The Most Vulnerable

[This 13 year old boy had been denied treatment for two days before being taken to hospital. Photograph from Noborder Camp Lesvos 2009]

Human Rights Watch are circulating this article about the plight of unaccompanied migrant children being held in Greece in appalling conditions. This follows YouTube videos, news articles and reports about the conditions in detention centres across the country. The children had been on a hunger strike to protest their treatment. This action is thankfully over but what strikes me is that this is a repeat of was said over a year ago in the SAME detention centre and that this is not the first time that children have had no other way to protest but to refuse food.

An estimated 150 unaccompanied migrant children being held in a detention center on Lesvos Island were on a hunger strike for four days to protest their living conditions, Human Rights Watch said today. The protest, reported by local sources, follows recent police sweeps of migrant living quarters in Greek cities. The children ended their strike on Friday, August 21.

Human Rights Watch said that the use of detention for unaccompanied children shows the failure of Greece to fulfill its responsibilities toward these children. Greece should house unaccompanied migrant children in open centers where they can receive care, counseling, legal aid, and other basic services, and enjoy decent living standards, Human Rights Watch said.

The utter disregard for the welfare of the most vulnerable people in our countries is a reflection of the societies we live in.

A 13-year-old Afghan boy who had been detained for 34 days on Lesvos Island told Human Rights Watch at the end of July: “I faced a lot of difficulties in that [detention center] … everything was very dirty. … In a week, they just let us into the courtyard for 15 or 20 minutes. … We got sick day by day there.”

This boy is the same age as the kid. I have nightmares thinking that a child his age could be suffering like this. It’s unthinkable. And this is a child who has already been forced to leave his home for some even more unthinkable reason. He is here alone and has only the authorities to rely on for his welfare and they are failing in a massive way.

Simone Troller (children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch) said

“Greece certainly faces serious challenges in managing migration because of its location and the lack of EU burden-sharing. But that does not excuse its failure to protect those who are most vulnerable.”

Is there any political will to stop this inhumane treatment of children and to create proper reception centres ? I doubt it. It’s not a popular issue when citizens are suffering from numerous difficulties themselves. But this is a reflection of what the authorities think of people and if they can treat children like this, what hope is there that there is will to work towards any kind of decent society ?

We have seen over the last few days (with the wildfires) what the government thinks of its people. It doesn’t care to plan for the future, preferring to blame someone else when emergencies arise. It refuses to spend money on essential infrastructure because its long term and there are no immediate votes for the next elections. No-one would praise the government if the first fires had been extinguished within the first hours. I am now waiting for the first claims of success because no-one actually died in the recent catastrophe.

Rounding up immigrants and shoving them away in remote detentions centres is easy. Almost overnight, the number of immigrants visible on the streets of the cities has dropped. This is popular and will get them votes. What happens to them there is of no concern to the politicians. It is only when decent people protest about it in numbers that they pay any attention at all. Not from concern about their welfare. They are concerned about losing votes.

This is all completely obvious and I am not saying anything new. Its all been said before by people far more eloquent than me. The only difference here is that so few people know what is happening here on their doorstep because it is not widely reported. I haven’t seen a single tv report on the situation in Lesvos or any other immigrant detention centre in Greece (and let’s face it, most people get their news from the box). Most people do not know what is being done “on their behalf”. If they did, they would be outraged too. I am sure of that. That’s why I keep bashing away at this, trying to get the word out. It seems that governments must be shamed into doing something. To risk losing votes because of their inhumanity.

Keep spreading the news people. Keep writing about what is happening. Can we come up with other ways of getting the word out ? What about a twitter hash ? A Facebook campaign ? Any ideas are welcome and any help much appreciated, however small it might seem to you.

I feel as if I cannot rest knowing that so little is being done to help those who are at the mercy of this corrupt and barbaric government.

Please read the full article here

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