Aid agencies have warned of rising rates of suicide attempts and self-harming among asylum seekers living in state-run camps in Greece.
There are about 60,000 migrants and refugees based in 50 camps in the country, which until a few years ago was considered an attractive European holiday destination.
According to the Times of London one camp, Moria (pictured), has been described by an aid worker as the “worst refugee camp in the world”.
The paper states: “It has one block of toilets serving 3,000 people who have got through the winter in flimsy tents. Many are forced sleep on piles of rubbish, resulting in outbreaks of scabies.”
It also reported that aid agencies have recorded cases of asylum seekers using razor blades, broken glass and knives to slash their arms, wrists and necks.
More than a third of the people living in Greek camps are children, 5,000 of whom are unaccompanied.
In a deal with the European Union struck last year, Turkey agreed to house many refugees fleeing war-torn Syria to prevent European nations from having to take the strain. However, the sheer numbers who remain Greece presents a vast problem for the EU.
This week, a 27-year-old Syrian refugee died after setting himself alight in protest at the asylum procedure. A video of the incident went viral. It happened just days after another Syrian refugee hanged himself in daylight in the port of Piraeus.