»The truth may be bitter, but it must be told« In this warehouse there are more sick people. The refugees ask us to make sure that one of them, suffering from epilepsy, can be treated and is allowed to leave the camp. There is also a refugee suffering from diabetes imprisoned here. 4. Conditions of degradation in the camp The detention camp Mitilini is made up of warehouses. There are four warehouses for the male refugees. 40 to 50 are locked up in each hall. The sanitary facilities are defect and flooding. A dirty brew of sewage flows through the doors into the yard. The refugees at first ask only one thing: »Please make sure we can get out into the sun for at least an hour each day. We have all become ill, we need fresh air. Help us«, they appeal. We confront the policeman accompanying us with these statements. He claims that the refugees are allowed into the yard every day. The exact opposite of what the refugees reported. »I have been imprisoned for 17 days without having been allowed out once«, says a refugee. «How long do I have to stay in prison? When can I get out?», he asks us. A question for which there is no answer. 38 Appendix: Results of the journey from 4 - 8 October 2007 5. Pregnant women, babies, small children and minors are imprisoned On the second floor of the building there are two large warehouses for women, children and juveniles. In the left hall are youths and young men from Afghanistan. We are allowed into this hall to talk to the refugees. Many of them are walking around barefoot on the concrete floors. As they were fleeing at sea in the rubber boats they lost their shoes. There are no new shoes or change of clothes available. Around a third of the refugees are under 18, the youngest is just 14 years old. In the right hall are the women and small children. At the time of our visit there are nine women there. One of them is heavily pregnant. Two other women are breastfeeding mothers with babies of around 3 and 9 months. There are also five small children between the ages of 4 and 6 detained in the warehouse. One of the children is ill. We manage to ensure that the mother and her two children can be taken to a doctor. One of the mothers asks for shoes for her child. Another woman shows us her child. It has a very bad rash and needs medical help. With wringing hands one of the Afghan women who has a baby begs for help. She and her husband – who is separately detained from the family in the male compound – want to get to Germany. Her brother in law lives there. She asks if Germany would take her in. In this warehouse the sanitary facilities are also defect. Sewage flows from the shower and lavatory into the hall where the beds are set up. Around 20 square metres are covered in it. It stinks terribly of sewage. The women are desperate for help. They ask if we could at least secure the release of the heavily pregnant woman.