By Vasiliki Makrygianni
In September and October 2024, I continued preliminary research in the Greek-Turkey Border Archipelego. As with the introductory visits I made in the summer, I travelled to several islands, where I visited Closed Control Access Centres (CACCs), met with and interviewed a wide variety of experts and stakeholders, and gained a critical overview of the historical and contemporary dynamics shaping migration trajectories in the archipelago.
On September 11, I flew from Athens to Chios island. My visit coincided with a severe storm. I visited the Vial CCAC, which experienced a power outage that day, while parts of the city were flooded. Despite these conditions, I held informative meetings with local engineers and the mayor, who provided insights into the Vial infrastructure and the ongoing debate about a new CCAC. I also engaged with local solidarians who shared their observations on the refugee presence over the past decade. Although refugee visibility in Chios Town was limited, a few encounters offered valuable insights into their experiences.
Following my time in Chios, I returned to Kos, where I visited Glocal Roots an NGO space where I also attended a refugee festive. I also spent time in the village of Purgi near the CCAC, meeting with NGO employees and holding conversations with refugees about their journeys and temporary stays on the island. My journey continued with visits to two smaller islands, Nisyros and Tilos experiencing increased refugee landings in recent months. I stayed on Nisyros for five days, engaging with locals, fishermen, and people in solidarity with refugees. On Tilos, I explored the municipal authorities’ environmentally friendly philosophy and their refugee-welcoming initiatives, including an overview of a small-scale refugee camp.
My last stop on this preliminary research trip was in October the 3rd in Lesvos, an island which holds a pivotal role in migrants’ reception the last decade and in research on migration studies. I visited the current CCAC which is hosted at an old military firing range. I had several meetings with researchers taking part in research groups and academic initiatives from the University of the Aegean such as the Observatory of the Refugee and migration crisis in the Aegean and the Invisible Cities research group and attended a public discussion organized by the Laboratory of Collective Actions and Social Movements (LaCASMο) on the new camp in Vastria. I met local NGOs workers who gave me a wider perspective of the refugees’ situation during the last decade. Their accumulated knowledge and experience offered an enlightening overview of the migration policies, and the different actors involved and served as a site of reflection for this introductory archipelago navigation.