Greek police racism against Iranian British woman

By Ben Cowles in Britain:

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

British woman mistaken for refugee abused by Greek cops

A BRITISH woman was “still shaking” days after she and her family were harassed and subjected to racist abuse by Greek police officers who mistook them for refugees.

Tifa Givian, who left Iran 30 years ago and now lives in Greece, says she, her husband and their baby son were asked for documents at the port in Lesbos when they passed through last weekend.

Detailing the racist incident in a Facebook post yesterday, Ms Givian said the officers did not believe she was British and told her to “stand with the rest of your people, the refugees.”

“I asked why we’d been stopped,” Ms Givian said. “They told me to shut my mouth. I asked if I should put down my baby’s changing bag. They told me to shut my mouth.”

Five police officers rooted through the family’s bags, tossing their personal belongings aside, while her husband was undergoing a body search.

“They took out my underwear one by one, held it up, spoke in Greek and laughed,” Ms Givian said. “They took out my sanitary pads and laughed.

“They checked my baby’s clothes, his toys, his books, his nappies.

“Again, I was asked about my nationality. I told them I have a British passport. They laughed and mimicked my British accent.

“I breastfed my baby in the little hut they had put us in to calm him down. They stared at my breasts, pointed and laughed.

“This was three days ago. I don’t remember everything that was said, but what I wrote above I wish I could forget. It’s been three days and I’m still shaking every time I think about it.

“Our IDs, our legitimate work, our baby, our money, nothing mattered. The colour of our skin meant we had to be stopped and harassed.”

Greece’s right-wing government sent in riot police on Lesbos on Tuesday to crush peaceful migrant and refugee protests against the horrific conditions in Moria camp, where close to 19,000 people live in a facility built for fewer than 3,000.

The UN agency for refugees and other rights organisations have repeatedly called on the Greek government to expedite its plan to move people stuck in the camp to the mainland and to improve conditions for asylum-seekers in the country.