Brothers ȃ.ǹ and ȃ.Ǻ, detained since 29/2/2011, are located in Fylakeio by the
missions in March 2011. They haven¶t spoken with their mother since they left their
country of origin. They have no money to buy a pre-paid card so they were not allowed
to use the telephone. They finally contact her that day using a third persons telephone
and they inform her on their whereabouts. From that day on, she tries to contact them
by calling to Fylakeio herself. She was never allowed to speak to her children, nor did
anyone ever try to contact her. None of the responsible authorities ever informed her
RQKHUFKLOGUHQ¶Vtransfer and their new location.
V. Concluding Observations
Fylakeio and the other regional facilities have been closed for renovations since
February 2012. However, it is clear that the dangers and challenges faced by minors in
these cases cannot be addressed by simple renovations of the detention facilities.
A closed space with guards is always a prison. Whatever the conditions may be,
confinement is always confinement, and always particularly harmful for a child¶s
idiosyncrasy and development. Without overlooking the consequences of an unsanitary
environment, it is obvious that children are more threatened by indifference and neglect,
restrain and its corollaries (isolation, purposeless, inactivity, ignorance, insecurity) than
anything else. For the children we actually managed to help, the most substantial solutions
were given by the simplest possible means.
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