VZCZCXRO4917
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTH #0920/01 1791147
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271147Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2072
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000920 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL PGOV GR
SUBJECT: TROUBLING LIVING CONDITIONS AND MEDICAL ACCESS FOR 
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO GREECE 
 
REF: A. 07 ATHENS 02204 
     ¶B. ATHENS 00260 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1. (SBU)  At a May 21, 2008, press conference, the 
organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) presented the 
damning results of an exploratory mission conducted in 
February 2008 to assess the health and living conditions at 
various immigrant detention centers and camps throughout 
Greece.  The MSF report findings included: irregular and 
insufficient medical care, staffing shortages including lack 
of mental health providers and translators, extremely poor 
living conditions, and no comprehensive policy for the 
provision of medical care.  MSF provided further details 
during a June 23 meeting between PolOff and MSF Programmes 
Director Apostolos Veizis and Head of Mission Yorgos 
Karagiannis.  END SUMMARY. 
 
THE FINDINGS 
------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The MSF exploratory mission took place February 
11-28, 2008, and looked at health conditions in detention 
centers on the Greek islands of Samos, Lesvos(Mytilini), and 
Chios and the border region of Evros, as well as at the 
migrants' temporary settlements in Patras and Igoumeniza 
(NOTE: The settlement in Igoumeniza had been dismantled, so 
there were no observations for this site. END NOTE).  MSF, 
working with the Ministry of Interior, was able to get 
unprecedented access to the detention centers, although the 
visits were limited to a day each.  The evaluation revealed 
serious problems with the conditions and the provision of 
health care at all sites, but most critically at the 
detention centers in Mytilini and Evros and at the Patras 
temporary settlement. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  According to the MSF, the detention centersare in 
critical need of appropriate health cae provision.  MSF 
cited a number of urgent cocerns, including: 
  --Unacceptable living conitions:  Many facilities were 
former warehouse, which lacked hot water and proper 
ventilation.  Shower and sanitary facilities were 
insufficient (Veizis mentioned that in some centers there 
appeared to be one bathroom for 300 people) and often not 
well-maintained.  Veizis also mentioned the problems of 
overcrowding, lack of gender segregation, and not enough beds 
for all the detainees. 
  --Insufficient personnel:  While some detention centers had 
a doctor on a daily basis, the available care was limited by 
the large number of detainees and the frequency of new 
arrivals.  There were no mental health professionals and 
therefore almost no assistance with mental health issues. 
Most centers had no interpreters, and the ones that did, had 
only French-Greek translators while many of the detainees 
were from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.  According to MSF, 
this lack of interpreters had a negative impact not only in 
seeking health care assistance, but also in seeking 
information about the asylum process and the legal framework. 
  --No common policy for the provision of health care: 
Access to medical care varied greatly amongst the detention 
centers.  In some cases, all immigrants underwent medical 
screening, while in others they did so only if there was a 
particular concern.  There was also no policy regarding 
unaccompanied children who were dealt with on an "ad hoc" 
basis.  The problem was further exacerbated by the lack of 
distinction of responsibilities between the prefecture, 
police, and hospital system.  Veizis saw the lack of a 
uniform directive as the most critical problem.  There were 
no defined guidelines for what care a detainee was supposed 
to get or who should be providing it.  Therefore, there was 
confusion as to whether local directors and prefectures were 
allowed to provide certain care.  Even in cases when they 
were willing to provide medical services, they often were 
unable to do so due to bureaucratic hurdles (such as 
unavailable codes under which to allocate payment to a 
provider). 
 
¶4. (SBU)  The MSF report described the situation in the 
settlement camp of Patras as "precarious" and living 
conditions as "terrible."  Residents had very limited access 
to health care and what was available was provided by 
volunteer local doctors and citizens.  These doctors were 
doing so at their own risk, however, since Greek law required 
them to report any illegal immigrant whom they encountered. 
The camp had no running water and therefore no working 
toilets.  The structures were constructed from rubbish 
materials, and since it was not recognized by the state, the 
only electricity was that stolen from the nearby public 
network. 
 
ATHENS 00000920  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
PLAN OF ACTION 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Due to the critical needs revealed during the 
intervention, MSF had started an emergency intervention 
project in the detention center of Mytilini and in the Patras 
temporary settlement, with another one planned for one of the 
detention centers in the Evros region.  The interventions 
consisted of: a) provision of primary medical care b) 
provision of mental health care, and c) improvement of the 
hygiene conditions and facilities in the detention centers. 
According to MSF, the Greek government had accepted the 
findings and had so far allowed access to the Mytilini 
detention center. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  The intervention in the Patras camp started on May 
12, 2008.   A team made up of a physician, a psychologist and 
a logistician had established a facility inside the camp. 
They had seen almost 250 cases, mostly Afghani men, ages 
20-23.  They had also established an informal referral 
network (again at the doctors' risk) and were working with 
the Hellenic Red Cross who provided legal support.  MSF 
continued to work with the prefecture and the Mayor's office, 
but claimed it was a difficult challenge since no one wanted 
to take responsibility for the camp.  A similar team visited 
the detention center of Mytilini on a daily basis.  There, 
they were also working with the local prefecture to ensure it 
provided vaccinations to those at risk. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Long-term, MSF plans to conduct a more in-depth 
assessment into the problems faced by illegal migrants 
including seasonal workers and those who are released and 
ordered to leave Greece.  They hoped to continue working with 
the Greek government, especially on the issue of national 
guidelines and implementable procedures for the provision of 
health care to illegal immigrants. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU)  Post agrees that establishing a uniform directive 
for the provision of health care is an important step for the 
Greek government.  As indicated in Ref B, currently, detainee 
treatment depends on the local leadership and its stance 
towards the immigrants.  However, we are unaware of any 
indication that the government is working on any such 
directive.  While during the past year the Greek government 
has taken steps to improve living conditions in the detention 
centers (new facility in Samos and another one expected in 
Lakonia), the detention centers are still overcrowded and 
access to medical care, even in the new facilities, remains a 
problem. 
SPECKHARD