Introduction WELCOME ADDRESS The Situation of Migrants in Greece Paola Borghi, i-Red - Institute for Rights, Equality and Diversity In recent years, Greece has experienced a socio-economic and political crisis which has caused high unemployment, widespread destitution and the introduction of draconian austerity measures affecting all sectors of the economy. The financial implications of the global economic crisis have dominated the agenda of the Greek government, with little to no focus on the human implications of the financial crisis. On 3 December 2012, over 90 participants representing civil society organizations, professionals, practitioners, advocates, activists, journalists, donors and migrant communities attended a workshop in Athens entitled “The silent humanitarian crisis in Greece: Devising strategies to improve the situation of migrants in Greece”. This event was organised by PICUM, i-RED Institute for Rights, Equality and Diversity, Greek Council for Refugees, Doctors of the World Greece, and Amnesty International - Greece Section. The workshop provided a forum for organisations working on migrants’ rights in Greece to come together and identify allies and opportunities for action amidst the complex political, social and economic situation, in order to improve the lives of migrants in Greece. The key omission of the human impact of the financial crisis has gravely impacted the human rights of both Greek citizens as well as migrants, particularly those migrants with irregular migration status. Migrants have become further excluded from accessing public services, pushing them into destitution, exclusion and isolation. Overview of the Report This report is based on the presentations and discussions of the workshop. The different chapters of this report reflect the thematic plenary sessions complemented by group discussions in thematic parallel workshop sessions. Civil society organisations are working tirelessly to alleviate what has become a life-threatening situation for many migrants. They struggle to defend the rights of migrants in border regions, detention centres and in major Greek cities, as they work with extremely restrained funds and under constant threat of assault from anti-migrant groups such as the Golden Dawn. Chapter 1 sets the context of the situation of migrants in Greece and outlines the challenges and limitations in ensuring access to basic human rights for all migrants. Chapter 2 sheds light on the violations of migrants’ rights in the existing asylum policy, in detention and at the European Union’s borders. The severe economic crisis has perpetuated growing anti-migrant sentiment and paved the way for mainstream society to close its eyes to systematic attacks against migrants. Police forces have been tolerating and in certain incidences have taken part in assaults against migrants orchestrated by the Golden Dawn, a right wing extremist party that incites hatred and violence against migrants.1 Issues relating to racist violence and the lack of accountability of the police force are discussed in Chapter 3. The last two chapters present practical elements to support NGOs advocating for the rights of migrants in Greece. Chapter 4 presents the use of strategic litigations as a means of raising awareness and developing case work whilst Chapter 5 highlights the importance of communication work and provides tips to developing an effective communication strategy which is crucial to communicating a strong and concise message and mission statement to potential funders. 4 1 Several instances of physical attacks have been ‘claimed’ by the racist party Global Dawn and seem to be tolerated by the Greek police force. See Amnesty International, Police violence in Greece, Not Just ‘Isolated Incidents (2012) 5