Greece's Roma are in their worst state in years, with low standards of work, health and education, an organisation representing Roma said on Friday. If Roma continue to live as outcasts, they are on the road to ruin, said Marcel Cortiade, deputy general secretary of Romani Baxt."They are at their lowest point..if things get any worse they will be manipulated by powers stronger than them, such as the mafia and drug lords, or they will begin to fight amongst each other," Cortiade said. He was speaking during a news conference organised with the Greek Helsinki Committee, the Greek National Committee of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.There are some 300,000 Roma in Greece, three percent of the population. Some have passports but many are refugees or not registered at all. Many beg on the streets, doingodd jobs or buying and selling used goods. They live in burlap tents and makeshift cardboard houses and lack proper education, electricity and water and sewage facilities. Officials at the news conference said the source of the problem was racism and discrimination. Roma are ostracised and accused of being the source of crimes. They said the Roma have difficulty obtaining work and building permits. Many towns refuse to register them legally as citizens and children who try to attend local schools are beaten up and sent home. "People turn a blind eye," said Cortiade. "They (Roma) pay taxes, they servein the army, they say they are Greeks and want normal homes. No one should live outside the law, nor do they want to," he added. Cortiade said projects are underway to introduce education in the Roma language, the first language of the Roma. But although some projects to integrate Roma into society have been successful, many town officials turn them away. "Some just want to keep Gypsies at a distance," said Panayiotis Dimitras, spokesman for the Greek Helsinki Committee.