Following recent outrage surrounding the building, which is thought to be an immigrant shelter at Sokratous street in Athens, all illegal residents have been evicted, and teams from the Hygiene Service have been engaged to sweep and delouse the entire building.

Lead by the government’s new, more dynamic, policy on illegal immigrants, the mayor of the city decided to get serious. As it turns out, the building on Sokratous street belongs to the Insurance bureau of the EU employees, and they have sent their representative for the first time today. Under the direction of mayor Nitikas Kaklamanis, the representative of the Insurance bureau was obliged to cover the cleaning expenses, which amounted to ?4 000, just for cleaning the facade and the yard of the building.

On the same topic, Prefect of Athens – Giannis Sgouros – presented a detailed list of 427 problematic buildings, including their exact address, 208 of which are completely abandoned. He suggested that these buildings be cleaned in cooperation with the city municipality, even if cleaners had to enter using a warrant from the D.A., had the owners not agreed to the cleaning.

The building in question attracted media attention in the beginning of this May, when anarchists and right-extremist party supporters fought on the street, following a protest rally organized by anti-racist organizations. Then, citizens voiced their concerns about the fact that hundreds of immigrants reside in the building.

Two weeks ago, the building became the scene of a fire, which started from easily combustible trash and some mattresses, and soon spread to three upper floors. Strangely enough, the arrival of firemen made some of the residents throw stones at them, without actually injuring anyone. Several hours before the fire, anonymous suspects in a car opened fire on three immigrants and seriously injured them.

In the last few weeks, police-led sweeps ousted as many as 400 immigrants from the building they resided in, so as to let the cleaning teams to their job.  The government has already planned inspections for 208 other abandoned buildings in the center of the city, while by the end of August, sweeps of illegal immigrants are expected to become more frequent. They will be subsequently sent to two separate camps just outside the capital.

Following the incidents, the entrance was guarded by some 50 policemen, restricting the access of people to the building and blocking the access of 400 immigrants, which used the house as a shelter during night time in the past weeks. Following the fire from two weeks ago, other residents – primarily illegal immigrants - have reportedly fled the building, trying to avoid contact with the authorities. Back then, the fire quickly covered three floors of the building, after being ignited by some trash and old mattresses.

In the meantime, the Greek policy is carrying on with the sweeps in the center of Athens, which are expected to multiply by the end of August, when the first two camps for sheltering illegal immigrants – in Ritsona and Aspropyrgos – will be ready. Unfortunately, after these incidents it becomes clear that the authorities are not doing a great job applying the country’s legislature.  Cases of children, separated from their parents, and not provided for by shelter homes are becoming more frequent. Social workers admitted that they have no detailed plan on how to counter the constantly increasing number of children in need of care. According to the law, every social worker should be responsible for one child in need, while at the moment one social worker is taking care of 15-20 children, sending them to Shelter homes for illegal immigrants.