December 3, 2012
Migrants in Greece face shocking conditions in detention centers and deepening hostility on the streets as the country goes through its worst economic crisis since World War Two, a top U.N. official said on Monday.
Many of the 130,000 mostly African and Asian migrants trying to enter Europe via Greece each year go short of food, heating and hot water, including children, said the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Francois Crepeau.
Conditions were poor in most of the 11 detention centers he visited. In one, the Venna centre in Rodopi near the Turkish border, beds were concrete slabs, the toilets were filthy and there was no light, he said.
"These are places where I wouldn't want to spend more than an hour. These are shocking places," said Crepeau.
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