Problem of torture victims widespread
People coming to Europe speak about persecution, slavery and detention — MSF
Conflicts, wars and harsh economic conditions are not only creating human misery in many places, but also leaving scars on the minds and bodies of people.
And when people manage to escape their tough reality, they are able to talk about their agony and seek treatment, medical experts and therapists said on the eve of International Day in support of Victims of Torture.
Speaking on the issue of victims of torture, Gianfranco Di Maio, spokesperson of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said: “It is for sure a wide problem”.
“We have some clinics to treat victims of torture, and we do see victims of torture, but we don’t do screening tests. However, people coming to Europe are coming for some reason. People coming from Libya are talking about persecution, detention, in very very hard conditions. It is like slavery,” said Rome-based Di Maio.
One of the examples given by MSF was a woman from Syria who was detained along with her husband. Each of them was raped in front of the other one.
Another example was a man from Central African Republic who travelled to Chad, Cameroon, Benin, Mauritania and then Turkey before heading to Greece.
“I asked myself if any right of survival exists, if there is such a thing as a ‘right’ to survive. Was it my fault? And if it was my fault, how could I fix it? I had difficulty trying to control my emotions when I remembered what happened to me in my country”.
Di Maio said MSF is the biggest medical humanitarian organisation that is involved in the issue. It is working in different countries, including Italy, Greece, and Mexico along with war-torn countries, such as Syria and Libya.
According to the humanitarian organisation, MSF has provided, since the beginning of 2017, specialised care for more than 3,000 survivors of torture. This spring 2018 alone, 182 MSF staff treated around 950 patients. Many of them were migrants and asylum seekers coming from more than 20 countries: Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, West African countries like Senegal, Gambia and Guinea, Sudan and South Sudan.
Percentage ranges
In the absence of precise figures of people tortured who managed to migrate, MSF spokesperson said the percentage ranges between 20 and 80 per cent depending on the source.
The UN International Day in support of Victims of Torture on June 26 goes back to 1987 when the UN convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into effect.The convention has been ratified by 162 countries.
Before that, a UN Fund for Victims of Torture was established and it is administrated by the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva. Since 1981, the fund has directed over $180 million (Dh661 million) to more than 630 organisations globally. It provided essential services to over 50,000 victims of torture and their family members each year.