A year ago Thursday, on Sept 9, Greece’s notoriously squalid refugee camp of Moria burnt down on the island of Lesbos, leaving nearly 12,000 people in need of emergency housing as winter approached.

As the camp’s remnants smoldered, European leaders vowed such squalid facilities would be a thing of the past. But aid agencies say the conditions for asylum-seekers on Greek islands have barely improved.

“A year after the (European Union’s) promises for a new start in the migration issue, European and Greek leaders continue to deny asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants seeking safety in Europe their dignity, while the catastrophic plan for the construction of centers that resemble prisons on the five north Aegean islands continues,” medical aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said in a statement.

Greek officials argue the situation is far better than it was last year.

“A year ago, an unprecedented humanitarian crisis was averted in Moria,” Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said in a statement Thursday. “The fire that broke out threatened the lives of thousands of people and destroyed the camp completely. Under extremely difficult conditions, in just a few days, we managed to build a temporary facility.”