Laura Boldrini
«Yakub, be brave. The wounds will heal, do not despair. It has happened to all of us. To me, it happened four times. They held me down and beat me while I was walking in the street, just like they did to you, with no one intervening. It is now commonplace here in Greece, you cannot do anything about it?«. These words belong to Hassan, a refugee from Sudan, who is trying to comfort a young Ivorian at the guesthouse of Médecins du Monde. The young man was hit in the face during an attack in broad daylight by unknown perpetrators, near Omonia Square in Athens.
Devastated by an economic crisis that is worsening day by day, Greece must face an additional emergency: intolerance and violence against migrants. «Each week, just in Athens, at least four people visit us who have fallen victim of brutal attacks. Helpless migrants are attacked due to their skin color or religion. Sometimes they are even tortured» says Christina Psarra, Head of Mission at the NGO Médecins du Monde, which is active in the country since 1990.
Indeed, some disturbing cases have lately come to light: an immigrant whose earlobe was cut; another who was chained by the neck; another whose back was carved with the symbol of Golden Dawn. Three months earlier, a young Iraqi was stabbed to death in the middle of the street.
Jakub's friends have accepted this situation and feel terrified, just like thousands of other refugees in Athens. In fact, many of them have come to consider the brutality towards them as «normal». They feel that they are targeted without any police protection and without any way out: they cannot return back to their countries nor go to any another European state. «I had to leave Sudan because I was facing problems with my country's government. Here, once again, you never know who will create a problem to you. You should protect yourself from everyone. Anyone can start a fight with me just because my skin is black» Hassan says bitterly.
During all these years, very few cases involving racially motivated attacks managed to find their way to justice. Therefore, the notion of impunity permeated the country, as well as the idea that an attack against a migrant doesn't have any legal consequences. Even in the very few cases where immigrants were courageous enough to file a complaint, there were constant postponements, without any convictions.
«I am not aware of any case where an immigrant was attacked and then filed a complaint. When they come to us, they are terrified. They fear that they will be arrested because they don't have any papers, so they do not do anything» explains Christina Psarra.
The polyclinic of Médecins du Monde on Sappho Street is visited by about eighty people on a daily basis. This number is greatly increased when there are specialists on the premises (dermatologists and pediatricians). The situation at the lounge makes you realize that not only immigrants come for treatment. «Since 2011, the number of Greeks who come to us has largely increased, accounting for approximately 40% of patients. These are mainly pensioners and unemployed who do not have the money to buy drugs. »
However, tensions occur even at the waiting room. For example, patients from Athens complained at some point, because they wanted to see the doctor before the immigrants, who they continuously insulted. «The doctors» as Psarra remembers «interrupted their examinations, requiring from them to apologize. They explained the rules of the Polyclinic to all attendees; making clear that here we take care of everyone in need, based on their illness, not on their nationality."
Article by Laura Boldrini, Senior Regional Public Information Officer of the UN Refugee Agency
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