Alarming rise in attacks for Greek immigrants

Alarming rise in attacks for Greek immigrants
Published:  12 Jul at 9 AM
A well-known human rights organisation has urged the new government in Greece to try and curb the “alarming” rise in attacks against African and Asian immigrants, including violent attacks by gangs on pregnant women and teenage boys.

In a hundred-page report by Human Rights Watch, the US-based organisation said that xenophobic attacks, including serious beatings and stabbings, in Athens have gone up in the last two years. It has urged the government to come up with a national strategy in order to tackle race-related crime, including surveillance methods used to combat terrorism and obligatory police officer training.

The author and lead researcher of the report Judith Sunderland said that it’s shocking to see such a level of violence, of that brutality and frequency in a European country. She pointed out that people are now faced with a daily risk of being attacked.

Ms Sunderland went on to say that they interviewed 79 asylum seekers and migrants and 59 of those had experienced some type of attack, 51 of which had caused actual harm. She added that they feel the whole story is still not being told because many people choose not to report the violence as undocumented migrants are scared they will be deported.