"We are going through a lot in the CCAC, so many things are happening.”

The respondent is a man aged 26-30 from Sierra Leone who has resided in the Samos CCAC since early 2023. 

He reports that he does not feel good and that living in the CCAC is stressful for him. “The place is not friendly, when we are in the camp everyone is in their container. That is what is affecting us. We are going through a lot in the CCAC, so many things are happening.”  The respondent describes that he would like to be transferred away from Samos. 

The respondent reports that he suffers from haemorrhoids and is in serious pain, and that he has been complaining about this to the camp authorities since he arrived but never received the kind of treatment he was expecting. The respondent described that from February to present, he went almost every week to the medical actors in the Samos CCAC [the state actor responsible is called EODY] and reported about his health situation, but “the same problem every time: the lady that is in the clinic, she always says she is not a doctor, she says she is sorry but she is not a medical doctor.” Reportedly, the only thing the woman did was collecting his ID card every time he went there to get some information and give it back to him. 

Reportedly only the doctors from Doctors without Borders (MSF) paid attention to him and gave him painkillers. The respondent reported there is no doctor at EODY, but he was aware that EODY still had the ability to refer him to the hospital. He went to the hospital twice, once two days ago. At the hospital, he reportedly got a surgery appointment in the month of July.

The respondent describes that due to the haemorrhoids, when he uses the toilet, he has “haemorrhoids coming out of him” and it is painful, and he calls on his friend to help him. His friend who helped him before was transferred, and his other closest friends were also transferred. The respondent explains that because of his illness he should use a toilet that has a seat, he should not be straining, but the one in his container is a standing toilet. “That is not good for my health, but I have no choice”.

The respondent reports that he sometimes is stressed thinking about his health, and about the situation that led him to leave his country.

Reportedly the respondent cannot eat the food provided by the CCAC, like chicken and rice, as it is too oily and would affect his health. He cannot eat refined sugar  and since the bread he gets in the camp has chocolate inside and the juice is sweet, he cannot eat these things. The respondent reports that he has to spend his cash assistance on food. He describes the 70 Euro he receives per month is not enough to sustain him because he has to buy bus tickets to go to town [€3.60 return] plus the cost of food. The respondent reports that he does not have enough food, and sometimes he is hungry. “That is why I have my apple, I eat it in multiple goes [by taking small bites] and wrap it up once I start it [to continue being able to eat it].” 

The respondent describes that the food the CCAC residents have been eating sometimes has expired, specifically the chicken and the bread. The respondent reports that before, on the wrapping on top of the food there was the date of manufacturing and expiry of the food written in Greek; but since there had been protests in the camp due to the food quality, “the plastic has been blank, no information on it to know whether the food was expired. The bowl is the same, the wrapping is the same, except without the information.”

The respondent reports that when entering or leaving the camp, the asylum seekers have to go through security checks. He expresses that “there is no problem with the necessity of being checked, but with the fact that it is only done to the asylum seekers; nobody else that is coming in, e.g the cleaners of the camp”. Reportedly the residents have to remove their shoes when arriving to the CCAC, the respondent does not know what they are checking for. “When the weather is not really good, when you have to take off your shoes it’s not good.” The respondent reports that when entering the CCAC the security asks to take off the coat; they check it and pass it through the machine, “then they use another machine that they use to check you all over, and then security will frisk, touch your pockets and touch you everywhere”. Reportedly the respondent never had to undress completely, but it happened that he had to take of his coat, hat, belt and sweater when going inside. 

The respondent reports he and other residents have been complaining about the fact that there are cockroaches in the containers and they saw people going around the camp spraying the containers, but the cockroaches are still there, the problem is not solved. 

He reports that asylum seekers face “very big challenges”, but that there is a lack of communication in the camp. He wishes he could explain to the camp authorities the things they are going through as asylum seekers and as people. But “we can’t challenge the authorities, even if you want to explain to them, there is nowhere to do that.” The respondent suggests that there should be an office of some kind to bring complaints. Reportedly the respondent communicated this suggestion to the UNHCR present in the camp “to have a middle man between us and the authorities”, but he doesn’t know if his suggestion would be acted on.