By Sheila Alexandra Cross | Team Leader
Increasing Arrivals, Worsening Conditions
Between January and December 2024, 62,119 individuals arrived in Greece seeking international protection, a 20% increase from the previous year. The majority—54,417—landed on the Greek islands, with 7,702 crossing through land borders. Tragically, many lost their lives attempting these perilous journeys.
In the first 10 weeks of 2025 (01 January to 09 March), 6729 asylum seekers arrived in Greece: 6219 people arrived on the Islands and 510 people arrived at the land border of Evros. Almost 48% of all arrivals (3188) were received on Samos Island (1573 people) and Crete (1615).[1]
Once in Greece, asylum seekers must reside in overcrowded Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCACs), with inadequate infrastructure and essential services. Many live in tents or makeshift shelters, exposed to harsh weather. Hygiene facilities are insufficient, medical care is scarce, and the risk of violence is high. While millions are spent fortifying borders and testing controversial surveillance technology, basic needs within camps remain unmet.
Bureaucratic Delays and Lack of Support
The asylum process remains plagued by backlogs, exacerbated by the persistent shortage of interpreters. While registration and interview scheduling have improved in early 2025, significant delays continue to leave asylum seekers in legal limbo.
Payment of cash assistance—a lifeline for many in the CCACs - has been unpaid or irregular since July 2024. Without reliable financial support, individuals struggle to afford basic hygiene products and nutritious food, increasing health risks for vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women and those suffering chronic diseases/ Many are left entirely dependent on often inedible camp rations.
The Challenges We Face: Funding and Operational Strain
Financial Constraints Threatening Services
Like many frontline organizations, we are grappling with severe funding shortages. Despite the rising need for legal and social support, donor priorities are shifting due to simultaneous humanitarian crises in the Middle East and Africa. Greek authorities impose costly administrative requirements, further draining resources from direct client support.
To sustain essential services, we have taken difficult but necessary measures:
Limited Human Resources, Increased Demand
Our small team—comprising Greek lawyers, a volunteer client service manager, and interpreters—is stretched thin. Without urgent funding to retain and expand legal expertise, our ability to provide professional support is at risk or at best, limited - unable to respond to demand.
Adapting to Serve: Our Response to the Crisis
Operational Adjustments
We have restructured our services to maximize impact with limited resources:
Advocacy and Awareness
Public awareness is crucial in driving change. We have joined an advocacy coalition within the Legal Aid Network to amplify asylum seekers’ struggles and push for systemic improvements.
Conclusion
Despite the dire conditions faced by asylum seekers and the funding constraints impacting our work, our commitment to providing professional, respectful, and essential support remains unwavering. We will continue adapting, advocating, and striving to bridge the gap between the realities on the ground and the assistance that is so desperately needed.
For more detailed information on the conditions in the CCACs 'camps', please go to our website: Resources page for 2025 publications. Our privacy policies prohibit the publication of photos of asylum seekers and refugees and their stories are theirs, not our to tell.
We appreciate your time and support in understanding the urgency of this crisis.
[1] UNHCR: https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/europe-sea-arrivals/location/24489 accessed 12 March 2025.
Links:
By SHEILA CROSS | Project Leader
By Sheila Cross | Legal Representative and Administrative Partner
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