Refugee Camps in Greece: Conditions in Reception Facilities on Gender Perspective

Abstract

An attempt to objectively and comprehensively record the modern living reality of asylum seekers based on their own perspective and the views expressed by the academic and administrative staff employed at accommodation structures has been made. Emphasis is placed on women, and the common problems they encounter regardless of gender, but also on individual differences identified between female and male asylum seekers. Therefore, the present paper focuses on the living conditions in temporary accommodation centres and on the existing social relationship structures being shaped at such centres, with special emphasis on the dimension of gender (single women, single mothers). The aim of this paper was, then, to collect documented material and evidence on current practices concerning specific vulnerable groups, on the grounds that such groups still remain in obscurity to some extent and their survival is hugely dependent on individual initiatives and occasional assistance received. Our motive was the lack of comparative data, drawing attention to specific vulnerable groups in temporary accommodation centres and hostels in Athens and Lavrion and to their living conditions. Consequently, the realization of this research, for the implementation of which a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods has been employed, is considered to be a minimum prerequisite for the creation of a humanitarian policy addressing refugees in Greece, as a Member State of the EU. The findings highlight the concerns about the service quality including: (1) the lack or variations in the frequency of funding, (2) the absence of women’s participation in decision-making as their responsibilities residing in these centres usually fulfill their “stereotypical” roles: child care, cooking and cleaning, (3) the difficulties in recording/identifying specific incidents are mainly due to a lack of knowledge and a lack of staff, which is typical of the centres surveyed by Doctors Without Borders in Europe, but also due to the fear overwhelming violent victims, preventing the disclosure of facts and contributing to the maintenance of this bleak picture of the victims. (4) the need for psychological support due to problems that can become more severe after long periods of waiting at centres due to the uncertain outcome of asylum procedures hindering their adjustment. (5) the lack of childcare provisions inhibits employment for women. In addition as the vast majority of female refugees are poorly educated and cannot easily find a (legitimate) job—until after a long stay—they basically get employed at the informal home-based work sector and/or at other marginalized sectors of the labour market. The present research may contribute to the: (a) provision of a clear-cut picture of the gender dimension within the refugee context, (b) identification of the female refugee population’s needs and the detection of the problems they encounter, (c) the evaluation of the effectiveness of services and structures supporting refugees and (d) exploitation of results and findings for policy design.