Sickness rife in migrant detention centers
The substandard condition of migrant detention centers in the northern region of Evros has resulted in a large proportion of the undocumented migrants being held there suffering from various illnesses, according to a report by the medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders.
The report, whose findings were issued on Wednesday, noted that the ailments of more than 60 percent of the migrants were a direct result of the dirty conditions in the facilities.
Of the 1,809 sick migrants that were treated by the organization?s doctors between December 2010 and March 2011, the majority — 1,147 — were diagnosed with respiratory infections, muscular pains, psychological problems and skin diseases.
?Most of the migrants we treated were not sick when they arrived at the detention centers,? said Ioanna Pertsinidou, a coordinator for the aid group. ?They got sick because they were confined in cramped cells with bad ventilation,? she said.
