Greek Human Rights Report Highlights Deep Poverty and Discrimination Facing Roma Communities

Greece's National Committee for Human Rights released a comprehensive study describing Roma communities as invisible, excluded and entrenched in poverty. It connects daily hardships to institutional failures, citing a recent violent clash at the 1st Kindergarten Anō Liosion as an example of mistrust and tension. Data show that 83% of Roma across Europe live in overcrowded housing, with Greece showing especially poor conditions and no measurable progress over the past decade.

Employment figures reveal a 64% unemployment rate, a widening gender gap since 2016, and reliance on recycling and itinerant trade. Educational outcomes are bleak, with only 9% of Roma children in preschool and 66% enrolled in compulsory education, accompanied by high early school leaving. Although formal health coverage reaches 92% in Roma-concentrated neighborhoods, real access to quality primary care remains insufficient, prompting calls for mobile clinics. The report also condemns frequent police operations in Roma camps that result in minor arrests, excessive force and near-total distrust of the justice system.