A/HRC/10/11/Add.3 page 16 cess pits that should be cleared frequently. Community members noted that they frequently overflow causing health risks including cases of Hepatitis A, while confirming they do have access to health care. 55. Families are not permitted to extend prefabricated homes provided by the State beyond the original 25 square meters, regardless of the number of occupants. Families have no documents to establish legal residence in the settlement. Some families (reportedly 3 or 4) had applied to a government housing loans scheme for Roma families. However since families survive by scavenging, salvaging and begging, it was considered highly unlikely that any would meet income criteria. The government subsequently informed the Independent Expert that five families have been granted loans of 60,000 Euros each. 56. The settlement of Psari, Aspropyrgos is home to approximately 230 Roma families. It is considered an illegal settlement on privately owned land despite reportedly existing for about 35 years. Shacks made from scavenged materials provide one or two room accommodation for large families. The settlement lacks access to electricity and requires generators. There is no running water and community members fill containers from a water tap in a public park which is regularly locked by the municipality to stop Roma from using it. Most Roma in the settlement earn irregular incomes from scavenging and collection of scrap metals. 57. The settlement is the subject of legal eviction proceedings by private land owners. Community representatives claim that land owners have no direct interest in the eviction but are pushed to pursue it by the municipal Mayor. Representatives stressed good relationships with the police, that they are fair with them and have protected them in the past including from demonstrators. The government notes that during implementation of the housing assistance program at least 31 loans have been granted to Roma families living in the Municipality of Aspropyrgos while others are pending approval. 58. The European Roma Rights Center has accused Greece of failing to implement 2004 and 2006 European Committee of Social Rights findings that Greece’s treatment of Roma in the field of housing violates 3 aspects of the European Social Charter. In June and September 2007, civil society groups reported that 135 Roma families were forcibly evicted, some twice in a few days, in Athens, Patras and Halkida, without the relevant procedural safeguards being respected and that hundreds of Roma families are threatened with similar evictions in Greater Athens, Patras, Crete and Rhodes.17 59. The Municipality of St. Varvara, provides a positive example of integration of the Roma community into mainstream society. Approximately 8-10 percent of the population are Roma, who play an active role in the community. Municipal representatives described the relative success of Roma in the community and higher than usual Roma success in education, including some university entrants. Roma managed to open numerous small businesses. Local authorities, 17 On 20 July 2007, the Independent Expert sent a joint letter of allegation to the Government in regard to evictions of Roma minority communities in locations including Patras (A/HRC/7/16/Add.1). A reply was received on 22 August 2008 providing further details of the situation and actions taken by the government.