XVI. Surviving in Greece Undocumented Iraqis Many, perhaps most, of the Iraqis living in Greece do not have red cards or residence permits and are subject to arrest and deportation. Most of these people have previously been arrested, fingerprinted, detained, and ordered to leave Greece, often multiple times. But they stay, sometimes for many years. They cannot go to other European countries because they would be returned to Greece and be detained again. Yet most of these same people continue to express a fear of return to Iraq and many tell stories of having fled serious harm and threats in their homeland. People without documents face a host of social problems. Most undocumented Iraqis spend a great deal of time unemployed or in exploitative work situations. They often live in dire poverty with inadequate food, health care, and shelter. Such people also usually do not speak Greek or have any social contact with Greek people. A 30-year-old undocumented Iraqi man from Baghdad who says that he experienced torture in Iraq before fleeing the country has been in and out of jail repeatedly in Greece, having been caught trying to enter the country, caught twice trying to leave the country, and arrested after a police raid on a hotel in downtown that houses many Iraqis. After describing his various arrests and detentions, he said: The problem in this country is that they take you to the police station and if you don’t speak Greek they come and beat you instead of getting a translator to tell you something. If you are sick or hungry they don’t help you. You are continuously harassed on the street. The courts are confusing. The judge says you are free and then the police put you in jail for three months.288 The life of constant anxiety takes a psychological toll. Human Rights Watch spoke with a deeply depressed 25-year-old Iraqi former fedayeen fighter who fled Baghdad after witnessing three masked armed men enter his home and shoot and kill both of his parents. He had already been arrested and detained twice for three months. During one 288 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, B-20), Athens, May 27, 2008. Stuck in a Revolving Door 106