Four years have passed since the Moria Refugee Camp was reduced to ashes, leaving thousands of men, women, and children homeless on the streets of Lesvos for days. The international outrage that followed sparked promises of change — promises that “no more Morias” would become a reality. Yet today, the tragic reality is that this promise remains unfulfilled.

For the refugees arriving on the shores of Lesvos very little has changed. The numbers in the camps may be lower, but the systemic failures persist, showing that it was never just about managing large numbers of arrivals. It is and it has always been a legal crisis.

The Greek government may claim that they have “succeeded in managing migration through a tough yet fair procedure”,¹ but the human rights crisis is far from over. Despite the drop in camp populations, procedural violations remain rampant. Limited access to clean water, food insecurity, and the legal limbo in which refugees are trapped continue to define their everyday existence. Facilities remain understaffed and vulnerability assessments remain flawed. The introduction of “safe third country” procedures—rooted more in fiction than fact—only serves to further strip asylum seekers of their rights. Meanwhile, the European Union silently endorses illegal collective expulsions. The EU's new migration pact does not merely reduce reception conditions it also rolls out the Greek practice of keeping people in quasi-detention awaiting their asylum procedure.  

The current conditions on Lesvos demonstrate a deeper truth: this was never simply a matter of numbers, but a failure to uphold human rights and legal principles. In the Mavrovouni camp today, 36% of residents still lack access to basic reception conditions like food, water, and financial support.² Refugees are no closer to safety or dignity than they were four years ago, and the cycle of neglect and injustice continues.

We continue to bear witness to the daily violations of refugee rights and are more determined than ever to amplify the voices of those who are too often silenced. On this anniversary of the Moria fire, Fenix reaffirms its commitment to challenging the policies and practices that perpetuate injustice, and to working towards a future where the promise of "No more Morias" is not an empty one, but a reality.