Part of the Greek government’s response to the unprecedented number of refugees currently arriving in the country has been the implementation of five ‘hotspots’ on the islands closest to Turkey. On Chios, this hotspot is called Vial.
The aim of the ‘hotspot’ approach was to provide centres to register and process incoming refugees, who would subsequently be transferred to the mainland.
Since the EU-Turkey deal of March 20th, this process of transferral has been stopped, and Vial has become home to a static population, and a registration centre has effectively become a detention centre.
The hotspot on Chios is managed by First Reception Service, an ‘independent agency under the Deputy Ministry for the Interior’, in co-operation with the Hellenic Army.
Though temporary accommodation was always a part of the contracted agreement between the Chios municipality and the Greek government, Vial was not set up to be home to a large static population, and living standards within the facility have deteriorated significantly since March 20th.
Our main objective on this website is to provide a resource for the media, and to document notable cases of sub-standard, dangerous and possibly illegal standards of living in the centre.
This resource will be updated as we receive new material and documentary evidence.
As you review the evidence we have collected here, it is important to remember that the majority of the refugees involved in the videos, photographs and testimonials here have been detained inside Vial for over 30 days.
While not a majority, a significant proportion of the refugees documented here sleep on a hard concrete floor, with limited bedding or blankets.
The cases we have currently documented are categorised under Sanitation, Nutrition, Inadequate Medical Care and Clothing.
All photos, unless specified, are free to use, and credited to insidevial.wordpress.com.