A shocking 18-minute video illustrates the appalling conditions refugees are living in at the Moria hotspot on the island of Lesvos, while also highlighting the Greek government’s incompetence to provide them with warm shelter in the recent extreme weather front that has hit the country. In its effort to minimise negative press coverage of the issue, the Greek government has blocked access to all commercial media outlets from entering the camp except for the state-funded broadcaster ERT and Athens News Agency.

The video shows refugee tents completely covered in snow with people using plastic bags to keep warm in the sub-zero temperatures waiting in queue for their food rations. Despite the fact that the images were recorded three days ago, before access to the camp was denied to independent reporters, conditions in the reception centre remain extremely difficult.

“This is not normal. We are people. I know dogs that have a better life”, says one refugee in the video. Leader of Potami party Stavros Theodorakis likened the government’s decision to ban access to media to the facility to tactics used by Stalin in a tweet. Meanwhile, the European Commission blasted Greek authorities for their inability to effectively deal with the problems.