Amnesty condemns inhumane Bulgaria refugee camp

Amnesty International criticized the "inhumane conditions" at an overcrowded Bulgarian refugee camp Tuesday as more than 100 asylum-seekers, many fleeing the conflict in Syria, started a hunger strike in protest. "We witnessed the deplorable conditions where some 1,000 asylum-seekers are being held in metal containers, tents and a dilapidated building of a former military complex," Amnesty researcher Barbora Cernusankova said after visiting the Harmanli camp in southeastern Bulgaria. Food was scarce and the entire camp had just three toilets and eight showers, the rights group added in a statement, calling for "urgent action" from the Bulgarian authorities to improve living conditions. A total of 1,130 people have been crammed into the camp, which has a capacity of 400 people. "It is appalling that people seeking refuge in the European Union are being trapped in limbo in such awful conditions with winter rapidly approaching," Cernusankova said. "They must be given immediate access to proper asylum procedures and the Bulgarian authorities must ensure they have access to basic necessities such as proper food, shelter and sanitation. This is their right under international law." More than 100 Syrian and Afghan immigrants at Harmanli started a hunger strike Tuesday to protest their living conditions and slow asylum procedures. Some have also alleged corruption in the camps. Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest country, was grossly unprepared to welcome the more than 10,000 immigrants -- mostly Syrians fleeing civil war at home -- who have crossed over illegally from Turkey this year. To curb the influx, authorities have started turning refugees back at the border and vowed to speed up expulsions of economic immigrants in order to reduce overcrowding at shelters and accelerate asylum procedures. "The Bulgarian asylum system has a burgeoning crisis with a backlog of applications -- the authorities must act fast to ensure they don't have a humanitarian crisis on their hands too," Amnesty said. Bulgarians, themselves mired in poverty, have been increasingly resentful of the refugees, with a Gallup institute poll showing Tuesday that as many as 55 percent of people considered it "unfair" to allocate more money to refugees.