(Oct 15, 2012, by Inigo Gilmore)--As the crisis deepens in Greece immigrants have been facing a harsh
crackdown by the government. And with chaos across the country, the far
right party Golden Dawn are implementing their own violent backlash.
"Get out! This is my country!", one angry local shouts. For immigrants, Greece is no longer the land of hope and opportunity it once was. In Athens they're being rounded up by police and thrown into overcrowded detention centres.
The system is chaotic and the European Court of Human Rights has recently condemned the centres for their appalling conditions. Meanwhile, the far right group Golden Dawn has sought to capitalise on Greeks' growing discontent with violent attacks, which many Greek police seemingly turn a blind eye to. "They will kill me.
I've become afraid for myself", says a terrified business owner from Cameroon. In the push to round up illegal immigrants genuine asylum seekers are also suffering. One such group of refugees fled the fighting in Syria only to be firebombed by local thugs. "If we knew we would have stayed in Syria", they say from the flat they don't dare to leave. With Greece in the grip of increasingly violent conflicts, is the country on the brink of disaster?
"Get out! This is my country!", one angry local shouts. For immigrants, Greece is no longer the land of hope and opportunity it once was. In Athens they're being rounded up by police and thrown into overcrowded detention centres.
The system is chaotic and the European Court of Human Rights has recently condemned the centres for their appalling conditions. Meanwhile, the far right group Golden Dawn has sought to capitalise on Greeks' growing discontent with violent attacks, which many Greek police seemingly turn a blind eye to. "They will kill me.
I've become afraid for myself", says a terrified business owner from Cameroon. In the push to round up illegal immigrants genuine asylum seekers are also suffering. One such group of refugees fled the fighting in Syria only to be firebombed by local thugs. "If we knew we would have stayed in Syria", they say from the flat they don't dare to leave. With Greece in the grip of increasingly violent conflicts, is the country on the brink of disaster?
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