Island of Outcasts
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Synopsis
Hidden away from the blue skies, beach bars and tourist nightclubs of Leros lies a shocking secret of the Greek Government. A mental asylum housing 1,350 naked or half-clothed men and women, some with severe mental and physical disabilities, but others lucid and articulate. Living in over-crowded barracks and with only two psychiatrists to care for them, the inmates seem like latter-day concentration camp victims. Some have been abandoned by their families for a variety of reasons – from alcoholism to insomnia, to not agreeing to marry the ‘right’ person. Others who have been given their freedom are so institutionalised they are forced to return. Yet, through it all, they carry an amazing sense of dignity.
Hidden away from the blue skies, beach bars and tourist nightclubs of Leros lies a shocking secret of the Greek Government. A mental asylum housing 1,350 naked or half-clothed men and women, some with severe mental and physical disabilities, but others lucid and articulate. Living in over-crowded barracks and with only two psychiatrists to care for them, the inmates seem like latter-day concentration camp victims. Some have been abandoned by their families for a variety of reasons – from alcoholism to insomnia, to not agreeing to marry the ‘right’ person. Others who have been given their freedom are so institutionalised they are forced to return. Yet, through it all, they carry an amazing sense of dignity.
Duration
1 x 52'
Definition
SD
Genre
Factual
Subgenre
Documentary Special
Producer
TWENTY TWENTY TELEVISION