The situation for male refugees on Lesbos varies in its nature and quality largely depending on family/marital status. If you form a couple or have children, you’ll be sent to Kara Tepe, Caritas or another more family-friendly place. If you’re a single man however (and not significantly physically impaired) you will most probably head into the hardest and most notorious place of Lesbos: Camp Moria.

This chapter is actually a foretaste of what's to come, which is a more detailed description the living conditions in Moria - as this is where the lion share of men get sent. But before going into this, I'll first shed some light on the general situation for men in the other two places: Camp Kara Tepe and the Caritas hotel.

In the Caritas hotel men are relatively well-off, as the environment is safe and they are given the opportunity to attend some classes (like English and Greek), which is the same as for women and children. There is also a weekly family excursion where families go out for a drive and see a bit of the island, potentially with an added picnic or another easily accessible activity. So life is not too bad in Caritas and this goes for men, women and children alike. Yet, there is the general problem of having to deal with trauma, boredom and an uncertain future.

In Kara Tepe men are disadvantaged compared to women and children when it comes to facilities and activities. There are very few activities for men specifically and they are basically left on their own to just pass their days in or around the camp to do whatever. There are practically no job opportunities for the refugees and this is particularly frustrating for men who want to provide for and improve their family’s lives. So many men just wander around as they worry about the future and roam on the past while being frustrated with the present as they have little else to do than to fill their days with nothing.

Another thing to note is that the amount and distribution of shipped in (donated) materials from abroad is heavily skewed: what comes in is foremost for children, then for women and lastly for men. Reason is that children have the strongest 'pity and compassion factor' and receive the most donations (e.g. clothes, coloring pencils, toys). The main reason for the difference in amount of donations between women and men is that women (in donating countries) generally buy more stuff than men and consequently have more to donate. Note that I am here speaking mainly about clothing, which is the main type of donations coming in for both sexes. Regardless the donations coming in there is still too little all in all. Especially shoes form a problem, even for children.

--- A child walking on torn shoes in Kara Tepe (photo: Henk van Lambalgen Photography)