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Marina Nikolova

Various factors are hampering immigrants or impeding their access to health services not only in Greece. Trained "cultural" mediators entered Greek hospitals a few months ago for the first time to translate into the immigrants’ native languages ​​and help them to overcome the bureaucratic procedures while in hospital or in the process of health examinations. "Health is a basic good that should benefit citizens and in times of crisis we need to emphasize this not only in words but also to apply it through policies and practices," said Anna Dalara during the Pan-European Conference on the Integration of Immigrants: “Good practices in the sectors of health, welfare and social security” in Athens.

Dalara announced that a presidential decree is expected to be signed in the coming days to introduce a regime of tolerance, which will include all asylum seeking immigrants who can not take refugee status and can not go back to their countries, because Greece does not have bilateral agreements with them. It is expected that this decision will contribute to the fight of the Greeks against working on the "black", giving them chance to become legal, to pay social securities and to have access to health services in order not to be easy targets of exploitation. On the other hand, there will be punishments for all who benefit from the work on the "black" for low payment, Dalara said.

"Other things could be done such as providing access to education and to begin to use certain real estates within the program for regeneration of certain neighbourhoods by making overnight dormitories... European countries should share the burden of these people (illegal migrants – author’s note) as they are partially responsible for their state, because the people cross oceans with the help of traffickers to secure their basic human right, which is access to health, education and security," said the former minister. Europe does not meet the immigration by planning policies and migration is part of what Europe becomes, said Theodoros Papadopoulos from the University of Bath.

It is interesting that the immigrants are discouraged as the time goes by and stop to be interested in having health and retirement insurances, it is clear from the lecture of Prof. Iordanis Psimmenos from the Panteion University in Athens. A recent survey he and his team of scientists made between 2005 and 2009 among women from Albania and Ukraine who work as domestic helpers shows that they tried to enter the health system in the beginning and this is no longer their priority ten years later. Currently, the research of Prof. Psimmenos’ team is focusing on the cultural factors and views of women influencing this change.

40% of migrants move to neighbouring countries and only 37% depart from developing countries to the developed world, according to the data of the International Organisation of Migration, said Mariya Samuilova. The reasons for migration in Europe are globalization, advanced age, climate change, inequality, and migrants are the first affected by the economic crisis as the risk of being exploited increases, said Samuilova. Circumstances connected with migration put people at risk, which in turn causes various problems with health and access to hospitals.