Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ATHENS2742
2005-10-20 13:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Athens
Cable title:  

GREECE/TIP: NEW SHELTERS OPENED, BUT FEW VICTIMS

Tags:  PHUM PGOV GR TIP 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 002742 

SIPDIS

EUR/SE FOR PARENTE/YOUNTCHI
INL/CTR
G/TIP FOR DONNELLY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV GR TIP
SUBJECT: GREECE/TIP: NEW SHELTERS OPENED, BUT FEW VICTIMS
BEING PROTECTED

REF: 2004 ATHENS 2199

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 002742

SIPDIS

EUR/SE FOR PARENTE/YOUNTCHI
INL/CTR
G/TIP FOR DONNELLY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV GR TIP
SUBJECT: GREECE/TIP: NEW SHELTERS OPENED, BUT FEW VICTIMS
BEING PROTECTED

REF: 2004 ATHENS 2199


1. SUMMARY: The GoG continues to make progress on
trafficking in persons (TIP) infrastructure, but has so far
protected few victims. Probable causes are inadequate NGO
involvement until now in the screening process and limited
understanding on the part of the police and TIP victims of
the protections available under Greece's legislation. Two
NGO shelters for victims of trafficking in persons and
domestic violence opened in Athens in October with close GoG
cooperation. Meanwhile GoG shelters that opened in early
2005 have "temporarily" closed after sitting empty for
months. In a major October bust that freed 31 victims of
forced labor trafficking, none were reported to have sought
shelter. The GoG has committed to increase GoG-NGO
cooperation, and we will continue to push for greater victim
protection. Comprehensive TIP developments from Athens and
Thessaloniki will be reported septels. END SUMMARY.

Care NGO Opens TIP Shelter in Athens
--------------

2. On October 13, the new international NGO "Care/DESO: The
International Society for Family Support" inaugurated its
hilltop shelter for victims of domestic violence and
trafficking in the Athens suburb of Melissia. Care is headed
by the energetic and well-connected activist Irini Dorkofiki,
whose previous church-affiliated NGO and shelter, "KESO,"
closed in Spring 2005. Dorkofiki plans to offer full victim
support services, violence prevention for men who commit
domestic violence, and pro-adoption shelter for unmarried
mothers at the 22-bed Melissia site, as well as shelter for
16 additional victims at sites in Galatsi and Marathona.
Care's building was provided by the Ministry of Health. The
popular Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis declared at the
opening, "Our cultural development is not measured by our
art, poetry, or music, but by how we treat our minorities and
less fortunate."

Solidarity NGO Opens Shelter
--------------

3. On October 8, the Church of Greece's NGO, "Solidarity"
opened the doors of its 50-bed shelter for abused women and
children and victims of trafficking in the Kypseli suburb of
Athens. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Hellenic Aid
provided one million euros of its 3.1 million euro anti-TIP

budget for 2004 to Solidarity, in large part for the
construction of the shelter, and there is probably no NGO
closer to the GoG. At the shelter's ribbon-cutting, Deputy
Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis hailed the shelter as
a way to "provide relief to the victims of modern-day
slavery." Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos
called the six-story structure a "marvelous and healthy
collaboration between the Church and State." The shelter,
which had its groundbreaking June 2004, (reftel) is staffed
to provide psycho-social support and legal advice to victims
of trafficking.

Meanwhile, GoG and NGO Shelters Closed or Underfunded
-------------- --------------

4. The Ministry of Health's Center for Urgent Social Aid
(EKAKV) opened TIP shelters in both Thessaloniki and Athens
in 2005, then "temporarily" closed them after very few
victims were sheltered and costs ran high. Present at the
opening of the Care shelter was Andreas Milios, Director of
EKAKV, which operated the GoG's Athens shelter until its
closure. Milios commented to poloff that compared to the
huge budget of his shelters, including for full-time staff
and 24-hour security, the Care shelter will be more
sustainable. Notably, the Care and Solidarity shelters are
likely to regularly shelter domestic violence victims, who
are not in short supply in Greece. Meanwhile, the most
active TIP shelter in Athens, run by Doctors of the World
(MdM),was closed in August after allocated GoG funding was
delayed and there was a change in the NGO's administration.
And the psychiatrist/NGO activist who runs the only shelter
in Thessaloniki, Stavros Boufidis, reported Oct 19 that he is
40,000 euros out-of-pocket after delays in allocated funding
from MFA's Hellenic Aid.

Major Labor Trafficking Bust
--------------

5. In one of Greece's first major labor trafficking busts,
police from the anti-trafficking division arrested 17
Romanian traffickers and freed 31 Romanian TIP victims on
October 1. The victims had been lured to Greece under the
false promise of 35 euros per day employment in return for a
500 fee to cover travel expenses. Upon arrival in Greece,
the migrants were "charged" another 800 euros, resulting in
the confiscation of their daily wages. According to the
police, the victims worked as day laborers in agriculture and
construction, and begged at traffic lights when day labor was
scarce, always supervised by their traffickers. In the
evenings, they were locked in two basement apartments guarded
by the traffickers, some of whom were married couples. The
victims were allegedly tortured, threatened with a pistol,
and given minimal sustenance. The traffickers were
reportedly charged, but neither the head of the
anti-trafficking division nor the director of IOM had any
details about the status of the victims.


6. COMMENT: Greece's challenge remains to comprehensively
and systematically implement its prevention, protection, and
prosecution strategies, translating its good police work into
more victim protection. With two church-affiliated
organizations, Care and Solidarity, NGOs with excellent GoG
relations and large shelters are in place to do just that.
Care's Dorkofiki is a tireless advocate for victims and,
despite her sometimes unorthodox methods, she has a history
of receiving many victim referrals from the police. Police,
IOM, and the GoG, however, maintain that close to 100 percent
of TIP victims they identify ask to be repatriated
immediately, so the state has been unable to offer them
shelter or protection. If police and victims better
understood the benefits available to TIP victims, they might
choose to receive it. We will continue to follow up on TIP
cases and trials, and urge the GoG to develop a mechanism
that better screens, identifies and truly protects all of its
victims. END COMMENT.
RIES