Europe : Hunger Strike in Corinth detention centre / devastating detention conditions in Amigdaleza detention centre‏

http://infomobile.w2eu.net/2014/06/09/hunger-strike-against-18-detention-in-corinth-detention-centre/

Hunger strike against 18+ detention in Corinth detention centre

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Published on June 9, 2014 in Uncategorized. ClosedTags: call for solidarity, corinth, detention, detention conditions, detention duration, detention law,greece, letter, new detention regime, prolonged detention, struggles and resistance.

On June 9th, 2014 refugees detained in Corinth detention centre began a hunger strike to protest against indefinite detention. In February 2014, the Greek authorities had announced a policy of indefinite detention until repatriation, based on an opinion of the Legal Council of the Greek State. Only recently Athens court considered in an appeal-case of an Afghan refugee that the detention of more than 18 months is against national and European legislation and asked for it to be revoked.

Letter from the detainees:

Many undocumented refugees were arrested by the Greek authorities since a year and a half (August 2012). The massive controls and arrests were realised in a very racist and cruel way. People were brought in detention centres all around Greece. Without going into a lot of details about the bad situation that we, all these refugees, went through, our only fault was that we didn’t have a piece of paper.

When the detention centres were opened the Greek government published a law where the maximum detention period of a refugee was 6 months. Then they increased the detention period to a 1 year, then to 1 1/2 years and this is the maximum period that the Greek law allows today.

But then suddenly some weeks ago they even increased the detention duration to open end periods!!!!! This step was a racist decision. It is injustice. The aim of this is only to stop us refugees from coming to Greece, us whom we left our countries due to our suffering. Now we are forced to suffer in Greece.

With the systematic and open end detention the Greek government is massacring us. They are wasting our lives and killing our dreams and hopes inside the prisons. All of that while none of us has committed any crime.

Most of us are having severe health problems: both physical and
psychological. Specially those who stayed already more that 18 months are in a devastating state and desperately need support.

Today on 9.6.2014 we people detained in the detention centre of Corinth have started a hunger strike. We feel an immense pressure due to our unknown destinies. We protest against the illegal extension of the detention duration to more than 18 months!

http://infomobile.w2eu.net/2014/06/10/amigdaleza-when-the-great-wolves-eat-the-light/

Amigdaleza: “When the Great Wolves eat the Light”

Published on June 10, 2014 in Uncategorized. ClosedTags: amigdaleza, detention, detention conditions, detention duration, greece, new detention regime,prolonged detention.

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by Vasiliki Katrivanou, Parliamentarian of Syriza

“Are you kidding?” I ask the director of the detention centre Amigdaleza with a feeling of indignation and despair when he describes us how normal the centre is functioning despite “individual” problems.

How ‘individual’ are the problems? Hearing for example that you will be held there over 18 months, for “indefinite” periods (following the opinion of the Legal Council of State, which was issued upon request of Mr. Dendias). Young people, who have nothing to do all day, who are detained just because they have no papers, indefinite detainees. And they get crazy! So when there are riots, hunger strikes, suicide attempts, let us not wonder why, let’s not be surprised. The causes, if we want to close our eyes, we know already.

The National Health Operations Centre (ΕΚΕΠΥ) has taken responsibility of the health care inside Amigdaleza four months ago. In the one small clinic, which works for about 1,400 people, we talked with two doctors – a surgeon and a gynecologist – admittedly sophisticated specialties, especially the second, in a detention center for men only. The supply of drugs is extremely problematic, and thus ‘Depon’ (Greek Paracetamol drug) is the king of drugs for all kinds of diseases! We found a man hiding under his beddings for days refusing to communicate, other mentally ill who surely get worse in these circumstances because stress, depression and anxiety are the main symptoms of most detainees. We found a kidney patient who should be hospitalised, a man with a probe, a man whose tongue was cut by the Taliban and which has not healed properly (while it is prohibited to detain torture victims), minors, Syrian refugees – all these categories of people which even with current legislation are illegal to be detained.

Dirt is dominating the places and people. Soap is “distributed every fifteen days,” says the director. But if we had to judge using our sensory organs of sight and smell,it is probably given every three months (every three months we were told, however by prisoners). The rooms are not being cleaned as a tender for cleaning companies is pending. No cleaning articles are provided. The food is scarce and people are hungry, “they give us just as much to keep us alive,” they tell us. And when we talk to the directory about individual persons giving names, they don’t recognise them, only if we give them their numbers – each of them is a number.

It’s the fifth time we visit Amigdaleza. Visits, protests, campaigns, questions, parliamentary questions, international condemnations, representations, statements, interviews, articles … and, nevertheless, the situation worsens. The addiction to barbarism, filth and abandonment leads to complete inaction and all drown ins this, all drown: prisoners, guards, directory. Because even the directory which during our first visits was much more open to arrange small improvements which were still a relief to the lives of people, now seems to have accepted the cynicism, despair and swamp. And I feel an unbearable burden, sadness and anger and wonder what else to do, what will bring change.

The lawyer Vasilis Papastergiou who works since many years with refugees and migrants and recently became a father, wrote: “One day people will come and they will ask us: “Why did you then bear all this?”

