• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, January 18, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Horrors of Greek Detention Facilities Force Migrants to Attempt Suicides

Katja Lihtenvalner by Katja Lihtenvalner
11/22/17
in Featured, World
Horrors of Greek Detention Facilities Force Migrants to Attempt Suicides

Syrian refugees waiting in line to register with the police authorities, Aug. 27, 2015, at Mytilini port on the island of Lebos, Greece. Photo: Freedom House, Flickr

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

ATHENS, Greece – Another tragic incident happened earlier this month in the black hole of the Greek immigration system: Pakistani refugee Aftab Beig attempted suicide in Korinthos detention facility, the United Movement Against Racism and the Fascist Threat (KEERFA) reported.

“Prolonged detention, uncertainty because of lack of information, no social and psychological support affect the mental health of migrants,” Spyros Rizakos, head of the Athens-based NGO Aitima that offers legal counseling to asylum seekers, explained to The Globe Post.  

Three years ago, the Greek government radically opposed detention of migrants without documents.

“Detention centers – we’re finished with them,” Deputy Interior Minister Yannis Panousis, who used to be in charge of public order and civil protection, announced at the time.

However, amid persisting internal political conflicts and the increase in the number of migrants over the past two years, it was mainly the left-wing politicians who replaced ministers in the Greek government, leading to tightening regulations of the detention system.

Mental Health at Risk

Conditions in the Greek detention centers have been criticized by human rights groups for years.

The reports on self-harm incidents attempted by refugees in Greek detention facilities have provided some shocking details: a “minor drunk a shampoo in an attempt to commit suicide”; “ a 20-year-old Syrian refugee saved from hanging himself with sheets”; a “man from Morroco swallowed a razor in an attempt to end his life.”

“Most of the detention centers are without hot water and heating during winter,” a report by the Aitima group, dubbed “Forgotten,” said.

The organization established that most of the detention centers in Greece have neither interpreters nor social workers or psychologists.

“Doctors visit detention centers only in very urgent cases,” the report said.

Last February, a 45-year-old man died in Petrou Ralli detention center in Athens. According to inmates testimonies, it was the “denial of medical treatment from police officers” that preceded his death.

During a visit to Attica-based detention facilities, The Globe Post was able to confirm that migrants are staying in dire conditions.

“We came from Iraq, traveling a long way to find peace on European soil. But we ended here, in jail, without knowing what is waiting for us,” a woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Globe Post.

In many cases, migrants have also reported police violence in detention facilities. In its recent report, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) urged the Greek authorities to take a “determined action to tackle the problem of police ill-treatment.”

Children and Minors in Prison

Amygdaleza pre-removal detention facility in northern Athens has been widely known as the most controversial migrant jail in Greece. Refugees are detained there in white containers surrounded by fencing.

Amygdaleza is also home to several dozens of unaccompanied minors.

“The mental challenges that youth face under detention are serious. Withdrawal, high levels of stress, frustration and symptoms of depression are some of the most commonly traced signs that we encountered,” Antonis Antoniou from Arsis, the Association for the Support of Youth, explained to The Globe Post.

The association has reported that conditions under which minors are kept are far from ideal.  

Apart from unaccompanied children, Greek authorities detain mothers with toddlers. In some cases, witnessed by The Globe Post in Elliniko detention facility, mothers and children get separated.  

“There is very limited access to basic, fundamental rights such as the right to dignity, education and free expression in Greek detention facilities,” Mr. Antoniou said.

It exposes the “cultural identity of the minors, which under stressful conditions can lead to a feeling of desperation, uselessness, and loss of purpose,” he added.

Dramatic Increase of Detained

According to the latest reports, there were 3.676 migrants detained in mainland Greece — the number has doubled since last May. However, it doesn’t reflect the situation on Greek islands, such as Samos, Lesbos, and Kos, where new so-called pre-departure centers were built.

