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MSF in Greece, 2008
Field Staff: 6
Reason for Intervention:
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Greece is a crossroads joining Asia, Africa, and Europe. In recent years the number of people arriving in Greece from the Middle East and Asia has rapidly increased, mainly due to armed conflicts and political instability in the migrants’ countries of origin. Most of the people arriving without papers are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Somalia, and among them are a significant number of unaccompanied children.
The migrants are using Greece mainly as a passage to Europe. Their common intention is to be forwarded to Italy and then to other European countries, but the Greek authorities systematically refuse to grant them refugee status. More than 25,000 applications were submitted in 2007, but only eight asylum seekers received refugee status.
Following an overall review of the situation, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) decided to conduct an exploratory mission in February. The results highlighted the problems faced by undocumented migrants. These included limited or no access to healthcare services, difficult living conditions, lack of special measures for vulnerable groups such as women and children, absence of mental-health services, and inadequate provision inside the government detention centers and the makeshift migrant camp in Patra.
In June, MSF started work at the detention center of Lesvos island and at the port landing point, providing medical, psychological, and humanitarian assistance. However, MSF decided to end the intervention in September due to limited access to the detention center, which severely affected efforts to provide medical assistance and improve the undocumented migrants’ living conditions. "There were many occasions when the medical team had to examine patients through bars, since the migrants were not allowed to leave the rooms," explained Yorgos Karagiannis, head of the MSF mission in Greece. Despite the limited access, MSF carried out more than 1,700 consultations at the Lesvos detention center, addressing pathologies such as respiratory infection, dermatological disease, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.
Makeshift migrant camp in Patras
Patras is the main exit port to Italy. During the past 10 years there has been a constant influx of migrants crossing to Italy hidden inside trucks. The makeshift migrant camp in Patra is a shanty town of cardboard, plastic, and wood structures that have no heating or electricity. It hosts mainly people from Afghanistan and Iraq. In May, MSF opened a clinic inside the camp, providing primary healthcare services and psychosocial support to the undocumented migrants. The teams also carried out regular educational activities to improve good hygiene, sanitation, and disease prevention practices. The people’s main medical problems were skin diseases, respiratory infections, and gastrointestinal disorders. Bruises and other injuries were also common, resulting from migrants’ frequent attempts to board ships leaving the port, or from resisting arrest. By the end of December, MSF teams had carried out 6,000 consultations, and more than 400 cases were referred to the local hospital.
MSF has worked in Greece since 2008.