Every summer, the Greek island of Kos receives more than one million tourists. Known for its wide sandy beaches, the Greek island is one of the most popular destinations in Greece. Just a few kilometers from Türkiye though, Kos is also a main arrival point for people seeking protection in Europe. Beneath the veneer of luxury resorts and vibrant nightlife, refugees face an acute affordable housing shortage that has exposed the vulnerability of one of the island’s most marginalized communities.
“Over the summer, we saw an enormous rise in the number of recognized refugees living on the streets on Kos,” said Christina Balta, the Legal Coordinator of Equal Rights’ Kos office. “Evicted from the islands ‘Closed/Controlled Access Centre’ and with no available housing, refugees waiting to finish their administrative procedures have been forced to live in parking lots, parks, and on beaches across the island.”
Drawing on the experiences of 80 individuals along with first-hand accounts from aid workers on Kos, the report provides an in-depth look at the current humanitarian crisis, showing how the authorities’ failure to process people’s residency permits in a timely manner has exacerbated the crisis. The stories in this report show that, despite their protected status, refugees face indifference and hostility from authorities, xenophobia from landlords, and bureaucratic barriers at every step of their procedure.
“Everyone we represent has been touched by the housing crisis on Kos,” said Marilena Kosmopoulou, an attorney for Equal Rights on Kos. “Over the summer we represented families with children as young as 20-days-old, clients with severe health conditions, and survivors of gender-based violence, who were all sleeping in streets in temperatures that reached almost 40 degrees some days. No one should experience that.”
The situation on Kos is not an isolated incident but rather a symptom of a broader system designed to exclude refugees from their social and economic rights. Addressing these challenges requires immediate policy changes so that Greece can uphold its obligations under domestic and international law.
Read the full report here.