---

The Experience of Asylum Seekers Entering Greece describes and accounts for the experiences of asylum seekers in Greece, their modes of entry by land and sea and the treatment meted out to them once they end up in the hands of the authorities. This treatment includes the conditions in various detention centres they are held in, as well as the difficulties they face in applying for asylum. My research has inevitably made use of newspaper reports, information from Human Rights organisations and my own experience. The conclusions resulting from the findings are that the treatment asylum seekers receive is often at the very least, cavalier, and that there are three possible explanations for this: 1. the instilled Greek sense of national identity, resulting in a fear and resentment of the "other"; 2. a rise in xenophobia caused by a sudden influx of migrants from the eastern bloc, in particular, large numbers of Albanian economic migrants; 3. Pressure from ´Fortress Europe´ for Greece to close its borders, as Greece is seen merely as a stepping stone to central Europe.

---

Louisa O´Brien has an MA in Refugee Studies from the University of East London, and is the researcher and campaigner in Greece for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

---