There is a scandinavian legend which says that if we have a solar eclipse or a moon eclipse, when the sky darkens this happens because the Great Wolves have begun to eat the heavenly bodies and the light disappears. If people do not cry out and if they do not cry enough, the wolves will not stop, they will eat everything, they will even eat the heaven itself in the end. To stop then wolves, people have to shout; and they should shout loud.

PS. Monday night. Just now, a few minutes after I had finished writing, I heard that the prisoners in the camp of Corinth began a hunger strike to protest their detention beyond eighteen months.

tvxs (in greek)

(en) Greece, Corinth, by Libertarian erea collective - On rebellion (gr)

In the era of the most profound crisis of capitalism, when the criteria of capital began 
to define breakneck speed the new dark age for humanity aiming to establish a new 
political and economic power, a modern totalitarianism, a large part of society seemed to 
be starting to realizes the nature of the system, that we live in a democratic regime and 
fascist dummy substance, to distance itself from the political parties and gradually led 
to the discrediting and delegitimization of the broader political system.

The social confrontation then started to find expression in the way through a world that 
recognized the need for a revolutionary society. The question however is why this social 
dynamic that seemed to want to resist is unable to make a coherent pioneering radical mass 
movement that would lead to the overthrow of the regime.

Challenge is also why these pieces of society who came on the road last season, even 
spill-many of them at least-that creates the very evolution of the system, which could 
contribute to the destabilization of an already unstable due to the crisis regime, left 
the game with a feeling of helplessness. Catalyst towards the desired result as the 
absence of that political force that could confront reality by acting effectively in the 
revolutionary transformation of social struggle, namely the absence of a revolutionary 
movement, and the attitude of regime that left through the known of practice - where no 
mass struggle not reckoned before her - that he could to restore the race of society 
within the system.

Because both the traditional left to outdated by the flow of things and the reformist left 
were once again behind the moods of society struggle to maintain a place in the sun 
controlled parliamentarism.

Thus, within this historical conjuncture marked indelibly by the offensive of capital 
against the underprivileged strata and reveals the brutal face of capitalist violence and 
state terrorism, the parties of the Left regime, rather than give a real militant struggle 
against the encroachment of right to life in the service of profit, defeated an attempt to 
give effect to the project were limited to participating in numerous ideological 
mechanisms triggered by the regime - dominated by media-betting on the confusion, terror 
and disorientation of society, thus preparing along the ground for elections.

Rather than confront the dominant rhetoric and practice, challenging the rules, values ?? 
and powers of the neoliberal form of capitalism, chose to co-manage the crisis, which as 
you know comes from the dynamics of the system, along with other forces within the 
situation was the mechanism of elections thus unfounded hopes to society in return for 
realistic'' possible'' while providing system services to regroup.

Stop extremely hypocritical, disingenuous and inconsistent with the'' reform'' spearhead 
dating back to the classical role of the left, which is the management system in the 
reproduction of relations of dependency and perpetuation of capitalism.

Stop historically faithful to the role of the gravedigger of the social and labor 
movement. Attitude proves that being more or less gear this homicidal cannibal system and 
have no interest in the overthrow, to gnaw that'' excess'' of the feast. Unfortunately 
this is no longer an objective reality, that which battled, resetting ie'' possible'' 
through the new party correlations, proved that it was not simply the prevalence of 
policies that exacerbated poverty and misery, the brutal repression by repressive laws and 
practices stochopoioun social rights by criminalizing any resistance characteristics with 
fighter against the domination of capitalism operating concentration camps for immigrants, 
unemployed armies, armies of slaves and promoted fascism.

For more great darkness of night that the society is now experiencing a regime defiantly 
disregarding the right to life and all it can manage is the very corruption it produces 
longer have the historical responsibility to them.

Instead of shouting unnecessarily so far for mass layoffs, cuts in wages and pensions, 
heavy taxation, for the homeless, for the robbery at the expense of public property for 
modern Gkouantenamo, the rise of the fascists who, under the cloak money now openly 
engaged in any barbarism, for the apparent trend fasistikopoiisis society, we wonder what 
gave real struggle for the liberation of society from the totalitarianism of the state and 
capitalism.

Contrary evidence that function as Planted system with the mission of defending the 
criminal system called capitalism. But I know that the task today for a society 
bouchtismeni from falsehood, hypocrisy and betrayal are not unitary type of conferences 
aimed reformist left in parliamentary benefits, but the unity of action of a single 
pioneering radical movement that would lead to the overthrow of slavery.

They finally be aware that this process conflicts with the existing practice where we 
tested principles and values ??another world will be called to be present and there will 
be none other than the world currently prosecuted, detained, humiliated and imprisoned in 
the dungeons of regime and they will systrateftei and society because they will be able to 
recognize among them pure and selfless activists because it is able to recognize the 
pioneering revolutionary forces that emerge from social struggles. And do not forget that 
one match is not by the amount of mass that moves around, but from your battles will 
decide on the path to social emancipation.

Libertarian erea'' collectivity'' (Corinth)

Related Link: http://www.erea.gr