’A mental health emergency’: no end to trauma for refugees on Lesbos | Global development | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/22/a-mental-health-emergency-no-end-to-trauma-for-refugees-on-lesbos
▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ac2951555011d9169e38cf44bbd5e71f270dbeb7/0_0_3500_2099/master/3500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali
In 2020 MSF has treated 49 children on Lesbos with thoughts of suicide or for suicide attempts.The current demand for MSF’s services is more than the organisation can meet and there is a lengthy waiting list for the paediatric clinic and the clinic for victims of torture and sexual violence.Rainfall has left parts of the camp waterlogged and tents have been flooded on more than one occasion. Human rights organisations have raised concerns about substandard living conditions for inhabitants of the camp, dubbed “Moria 2.0” by many on the ground. Thirty-six hot water showers have just been installed but many of the 7,300 residents still shower using buckets or water bottles.Lockdown restrictions mean that residents are only allowed to leave once a week to visit the supermarket, a lawyer or the pharmacy. Exits are monitored and fines given out for residents not wearing masks. “Many children are also afraid of the police,” says Chirvatidis, “they are not perceived as protectors but mainly as punishers.”
Petra Molnar, from the Migration and Technology Monitor, says security measures are having an impact on people’s mental health. “We are seeing the rise of surveillance technologies like drones patrolling the skies, and the increased use of closed and controlled facilities like the new camp on Lesbos,” she says. “This type of omnipresent surveillance and toxic ongoing stress has long-term mental health repercussions, especially for children.”
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