Athens, Greece – Three recently constructed, European Union-funded refugee camps on Greek Aegean islands – heralded by EU officials as a “new generation” of facilities with “improved” living conditions and asylum procedures – have struggled to deliver basic services and safeguards to even the most vulnerable asylum seekers, EU documents reveal.
In internal correspondence obtained by Al Jazeera through freedom of information requests, EU representatives overseeing operations at the facilities on Samos, Leros and Kos islands reported nearly daily struggles ranging from staff shortages delaying asylum procedures to allegations of sexual and other violence impacting children.
