" (...) since we got the rejection my wife cannot get medicine, cannot go to the hospital, the same for my kids and me."

The respondent is a 45-65 year old man from Syria, who at the time of the testimony was experiencing homelessness in Athens together with his Moroccan wife, and two children after having spent two years in a refugee camp in Kos Island. The respondent shares arriving in Kos in 2020. The family (then only consisting of three members) was apprehended together with other families of Syrian, Iraqi, and Palestinian nationality. The respondent estimates the group having been about 21 people and reports 10 officers present at the time of apprehension as well as one Dutch and German NGO. He did not recall their names.

At the camp, the respondent reports being searched, fingerprinted, and photographed. Subsequently, he shares that the group was placed in a big room where they were provided with mattresses and blankets but there were no separators. The respondent estimated that there were approximately 8000 people present at the camp. On the third day, the respondent reports having to sign a document which was translated to him as being a means to present oneself to the authorities and initiate the process for asylum. 

The respondent shares that he and his wife have separate asylum cases- him as a Syrian individual and her as a Moroccan mother of two. Both he and his wife were rejected twice and applied for a third time. The respondent stated receiving an interview but that they were still waiting for a response for his wife. He shares not having received legal support at the camp but that they sought the help of a private lawyer but could not afford it. 

“The lawyer said that he will ask for 200 euros whether they get asylum or not, he will charge them this, they don’t want to pay for something that is not sure. For someone who left their country for more, living in the street, I will use this 200 euros for my family. Not to waste it like this.”

The respondent states that the rejections limited their access to medical care in the camp. He mentions: “there was support, medical support, but since we got the rejection my wife cannot get medicine, cannot go to the hospital, the same for my kids and me.” The respondent shared that due to the lack of hygiene in the camp, there were mice, which bit his son yet they were not given medicine. 

While there were psychological services provided, the respondent reports that securing an appointment is a strenuous process with lackluster results. He states: “because it took us months to make an appointment and when we got an appointment he gave us 10 minutes. He wasn’t asking the questions or interacting the right way like a psychologist.”

The family struggled having access to enough nutrition. The respondent shared receiving one meal a day but that this did not suffice. Others could buy additional food at the local market but they could not afford it. The stress felt by those at the camp would lead to outbreaks of violence, said the respondent. He also shares witnessing police violence when residents of the camp would queue for services. 

Eventually, the camp closed on the 20th of December 2022 according to the respondent. Following the closing, authorities brought his family, along with another Afghani and Syrian family, to Piraeus (Athens) by boat. The respondent reports that given their rejections they were not able to enter a camp but received housing through an NGO called ‘Space.’ The family was able to reside in a home for two years but had to evacuate as the NGO was closing down due to a lack of financial support. Prior to the testimony the family had already been sleeping on the street for fifteen days and sought support. 

The respondent concludes by sharing: “we are very consumed by all that happened to us, I came from a warzone to here and my wife now experiences what a Syrian person experiences. How can a system for refugees not provide money for refugees to apply for second application. Each of us had to pay 100 euros, we are four so we had to pay 400 euros and now we eat from the bin since 15 days now. How can they say there is a ministry of migration but we don’t have the right to work. From where would we get the money to pay these fees. It’s complicated and I am confused, I don’t understand.”