Persons with disabilities and chronic medical conditions In Greek detention centers no special provisions are in place for the accommodation of migrants with disabilities. Migrants who were missing limbs - often victims of bomb or mine explosions - were detained in the same cells as others, in facilities completely inappropriate for them. While in absolute numbers these cases were few they experienced great difficulties in their daily functioning in the detention setting. Police would also often not recognize the special needs of these patients. A male migrant in his early twenties who faced a serious mobility problem told MSF: “I haven’t eaten in two days because I do not manage to run to the door in time when the food is distributed and they steal my ratio.” The needs of patients with chronic conditions such as, cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, problems of neurological nature or mental health problems are not adequately addressed. For example, diabetic patients did not receive an appropriate diet. MSF notes that the humanitarian needs of vulnerable persons, irrespective of whether they are asylum seekers or irregular migrants, should be adequately addressed. Since the beginning of its intervention in the detention centers, MSF teams focused on vulnerable groups, identifying vulnerable persons through their regular screening activities. MSF provided psychosocial support to vulnerable individuals and communicated with the medical doctor, the police and other officials with regards to other needs of the individuals that MSF could not cover. The absence of social support services in the detention centers and the serious shortage of social support infrastructure and services for migrants and asylum seekers in Greece gravely restrict the potential for effective referrals. On certain occasions MSF teams raised concerns and requested that the detention period be shortened for individuals whose health and wellbeing was at great risk because of the conditions of detention or detention itself. In most cases the police responded positively to these requests. Unaccompanied minors56 In accordance with Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Child, “In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.”57 In Greece however the protection system for unaccompanied minors fails to safeguard the needs of this vulnerable group. Procedures for assessing the age and vulnerability of minors are inadequate. There is an acute shortage of appropriate accommodation facilities for unaccompanied minors and the system of legal guardianship fails to respond to the increased needs. Greek legislation does not exempt unaccompanied children from detention and deportation. As a result minors are systematically detained in inhumane and degrading conditions, often in the same cells as adults. Moreover, the lack of interpreters and legal aid results in the inadequate identification of vulnerable cases of minors, such as victims of trafficking.58 The total number of unaccompanied minors in Greece remains unknown. The poor registration and follow up of unaccompanied minors does not allow for the exact calculation of their number. Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimates the number of unaccompanied minors who entered Greece in an irregular manner during 2008 at approximately 1,000.59 Very few of those apply for asylum. An official procedure for age determination is not in place and the registration of unaccompanied minors by the police during arrest can be problematic. MSF teams often identified minors who were registered as adults in the detention centers of Filakio and Venna. Some of the minors told us that they gave their correct age to the police; some admitted that they told the police that they were over 18. Some of the minors also told MSF that, although they noticed they were being registered as adults, they were too afraid to ask the police to rectify their recorded age. It should be noted that the police register migrants’ personal data without any interpreters and thus mistakes are likely to occur. However, even when MSF teams raised obvious mistakes with the police, such as the recording of 12 year-old boys as adults, these were usually not corrected. 24