The situation at the Samos refugee detention center

source: http://allileggyi-stous-prosfyges.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, 29th of September 2009.

After one more summer of great influx of immigrants and refugees
to the Samos island, the situation has not improved at all.  In short, we want to share three incidents, which we believe adequately describe the theater of the absurd that is stagede at the expense of these people.

Right now in the center at Samos there are at least 500 people. Many of them sleep outside the facility with not even a bed sheet … Many families, many children!The staff is absolutely inadequate and the living conditions deplorable.
For these reasons, and other reasons, it is not difficult for anyone
to undestand why the single social worker of the Center
resigned a few days ago.   How can anyone resist the inhuman
and blatant indifference of all pertinent authorities?

At the same time in the detention center there are 15-20 (maybe more)
unaccompanied minors, who have benn illegally detained for more than 15 days in there.  In addition, 9 of them have been already there for 55 days virtually forgotten by the authorities after many of their peers had been transported to the Hospitality Center for Children in Mytilene more than 3
weeks ago.  It is well known that minors in accordance with the law should not be considered detainees, so situations such as these defy all legality.

Let us finally understand that we are dealing with people and not inanimate ‘packages’.

Right now at the port of Vathi you can see several refugees, with the paper of administrative deportation issued by the police in hand, but no tickets for Athens. This is because, for some unknown reason, the police didgave them the paper in order to go the Center, but the Prefecture, arguing that there is no money, did not give them  tickets.   One can reasonably ask:
What is the rationale behind this? What can these people, whose only asset is their despair, do?
Who would like to have “‘indignant’ citizens on top of  the  desperate refugees?

Let us be side to side with refugees and immigrants and not let anyone turn us against them!

There are no illegal lives!

Movement for Human Rights – Solidarity with Refiugees – Samos