Indicator history

There are no available statistics on incidents of discrimination and racism in the area of housing, nor are there any official agencies to which such complaints may be submitted. No such cases were filed before courts or tribunals and no studies have been conducted. However, it is well known that there are 'migrant ghettoes' in every city, usually in the old parts of the cities where the quality of housing is bad and the rents are (relatively) low. These 'ghettoes' accomodate migrants from Asia and Africa and in some cases Pontian Greeks. In 2010, the Nicosia Municipality started to secure eviction orders for commercial premises being used as homes by poor immigrants. The premises are mainly run-down shops and small warehouses in the old part of Nicosia which had remained unoccupied for several years if not decades and were subsequently rented to poor immigrants as cheap housing, many lacking basic amenities such as a toilet and running water, without fire exits and being essentially unfit for human habitation. The Municipality has reported that without kitchen facilities, or even electricity, residents have resorted to cooking in bedrooms with gas stoves, which presents a major fire hazard. The Municipality has conducted no feasibility study and does not know how many shop dwellings there are, or how many residents are staying in these shops. Although the measures are in theory intended to improve living conditions of migrant workers, the measure will inevitably lead some migrants to homelessness and others to share more cramped space in residential apartments with other migrants. No plan has been made by the Municipality regarding the relocation of the persons evicted [P. Dewhurst (2010) ‘Evicted for their own safety, but where can they go? Over crowing looms in old city clear-out” in The Cyprus Mail (16.05.2010) http://www.cyprus-mail.com/features/evicted-safety-where-do-they-go/20100516]. In Pafos, the phenomenon of homelessness started to emerge, affecting EU nationals and mostly Polish men [B. Browne (2009) ‘Shelter plea for Paphos homeless’ in the Cyprus Mail (08.12.2009) http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/shelter-plea-paphos-homeless].