»The truth may be bitter, but it must be told« On entering, a horrific stench of urine and sweat hits the visitor. There is no functioning sewage system; at the time of our visit there was one toilet available for 200 people. The air inside is muggy and it is stiflingly hot. Whether or not the people are allowed into the yard depends on the policeman on duty, say the detainees. Access is sporadic and only for very short periods of time. This also applies to the telephone cabin in the yard; the police decide whether and how long people are allowed to call for. The delegation of the European Parliament were horrified by the conditions in the detention centre in Samos during their visit in June 2007: »In general the conditions can be described as squalid, deplorable and inhumane. The centre was indeed in a serious state of disrepair to the extent of representing a hazard to detainees (…). The bathroom facilities without doors, to be shared by men and women, were in such a state of disrepair to be practically unusable. The bathroom area was immersed in 1cm or so of running water/sewerage and was extremely dirty. Broken cisterns/plumbing were literally hanging off the wall and it was hard to discern a functioning toilet or shower. Conditions were completely degrading and unsanitary.«32 In the detention centre we spoke to people from Lebanon, Algeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Ethiopia. Many detainees are suffering contagious skin problems (scabies) as a result of the deplorable sanitary conditions. Ill people told us that their condition remains largely untreated, even though a doctor comes to the detention centre on an hourly basis. In some cases the doctor orders a transfer to a hospital but this is often not followed up. This assessment of the situation is shared by the delegation from the European Parliament: »The main remedy for sick people is aspirin as there is hardly any medical equipment available at the centre. Due to a lack of guards it is not possible to transport people to the hospital. And if it would be possible to organise proper transport, the hospital has not sufficient capacity to deal with it.«33 We spoke to a Palestinian from Lebanon who had a broken rib as a result of mistreatment by the coast guard. At the time of our visit no examination in a hospital had been arranged, despite the fact that the affected person had been complaining about the pain and blood in his spittle for weeks. Only during the second day of the visit, could the delegation secure that the mistreated individual could be brought to hospital and treated – over two months after the injury was inflicted34. Refugees from Ethiopia and Algeria also report severe mistreatment during apprehension by the coast guard. Samos: bedroom in the detention centre Deportation orders, detention and detention conditions 23