Social Work & Society ▪▪▪ A. Fili, V. Xythali: The Continuum of Neglect: Unaccompanied Minors in Greece seeking asylum, as they are often unaware of who their guardian is. Legal representation is a problem for older children too, who have no means to prepare for an asylum interview, thus reducing their chances of being granted refugee status. Similar to many adults, who end up asking for asylum while in detention, detained children depend on the police’s discretion to inform them about their asylum rights. Children who cannot or decide not to apply for asylum remain outside any system for the care of minors, pointing to related issues of trafficking and criminality. 3.5 Access to basic rights All minors, accompanied or not, regardless of their legal status, are guaranteed unhindered access to public health services as provided by Bulletin Υ4α/οικ.45610 2.5.2012 and Law 20 4251/2014 - art. 26 . In addition, Law 4251/2014 – art. 21 par. 7 & 8 enables all minors’ enrollment to public schools even without legal documents, which is a requirement for Greek nationals. Despite these unambiguous legal provisions, the majority of UAM are not 21 integrated in the educational system. This could be attributed to a number of reasons . There are very few intercultural schools and those that exist are located in Athens. What is more alarming is that a large part of the minors, are either illiterate or have few years of schooling. Moreover, the lack of effective guardians, whose consent is needed for enrolment, impairs their access to education. Finally, yet importantly, the majority of minors decides not to go to school because their priority is to secure employment. Refugee children represent a risk of a lost generation as they are stuck in camps in Greece. 22 This became headlines following a decision by the Ministry of Education to create a special educational program for refugee children living in temporary camps across the country. The program foresaw reception classes in the afternoon (14:00-18:00) to take place in local schools separately from Greek students, while they integrate. This was met with mixed reactions. Notwithstanding a much-celebrated moment by some locals, there were also reported incidents of Greek parents who padlocked entrance gates to keep the refugee children away citing health reasons and lack of information by authorities. These xenophobic reactions are in line with a widespread anti-immigrant rhetoric that sees immigration as an economic and social burden (Voutira 2013). In this context, access to healthcare and the freedom of practicing their religion has become problematic. Notwithstanding general provisions (articles 15-17 of P.D.72 266/1999 103 and 12 and 14 of P.D. 220/2007) that stipulate that asylum seekers receive free medical care, communication difficulties, poor understanding of relevant laws, and a general attitude that views immigrants as carrying infectious diseases, hinder their access to free health services. Furthermore, in the sheer absence of places of worship in Athens, other than the official Greek one, most of the children find it difficult to practice their religion while in the country. 20 Law N° 4251/2014 enacts the Code of Immigration and Social Integration, and other provisions. The first part refers to transit of persons through borders and residence of third-country nationals on Greek territory. The second part describes provisions with regard to residence permits granted within the framework of the European Union law and other implementing provisions. The third and final part provides the framework for social integration. 21 http://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/greece/reception-conditions/employment-education/accesseducation 22 http://www.kathimerini.gr/875388/article/epikairothta/ellada/sto-sxoleio-22000-prosfygopoyla Social Work & Society, Volume 15, Issue 2, 2017 ISSN 1613-8953 ▪▪▪ http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:464-sws-1264 7