Refugees in Greek camps ‘living in appalling conditons’, say medics

REFUGEES AT camps in Greece are still living in mostly “appalling conditions”, international aid group Doctors Without Borders said.

In the report, the agency commonly known by its French name, Medecins sans Frontiers (MSF), argued that the European Union and Greece had “collectively failed to establish humane and dignified reception conditions”.

More than 60,000 refugees and migrants – many escaping wars in Syria and Iraq – have been stranded in Greece following European border closures this year.

Most still live in tents at about 50 refugee camps.

Around 14,000 of them are confined to islands in the eastern Aegean Sea where they are being processed for potential deportation back to nearby Turkey.

At the rubbish-strewn refugee camp of Ritsona, 85 kilometres (50 miles) north of Athens, children walk barefoot and families in tents use wooden pallets for flooring, to stay above the mud and try to stay warm.

“It’s very bad. How can I explain: I mean very bad,” Syrian refugee Yousef Hanash said.

“Can you imagine living in a tent with six persons and, if you have a newborn baby, how the situation will be?”

Mr Hanash said he came to Europe as a last resort, unable to keep his family safe after his cheese factory was destroyed.