In the refugee camps of Lesbos and Samos
By Enri Canaj
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Each week, we will be publishing a ‘Magnum Monday’: a vivid and in-depth exploration of people and places by legendary photographers, who will also be adding a personal text.
All photos / Enri Canaj / Magnum Photos
I started documenting refugee arrivals in Europe in 2013. I extended my research to the roots, the South, the causes, as well the perilous sea crossings from Africa to the northern shores, and the final destinations across Europe: from the dust that covers a journey to the unmapped territories of possibilities ahead.
Every day, asylum seekers living in Moria collect plastic items. They then bring the items to one of the organisations in charge of recycling and receive 6 bottles of cold drinking water in exchange.
Lesbos - July 2020
This month of July 2020 I went to Lesbos and Samos in Greece. They are the main islands where thousands of asylum seekers have been living for many months now. Some people have lived in tents there for over a year. This was one of the hardest trips I’ve been on, compared to previous ones to these islands. Because of Covid-19 the situation in the camps has gone from bad to worse.
A man carries water to his shelter. "My family uses this water to wash our clothes. We cannot drink it as they say it is not clean or safe."
Lesbos - July 2020
A national lockdown was introduced in Greece in March. Many restriction measures were put in place across the country. As time passed, Greece coped rather well with Covid-19. Confinement measures ended. But people in the refugee camps of Samos and Lesbos are still kept entirely locked down.
Misria, 33, from Afghanistan has been living in the Moria Camp for 10 months. "I feel I cannot be a mother anymore. My hands are getting paralysed and I cannot wash or cook for my children. I feel exhausted and deeply sad”, she says, “and my heart is crying all the time.” In the last 4 months she has not been able to use medication for her mental health as she’s 5 months pregnant.
Lesbos -July 2020
Omolbanin, 29, from Afghanistan has been living in the Moria Camp for 11 months with her husband and their 3 children. "Living in Moria is very challenging", she says. She had been suffering from mental health issues for months and is now under medical treatment.
Lesbos - July 2020
Refugees aren’t allowed to reach other parts of the islands. They need to ask permission even to fetch medicine for their children. Their requests are often rejected. Accessing hospitals is impossible. People locked inside the camps suffer from serious mental health problems. Pills are the only treatment they receive.
The outside of an improvised church.
Lesbos - July 2020
In Samos people are obliged to return to their tents by 7pm. This restriction applies only to the refugees, not to local residents.
Inside the Moria Camp. Originally constructed for 3.100 people, it now has a population of 20.000 women, men and children. It has become a place of violence, deprivation, suffering and despair.
Lesbos -July 2020
Inside the Moria Camp.
Lesbos - July 2020
The Moria refugee camp in Lesbos was built for 3.100 people, but it now has a population of more than 20.000 men, women and children. It has become a place of violence, deprivation, suffering and despair. In recent months there’s been no reliable access to electricity. Nor is there drinking water, or other facilities that would help maintain proper hygiene. Basic necessities to prevent the spread of the virus are lacking. Women and children choose to wear nappies so as to avoid having to leave their tents once the sun has gone down.
An outdoor boxing class at the Moria Camp. A boxing instructor from Afghanistan volunteers to do some outdoor activities with the young boys living at the camp. Because of Covid-19, all schools and other centres have shut down and this is the only activity or program children can engage in.
Lesbos -July 2020
Against this shocking backdrop I was moved to see how the communities inside the camps support and help each other out. I met Yari, a 30 year old from Afghanistan who helps other people from his community as a translator, Farsi-Dari-English. Before Covid-19 struck, together with his wife, he’d been teaching English and German to children and families waiting to be reunited with relatives in German speaking countries.
Outside of a Congolese improvised church. On this particular Sunday meeting, the atmosphere is intense. In the last couple of months, 6 African asylum seekers have lost their lives due to attacks inside the camp.
Lesbos -July 2020
People come together to collect plastic trash, to somehow help clean the camp and to support a local organisation that does recycling. A small group of Congolese refugees had improvised a church in the middle of nowhere, using whatever material they could find nearby. To meet with each other, share their stories, find God. Mothers spend time playing with their children by the seaside. They try to create happy childhood memories, despite the place they have to return to after sunset. In the camp the hardest thing is to wish one another sweet dreams.
The bounty of a fishing attempt on the coast.
Samos - July 2020
It is so clear that all these people are trying to ask for is to be treated with dignity and respect.
A young Syrian boy comes out of the sea after his attempt to learn how to swim.
Samos - July 2020
Maybe it is in unimaginable circumstances that people reach out to one another in such powerful ways, showing sympathy and solidarity, support and compassion. Being in the same lifeboat and sharing the same dream of reaching the other side - is surely what bonds us.