Monthly Report: Paréa Lesvos October 2025
- Joaquin O'Ryan
- Nov 24
- 5 min read
Check out our monthly project update for October 2025 at Paréa Lesvos
The word ‘paréa’ in Greek means “company, circle of friends”: everyone is welcome in Paréa!
Located within walking distance from the CCAC (Closed and Controlled Access Camp) on Lesvos, our community center Paréa Lesvos offers a safe space where people on the move, locals and internationals can meet and spend time in a peaceful and welcoming environment.
Paréa is run by Europe Cares responsible for the safety, major facility costs, maintenance and development of the center. It is also a home to another 10 civil society organisations: Artists Giving Back, Boat Refugee Foundation, Collective Aid, Leave No One Behind, Makerspace Lesvos, Refocus Media Labs, Refugee Relief Doro Blancke, TerraPsy, and Yoga and Sport with Refugees. In a time of high political uncertainty and constant withdrawal of support and international attention from Lesvos, our network of partner organisations joined forces to offer people on the move a wide range of services including food and NFI distributions, legal and psychosocial support, education and social care activities. But first and foremost, we offer a sense of community and belonging.
We are one community in solidarity. Will you join us?
View of Mavrovouni Camp from Paréa Lesvos
LESVOS UPDATES
In October, Lesvos recorded 680 new arrivals and 59 departures. By the end of the month, 1,055 people* were living in the Lesvos Closed Controlled Access Center (CCAC). There is a clear upward trend compared to September, which saw 223 arrivals. Across the Aegean, ABR documented 31 pushback incidents in October, affecting 942 people — including children, women and elderly people. Each case is not just a statistic, but a person denied the right to seek protection under international law.
In October 2025, the Aegean turned deadly around Lesvos. On 5 October, a boat sank near Plomari: 17 people were rescued, but one woman’s body was recovered. Two days later, another vessel capsized in southern Lesvos, killing four people, including a young girl. On 27 October, a further shipwreck off Lesvos claimed four more lives, with seven survivors pulled from the water; Greek authorities reported that ten people had died in accidents on the Greek side of the Aegean in October alone. These repeated tragedies are not isolated “accidents” but the foreseeable outcome of policies that block safe routes and push people onto dangerous sea crossings.
On land, the same month brought further evidence of systemic failures in the EU-funded Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCACs) on the Greek islands, including Lesvos. The first monitoring update by the Aegean NGO Network, based on reports from 11 organisations, documents structural gaps in interpretation, healthcare and reception conditions. On Lesvos, organisations report people being denied healthcare under the Hippocrates Programme because no interpreters are available; in some cases, patients are told to bring their own interpreters, undermining confidentiality and effectively putting medical care out of reach. These barriers compound trauma, delay identification of vulnerabilities, and obstruct access to asylum and protection.
Taken together, the deaths at sea and the degrading conditions inside the Lesvos CCAC illustrate a Greek and EU approach centred on deterrence and containment rather than rights and safety. While people are left to risk their lives at sea and navigate opaque, under-resourced procedures on arrival, local organisations on Lesvos are forced to fill the gaps by providing basic information, safe spaces, psychosocial support and independent monitoring of rights violations. We reiterate our call on Greek and EU authorities to guarantee safe, legal access to asylum, to shift from closed, prison-like structures towards open and community-based reception on Lesvos, and to urgently remedy the documented failures in interpretation, healthcare and protection in the island’s closed facility.
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OCTOBER IN NUMBERS
Highlight of the month
On the 30th October, Paréa came alive with colourful decorations as we hosted our Autumn Party!
We opened with an exciting volleyball tournament in our courtyard, hosted by Yoga and Sports with Refugees. Teams battled point-by-point for victory. At our café, our partner Refugee Assistance Doro Blancke provided croissants with every drink, and at lunch Médecins Sans Frontières offered fizzy drinks to accompany the meal.
The fun grew as the Red Noses International clowns joined the games, spreading laughter and joy throughout the day.
The highlight was the dancing and singing, where children, women, and men came together in a joyful crowd. Our DJ, Hamed from MakerSpace, ensured everyone felt represented, mixing music from Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Sudan, and more.
Faces of Paréa
We always come to Parea with my friends from the camp and I gained great knowledge in Parea because the staff taught me many things I didn't know before, like playing basketball, and how to use a computer and other stuff, and it’s a great blessings for me to be in Parea. Alimany - from Sierra Leone
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Meet our partner: Yoga and Sport with Refugees
Yoga and Sport with Refugees (YSR) is one of our partners that offers sports activities in Paréa, their Gym, and across the island. Their mission is to build a happier and healthier community through the power of sport and solidarity, with programs such as their coaching initiative for People on the Move who wish to pursue a career in sports.
At Paréa Lesvos, YSR run volleyball tournaments and baskbetball trainings where our visitors can strengthen their physical and mental well-being, release their emotions and discover new talents.
In September, YSR moved into its new gym, just next door to Paréa. They celebrated YSR’s 8th birthday in the new gym with team games. The new space will be finished when the popular climbing wall is constructed, with help from the local climbing community.
Welcome to our space: The Computer Room
The Computer room is a program run by Europe Cares and offers free access sessions. Moreover, CV workshops have been implemented in the last month, offering our visitors assistence with writing, designing and printing their CV professionally.
Informal education in this sector is essential as it gives people the opportunity to learn something new, interact with each other and gain confidence through skills development. Moreover, in Greece access to an email, CV, and internet is crucial for People on the Move to stay informed of every step in their legal procedure and be prepared for future steps.
The desktops were kindly donated by our partner Refugee Assistance Doro Blancke.
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