wrote translations of everything into English. I was not able to explain my documents. He didn’t look at them.265 The day before talking with Human Rights Watch this Afghan man went back to Petrou Ralli to pick up his red card. “I got a red card with a rejection notice. The paper is in Greek. I still can’t understand it.”266 The handful of Greek lawyers who provide legal services for asylum seekers consistently express the view that the interviews are superficial and that there is no chance for the granting of status in the first instance. Panagiotis Papadimitriou, member of the Legal Assistance Unit of the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), described the quality of the interviews as low. “People tell us they are pushed to say they come for economic reasons and to find a job.”267 Pappa of the Greek Ecumenical Refugee Program, who has been assisting asylum seekers for 14 years, said, “Our 1999 asylum legislation is better than the EU directive on refugee status determination, but nothing of these provisions is implemented in the proper way.”268 She said, “Genuine refugees have no chance in the first instance. It is not an interview, but rather: ‘What is your name? What is your date of birth? How did you get to Greece?”269 Interpreters The Greek asylum procedure lacks competent interpreters. Greek law—as well as Article 10 of the EC directive on asylum procedures—specifies that a translator must be available for the asylum interview, but some asylum seekers told Human Rights Watch that they did not have interpreters during their interview or that the interpreters that were present were not competent or acted inappropriately.270 One problem is when interpreters begin to act as interviewers themselves. “The law says that there should be two police interviewers and an interpreter,” said Pappa of the Ecumenical Refugee 265 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, B-27), Athens, May 29, 2008. 266 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, B-27), Athens, May 29, 2008. 267 Human Rights Watch interview with Papadimitriou, May 22, 2008. 268 Human Rights Watch interview with Pappa, June 2, 2008. 269 Human Rights Watch interview with Pappa, June 2, 2008. 270 Article 10(b) Council Directive 2005/85/EC of December 1, 2005 on the minimum standards on procedures in member states for granting and withdrawing refugee status. 99 Human Rights Watch November 2008