No other option : Teenage migrants on Lesbos turn to prostitution to get by

It is 10:00 pm and looks already dark outside when my colleague and I meet a group of teenagers sitting around at a roadside park close to Mytilene’s harbor. The youngsters tell us they are from Afghanistan and that they live at the island’s overcrowded Moria migrant camp.

At first, they seem hesitant to talk to us. They don’t want to share too many details about their lives and their experiences in Lesbos with reporters. But slowly, they start to open up. They agree to speak with us only on the condition of anonymity.

Ahmad (not his real name) is one of the hundreds of unaccompanied Afghans who are stuck in Greece. He’s 17 years old and has lived in Athens and Mytilene, the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, since 2017.

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Prostitution is sometimes the only option left

Ahmad is not the only one who has witnessed sexual abuse. Some of his friends concede they have experienced similar situations at the camp.

"Some people who are living at section A, B and C of Moria Camp are selling their body to get some money. When you have no money to buy something to eat, what would you do ? Prostitution is the only option. There is no other way to earn money," one of Ahmad’s friends said.

Ahmad then turns to us and conveys that two of his close friends were selling their bodies to get some money. He adds that even though one of them behaves normally when he is around them, his mood changes immediately when he sees adult migrants. "He does not want to face them or us when he sees them."

The following day, we meet a 16-year-old Afghan near the entrance of Moria camp. He approaches us, asking for information on how to get away from the island. When we ask him why he wants to leave, he says that "minors are in a miserable situation here and adult asylum seekers misuse the minors.