, so the Greeks don't

see refugees as human. Most people wouldn't treat animals like this either which promotes the

idea that the Greeks don't see refugees as anything, except merely a way to receive money.

Lack of money is an issue for Greece, but many people refuse to believe this. Some

people think otherwise because $1.8 billion has been given by the European Union to aid Greece,

which was introduced by Sebastian Leape in the article: “Greece has the means to help refugees

on Lesbos - but does it have the will?” written by Sebastian Leape. In 2017, there was enough

money to allot $7,000 to each refugee, which is more than enough to pay for housing and other

essentials (Leape). So where did all this money go? The simple answer is this; the Greek

government wasted it. While nobody knows where exactly this money went, there is nothing to

prove that it was spent correctly. If Greece still had this money, why are they letting conditions

on Moria remain like this when it's causing physical and mental illnesses? There is an

organization that works with unaccompanied children in Greece called Metadrasi, which is

headed by Lora Pappa. She believes that the "tide of money" created "commodities" out of

refugees, resulting in short-term responses (Howden). Short-term responses don't help to

improve the conditions in Greece. Short-term responses don't help refugees get out of Moria

quicker. What refugees need is money that is spent wisely, working to both improve the camp

environment and to get as many refugees out of the camp as possible. If money is used to

improve the conditions of Moria, the situation would be more bearable and result in less illness.

Currently, refugees must remain on the island for up to two years, or as long as it takes for their

cases to be reviewed. They will then either be sent home or free to move to other places in

Europe (Kingsley). The Greek government could spend their money to have more judges to
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speed up the review process for refugees. If the Greek government uses money correctly from

now on, the situation in Moria can be much different.

The refugee crisis started on the heels of Greece's economic depression, which is likely

where the money went. The money Greece received from the European Union and other

countries was affected by the economic depression, which is why the presence of money is not

evident in Moria; it was likely never there to begin with. Because of its suffering economy,

Greece is unable to spare money for the refugees. The economy also had a major impact on the

Greek healthcare system, which partly explains the prevalence of diseases in, and lack of help

available to, refugees (Kotsiou). Without money, Greece cannot help the refugees. If Greece had

not been going through the midst of a financial crisis, the conditions and outcomes for refugees

would be somewhat different. However, Greece can make an effort to preserve any future money

and not let the economic crisis affect it. The Greek refugee crisis is unlikely to change in the

foreseeable future, but some things must be improved. Greek officials need to receive more

money and use it wisely to clean Moria and other refugee camps, treat refugees for mental and

physical ailments and speed up the process the refugees must go through to move onto other

areas of Europe, minimizing the time refugees spend in the camps. With more funds available,

the conditions of Moria can be improved and refugees will have a better life upon arriving in

Europe.

Works Cited

Howden, Daniel, and Apostolis Fotiadis. "Where did the money go? How Greece fumbled the

refugee crisis." The Guardian, 9 Mar. 2017, www.theguardian.com.

Kakissis, Joanna. "'Europe Does Not See Us As Human': Stranded Refugees Struggle In Greece."
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NPR, NPR, 9 Mar. 2018, www.npr.org.

Kingsley, Patrick. "‘Better to Drown’: A Greek Refugee Camp’s Epidemic of Misery." New York

Times, 2 Oct. 2018, www.nyt.com.

Kotsiou, Ourania S., et al. "Impact of the Refugee Crisis on the Greek Healthcare System: A

Long Road to Ithaca." US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 20

Aug. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

Leape, Sebastian. "Greece has the means to help refugees on Lesbos - but does it have the will?"

The Guardian, 13 Sept. 2018, www.theguardian.com

Magra, Iliana. "Greece's Island of Despair." New York Times, 29 Mar. 2018, www.nyt.com.

Stubley, Peter. "Greece's Moria refugee camp faces closure over 'uncontrollable amounts of

waste'." Independent [UK], 10 Sept. 2018, www.independent.co.uk

Witte, Griff. "Conditions are horrific at Greece’s ‘island prisons’ for refugees. Is that the point?"

The Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com.