Paper short abstract:

The squatter camp in Patras, Greece was a transit point for refugees moving westward. Part 1 of the paper concerns material construction of the makeshift housing. Part 2, based on ongoing fieldwork, includes reflections and insights by refugees the author met, now living in other European countries.

Paper long abstract:

The squatter camp in Patras, Greece was a transit point for refugees passing from Greece westward from roughly 1994 to 2008. Located near the port, residents waited there while trying to jump aboard ships or ferries crossing the Adriatic or to hook up with smugglers who would assist them. The camp was homogeneous by nationality for most of its 14 years of existence, first created and populated by Kurds, who were then replaced by Afghans after 2001. At its peak over one thousand refugees would stay there at any given time.

This paper is based on two visits to the camp in 2008, shortly before it was razed by the Greek authorities. The first part of the paper deals with material construction of the makeshift housing, with a special focus on amenities: ways that the residents did what they could to make their dwellings more tolerable, if not commodious. The second part, based on ongoing fieldwork and subsequent email and phone communication, is more longitudinal and includes reflections and insights by refugees the author met, or those he met elsewhere in Greece who would later pass through there, and who are now living in other European countries or in some cases who have returned to Afghanistan.