A fire broke out on Tuesday at the notorious Amygdaleza detention center, north of Athens. The hot water heater possibly short-circuited in a container serving as housing. This lead to incidents with some undocumented migrants held at the camp setting fire to a second container while others tried to escape.

Police and the fire brigade gathered to calm down rioters. Incidents ended shortly after 8 p.m.

Friction at Amygdaleza has been on the rise, with this being the second time within days that the immigrants kept at the center have revolted against their terrible conditions.

On Monday, Alternate Civil Protection Minister Yiannis Panoussis and Alternate Migrant Policy Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou decided to speed up the opening of three new hospitality centers in the Attica region so that migrants can be housed in humane living conditions, especially following the suicide of a 28-year-old inmate who had prefered death to the conditions at the camp.

The two ministers’ decision is particularly favorable to the inmates as it concerns better treastment:
* those who are held for over 18 months
* those who belong to vulnerable groups (e.g. families, children, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, victims of torture, sick people, the aged)
* those who have not had a legal decision made concerning their future within 6 months of being held

The SYRIZA government is already improving the infrastructure, medical care, clothing and nutrition of the inmates.

Background of an embarrasing detention center

Amygdaleza was established in 2012 and currently houses 1,085 immigrants, mainly from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Past reports have been  negative with the detention center being found to be lacking in heating, sanitation and nutrition. There was an uprising in August 2013, at a time when 1,650 inmates were stacked together in containers reaching temperatures of 50 degrees. Two years ago, a report that a group of police had formed a “hit squad” that tortured the immigrants being held at Amygdaleza was created, however rather than overhaul the system there was merely the removal of certain officers from the detention centers.