“Such a dramatic increase in the number of people detained in pre-removal centers across the country in such a short period of time is alarming but not surprising,” Eva Cossé, an Athens-based researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), told The Globe Post.

Greek authorities have been jailing refugees from war zones for a long time.

Ms. Cossé recalled the case of a 33-year-old Kurdish mother of four from Syria, who was detained at the Moria hotspot on Lesbos island.

“My hope is dead since they brought me here,” the woman told the HRW at the time. “We saw all the terrible miseries [in Syria], but my children and I haven’t seen jail [until coming to Greece].”

While nine detention centers will soon be “empowered” with 155 new staff, including doctors, psychologists, and translators, it has become apparent that the Greek government has failed to fulfill its promises to close the facilities.

“Syriza’s [the main leading left-wing party] first announcements in 2015 were not implemented, especially the announcements regarding closing detention centers,” Mr. Ryzakos said.

“The main reason is that if you keep the same legislation on detention [based on the EU Return Directive], then you cannot give up detention centers,” he added.

Mr. Ryzakos believes that another reason behind the “unrealistic promises” is financial.

“The pre-removal detention centers had been created with E.U. funding. If they were closed, then Greece would have to return the funding,” he explained.

However, the head of the main local NGO that deals with detention centers in Greece, called the employment of 155 additional staff “a positive step.”

Share2Tweet
Katja Lihtenvalner

Katja Lihtenvalner

Related Posts

Rescuers search for survivors in rubble
World

14 Dead, Buildings Collapse as Major Quake Hits Turkey, Greece

by Staff Writer
October 30, 2020
Refugees in the Mediterranean
Featured

EU Border Agency Investigates ‘Pushback’ Claims

by Staff Writer
October 27, 2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
World

Turkey Calls for Boycott of French Goods Amid Macron Row

by Staff Writer
October 26, 2020
Greek neo-Nazi leader Nikos Michaloliakos
World

Greek Court Orders Neo-Nazi Leaders to Begin Jail Terms

by Staff Writer
October 22, 2020
Smoke and flames rise from a forest area near Samos migrant camp.
Refugees

Thirteen Detained After Fire Near Second Greek Camp

by Staff Writer
September 16, 2020
Migrants escaping the Moria camp
Refugees

Thousands Homeless as Blaze Guts Greece’s Main Migrant Camp

by Staff Writer
September 10, 2020
Next Post
Catalonia, Catalan, Catalan independence, Catalan referendum, Spain, Guardia Civil

Catalonia VS. Kosovo: How Different Are the Cases?

Zimbabwe’s Incoming Leader Mnangagwa Departs South Africa

Zimbabwe's Incoming Leader Mnangagwa Departs South Africa

Recommended

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

UN Rights Office Urges Navalny’s Immediate Release

January 18, 2021
The filing was submitted by Justice Department lawyers on Thursday, January 14.

US Rioters Sought to ‘Capture and Assassinate’ Lawmakers at Capitol: Prosecutors

January 15, 2021
Biden proposes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Biden Unveils $1.9 Tn Economic Plan as US Recovery Buckles

January 14, 2021
Senegalese soldiers from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, July 24, 2019.

UN Peacekeeper Killed in Mali, Seven Wounded: Spokesman

January 13, 2021
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

January 13, 2021

Opinion

President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

January 13, 2021
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

Riots at Capitol Hill: Darkness Before the Dawn?

January 8, 2021
Volunteers are given the Moderna vaccine on August 5, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan.

Who’s First-in-Line for the Vaccine? A Classic Problem in Medical Ethics

December 30, 2020
A sorghum farmer inspects her small grains crop thriving in the dry conditions in March in the Mutoko rural area of Zimbabwe

The 10-Year Food Systems Revolution Must Start Now

December 22, 2020
Playing the Un-Naming Game in New York Is Harder Than It Seems

Pandenomics: The High Cost of Living While Undocumented in the United States

December 22, 2020
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post