Immigration Solicitors

This May, I spent a week in Athens helping asylum seekers as part of the ILPA (Immigration Practitioners Association) Athens Legal Support project. The project is a pilot scheme aimed at sending volunteer asylum lawyers to Greece to provide legal advice and assistance.

Although the plight of asylum seekers in Greece is well documented, the reality is far more harrowing than what we see in the media. Every morning, before 6 a.m. a long queue forms outside Katehaki, the Greece Asylum Service's main office in Athens, made up of men, women and children with all their luggage waiting outside the offices for a variety of reasons.

As it stands, the Greek Asylum Service is not functioning. There are no effective systems in place and people are suffering as a result. I never thought I would see the day where I would say that I am grateful for the Home Office in the United Kingdom. Asylum seekers in Greece are required to make appointments via Skype, appointments are sent via text message, interview records are not provided post interview and decisions are made without notifying asylum seekers. Volunteers and people with language skills have to obtain any important information for others.

Once asylum seekers arrive in Greece, there are a number of legal obstacles along with a lack of access to legal advice to assist them in decision making.

If you are in Greece, you have three options: seek asylum in Greece, apply for the EU relocation scheme, or submit a family reunification application. Last year alone, the Greek Asylum Service made 4,886 requests for transfers to other EU Member States. Germany had received the most requests. Seeking asylum in Greece involves the separation of families, an absence legal representation, and months or even years of waiting.

Greece is in a precarious position, firstly because of its geographic position and the influx of asylum seekers who are arriving as a result and secondly because of their economic situation. I spoke to several refugees who had been granted refugee status but could not get a job. They told me it’s better to be an asylum seeker than a refugee, because as an asylum seeker you are given money and accommodation. However, once you are granted refugee status, you are just like any Greek citizen with no job, no prospects, and for most asylum seekers, no Greek or English language skills. It is a very difficult position to be in.

Asylum seekers from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and other nations are being let down by a failing system. They have fled war only to end up in a different kind of war. Europe is seen as a place of sanctuary, where human rights are respected and held highly, but what people have seen is the complete opposite and the human cost of what has happened is immeasurable.

EU member states have closed their eyes and hearts to the situation following the EU-Turkey deal. It is clear what is happening in Turkey and it is frustrating that the EU has not acknowledged that this "safe" country is anything but.
Below I share the most striking memories of my time in Greece.

Case studies

Case #1

Lone Iraqi woman “S” fled Iraq with her husband and three children because of ISIS. After spending some time in Greece, her husband decided that he would travel to Holland to claim asylum there with one of their children. Several months passed with a lack of contact from her husband, leaving “S” feeling stuck and helpless. It was just her and her two children, alone in a country where she knows neither the laws nor the language. She had not spoken to a lawyer throughout her asylum claim, and she did not know what to say or do. “S” considered making things up to bolster her already strong asylum claim, and she was visibly nervous as she was interviewed over a period of eight hours. “S’” children were exhausted and hungry after her interview, she had no idea what the interviewer had written and she was not given a copy of her interview record afterwards. “S” now faces a long wait to either hear that she can join her husband and child in Holland or stay in Greece.

Case #2

Three families of Iraqi Kurdish descent have been detained in Kalamata, some 240km away from Athens, in an abandoned hospital. The families were caught trying to flee Greece to go to Italy. They were detained without papers or reason and no one explained to them why they were detained. They had arrived on one of the Greek islands and were subject to ‘island restrictions’ meaning they were not allowed to leave the islands and their asylum claim is to be determined there. However, you are permitted to leave if you have a medical condition and need to seek treatment in Athens. The families were allowed to leave, subject to them seeking medical treatment. One family, despite travelling to various hospitals, could not find a doctor to treat their father’s medical condition. They left Athens, but were subsequently detained for not complying with their immigration conditions. Unfortunately, they were detained in uninhabitable conditions where they had to sleep on blankets on the floor causing the children to develop skin conditions. Food was delivered twice a day and the families were forced to pay for water. Meanwhile, three police officers were constantly standing guard. They had been detained for over 8 days without any information.

Case #3

“M” was a sixteen year old Syrian girl with a baby, living in a camp by herself. Despite her age, “M” only looked about twelve. Her parents were stuck in Turkey and she had left her abusive husband in Athens. She was awaiting a decision on EU relocation, it had been months and she is yet to hear anything from the authorities. She asked me, “If they offer me Bulgaria, should I accept?” I advised her about her rights but could not assist her in making such a decision.

In these summer months I fear for the plight of asylum seekers who will be making treacherous journeys to Europe.

Sondos is a Trainee Solicitor who joined Duncan Lewis in 2015. She specialises in asylum and human rights work and have particular expertise in cases involving stateless persecution, asylum-seeking children, human trafficking and exclusion from the Refugee Convention. Throughout 2016 and 2017, Sondos was involved with assisting unaccompanied minors in Calais. She is currently volunteering with ILPA Athens Legal Support pilot project.