The fight against human trafficking in Greece received a tentative boost last month after the launch of the country’s first shelter for victims of human trafficking. Thousands of women from the former Eastern European bloc are trapped in sex trade networks and forced into prostitution in brothels around Europe.

“We’re not dealing with illegal prostitution but female slaves,” said Nikitas Kanakis, president of the Greek Medecins du Monde (MDM). “The shelter is the first step for a new beginning for these women,” he added.

The shelter currently has 13 beds and offers psychological, medical and legal support to victims, whose average age ranges from 22 to 30. It is the first of its kind in Greece and others are expected to follow. “Our aim is to create shelters in other parts of Greece,” Kanakis said.

Changing social attitude
The launch of the shelter came amid the threat of sanctions against Greece from the US Congress for not ‘doing enough to combat human trafficking’. The new shelter, however, is symbolic of changing attitudes towards the problem within Greek society. Thanks to information campaigns by MDM, public opinion is beginning to take a sterner look at the issue.

“We took an interest in trafficking four years ago. That was a time of ‘unbearable loneliness,’” said Ioannis Mouzalas, head of MDM’s programme against trafficking. “Greek society pretended there was no problem and the government showed arrogance. We were seen as amusing,” he added. “But gradually a new understanding began to surface and today it is not a taboo issue”.

The shelter is partially financed by the foreign ministry . Nevertheless, Mouzalas says more needs to be done. Although a recent Presidential Decree stipulates that illegal prostitutes must not be taken to court as criminals but as victims, there is no specific definition as to who constitutes a victim of trafficking. “This depends on the culture of police officers and judges,” Mouzalas said, underscoring, nonetheless, that cooperation with police and legal authorities has improved.

A vicious war
Faced with one of the globe’s most lucrative smuggling industries, it’s not surprising that the fight against modern slavery is no day at the park. “Trafficking is perhaps the worst war we have been to. We’ve received threats from slave traders and were prompted by state services to back off, ‘What do you doctors want with these whores?” Mouzalas said.

These women, of course, are not consenting professional prostitutes. They are usually lured into the networks by misleading ads promising housework and other innocuous lines of work in different European countries. They are given false documents and forced into prostitution by international sex trade gangs upon their arrival to their country of destination. Most are forced to comply under the threat of violence and the well being of their families back home.

Most women are from Moldavia , Russia and the Ukraine . But more recently, victims also hail from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Siberia – countries still out of reach of MDM information campaigns.

“We haven’t encountered such broken people even in war zones,” noted Mouzalas. “We were shocked at what we saw. The first women we dealt with, we did so under threats from both gangs and the authorities, as these women were illegal residents,” he said. The stories of these women run along similar lines. Most are from poor families and desperate to find employment abroad. And more shockingly, 65% have university degrees. “Once in the shelter, most ask for books by Chekhov as reading material,” Mouzalas said.

Restoring victims’ dignity
Far from being a hotel, the shelter is part of a programme aiming at the liberation, the physical and psychological (mental) recovery and the reintegration of these women into society. A daunting task, since, after months of forced prostitution, several of these women fall into stupor- having no comprehension of space or time. “Our highly skilled staff and volunteers adhere to standards set by the EU ,” Mouzalas said.

Each woman stays two to three months at the shelter and, after their recovery and legalization as immigrants, they are transferred to small flats. “While at the shelter, we take care of security. One woman has already been kidnapped and returned to us with a broken arm,” said a shelter staff member. Another victim has deliberately gained 30 kilos in a bid to avoid the attention of gangs in search of ‘pretty girls’.

Women have come to know about the shelter in different ways. “Some are brought to us by the police. Others come here through word of mouth. Others still, read helpline stickers in public toilets and clubs. There have also been cases of clients bringing victims to us after having falling in love,” Mouzalas noted.

Following their rescue and recovery, victims are given two choices: they can return to their country of origin or remain, legally, in Greece. “They are not deported but allowed to return with dignity, and we make sure they don’t fall into the hands of traffickers again. MDM also helps women re-establish contact with their families. “We found the parents of one woman in Moldavia who had not heard from their daughter for over two years and thought she was dead.” Mouzalas said.

Planning for the future
Looking ahead, MDM plans another, bigger shelter soon in cooperation with the Athens Municipality . In addition, MDM will set up offices in the victims’ countries of origin. The first office will be in Romania or Moldavia. They will provide support for repatriated women and inform public opinion about misleading ads. MDM are also set to launch an information campaign to appeal to the conscience of prospective clients.

Despite fears of a backlash from gangster groups, the address of the shelter is not kept secret. “We chose to publicize the address of the shelter instead of keeping it secret as a means of security. However, we do have our own guards plus a security system comprised of cc TV. The police also make rounds regularly,” Mouzalas stressed.

Bonnie Miller played an important role as a volunteer and because of her clout as the wife of the US ambassador to Greece. Her help has been saluted as being instrumental in the search for sponsors and families who offer work to these women.

** The shelter is at Mihail Voda 15, above the MDM clinic.