To start page
“They Are Killing Minds”, a new report on conditions in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC), was published I Have Rights, a non-profit law clinic that provides assistance to people on the move at all stages of the asylum procedure on Samos, a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea only 1.6 kilometres from Turkey’s Western coast, with support from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s Athens Office.
I Have Rights engages in advocacy and strategic litigation focusing on ending the detention of people on the move, ending the illegal practice of pushbacks, and defending the right to seek asylum. The organization raises awareness of ongoing EU and state practices leading to human rights violations and defends the rights of people seeking protection in Europe.
Testimony collection for the report was supported by Samos Volunteers, an independent organization that supports displaced communities living in Samos by offering psycho-social assistance, recreational activities, women-only spaces, and a free shop. Samos Volunteers advocates for fair and dignified migration policies.
Published on World Refugee Day, the report features anonymized quotes from testimonies collected from May to June 2023 through semi-structured interviews conducted by I Have Rights and Samos Volunteers with people who have resided in the CCAC in 2023. Interviews were structured around the following themes: the structure, safety, health, food and water, and hygienic conditions.
Unless specified otherwise, the pictures included in the report were provided by people that reside or have resided in the CCAC. The pictures credited to the Samos Advocacy Collective were taken by residents in 2021 using single use cameras.
The report aims to amplify the voices of asylum seekers accommodated in the Samos CCAC, whose testimonies challenge the narrative that CCACs are a humane and dignified way to accommodate people seeking protection in the EU. As one of the respondents demands: “We need authorities to close the camp. To close the camp is my suggestion, close this camp and move us to another safe place.”
I Have Rights echoes this demand and calls for the closure of CCACs in Greece and for the accommodation of people seeking safety in dignified community-based housing schemes that respects their freedom of movement and allows them access to services and support.