Turin's CIE - International University College of Turin

Nevertheless, it is also relevant to note that one detainee reported a completely opposite view of
the medical situation inside the CIE, though it is important to bear in mind that this particular
detainee had never actually needed medical care inside CIE: “I think people are well-treated. If
the person isn’t feeling well, they take them to the hospital” (Interview 24). A second detainee also
expressed her satisfaction and relief for the way an illness she had when she entered the CIE
was proactively treated by the CIE medical staff.
We would like to conclude this section with a final remark about the consequences that CIE
detention has on detainees’ physical health. A very common negative effect is drastic weight
loss. Three detainees reported shocking weight losses of between fifteen to even twenty-five
kilos: “When I left prison I was 72 kilos. [...] [Now] I cannot eat. [...] I have lost weight, now I’m 55
kilos and I always have a stomach ache” (Interview 14). One detainee also reported about the
worsening of his previous illnesses, in particular blood pressure, asthma and liver problems.
3. RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEDICAL STAFF
Relationships between detainees and medical staff are complex and multi-faceted, being
diversely characterised by both positive and negative aspects. With respect to the latter, some
detainees complained about a lack of communication: “Nobody tells me anything about my
health. [...] I’ve always had a stomach ache. I was given an injection but after that they didn’t tell
me anything” (Interview 14). Other detainees emphasised the general lack of interest on the part
of CIE staff: six interviewees alleged that both Red Cross and medical personnel do not really
care about detainees’ health conditions: “It would be enough for me to see that they do something
when I complain about a toothache, instead of leaving me with my pain for half a day, just waiting”
(Interview 18). As a matter of fact, an NGO worker commented: “A major problem that all
detainees report, not only in Turin’s CIE, is a lack of attention to their medical care needs”
(Interview 29).
Several professionals and volunteers highlighted strong concerns about the lack of mutual trust
between doctors and detainees. Given the fiduciary relationship between a doctor and a patient,
and the intrinsic importance of trust between them, this problem takes on added dimensions.
An NGO worker’s seemingly accurate assessment of the situation noted that:
“In all the centres we visited we noticed a reciprocal lack of trust between detainees and
doctors. There is a guard-detainee relationship that overlaps with the doctor-patient
relationship. But these are two different kinds of relationships, which should remain separate.
And obviously the doctor-patient relationship, being the weakest one, suffers from this
situation. It may happen that a doctor underestimates a problem because he is stuck in a
“defensive” position. On the one hand doctors fear simulations, on the other hand detainees
complain about this lack of attention towards their health problems” (Interview 29).
Other interviewees focused on the potential risks stemming from the conflict between alleged
fake simulations from detainees on the one hand and a lack of attention from medical staff on
the other hand:
“For example, there are detainees who are really ill and detainees who pretend to be ill just
to be taken to the hospital in the hope of being released, and for the medical staff it is not
easy to distinguish between these two cases. Sometimes they do not understand who is
feeling really bad; they say he’s lying, he’s telling stories, while he might not be and this
causes anger and frustration among detainees and staff as well” (Interview 2);
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