Immigrants In Greece Research Articles

Judicial Activism in the Name of the Nation: Reneging on the Integration of Immigrants in Greece

Why do courts sometimes decide to liberalize migrants’ rights, while at others restricting such rights, even contrary to the policies of elected governments? This article addresses this question in the context of Greece. It explores the causes and consequences of judicial decision making in a major decision of the Council of State that suspended the most important government reform of 2010, promoting the integration of third‐country nationals. Drawing on judicial politics scholarship, it argues that the ideological and political preferences of key judges were an important influence on the first Council of State decision considered here. However, in the final decision, intra‐court dynamics and the judges’ consideration of external political constraints influenced the court's reasoning, leading to a more moderate outcome, with important consequences for the relaunching of policy reform.

Immigration in Greece: overview and perspectives

<p>The present paper examines immigration<br />in Greece over the past two decades.<br />Economic immigrants in Greece, despite<br />the absence of reliable offi cial data, exceed<br />one million, while immigration has lead<br />to the development of policies relating<br />to the planning and implementation of<br />a coherent immigration policy centered<br />on the legalization and the integration<br />of immigrants in the Greek society. This<br />necessity stems from the twenty year old<br />existence of immigration in Greece as well<br />as from a series of developments affecting<br />core public policies such as education,<br />employment, income, social insurance,<br />health care, residence, legalization and<br />integration of immigrants.<br />Nonetheless, it should be pointed out,<br />that the size and the complexity of the<br />phenomenon requires the development<br />of a coherent policy that will in turn<br />enhance effectiveness in tackling the<br />social, economic, and political aspects<br />of immigration. In addition, the role of<br />immigrants in society, the labor market<br />and the economy constitutes a further<br />point towards that direction.</p>

Diasporic youth identities of uncertainty and hope: second-generation Albanian experiences of transnational mobility in an era of economic crisis in Greece

ABSTRACTThis paper explores various dimensions of ‘gender’ and ‘mobility’ among immigrant youth from a transnational perspective in an era of economic crisis. The extent and parameters of continuity, contestation and change in migrant youth identities are analysed and we suggest that neither gender nor identity are stable categories but are embedded in sociocultural particularities both in the country of residence (Greece) but also in the country of origin (Albania). Through in-depth interviews with 52 participants, all second-generation Albanian immigrants in Greece born to two Albanian parents, the paper addresses youth identification in relation to gendered representations of belonging. The narrative accounts that we have selected and analysed reflect the emotional challenges, constraints and creativity of Albanian youth.

Law-Breaking Criminal Behavior Research Field the City of Rethymno – Crete

It is an undeniable fact that law-breaking criminal behavior among young individuals constitutes a social phenomenon which has grown out of proportion nowadays. According to Pitsela 2000, ‘Deviating behavior of young individuals involves the adoption of deviating rules and principles and especially the ones learnt within the framework of a subculture which contravenes the prevalent culture’. It should also be noted that law-breaking criminal behavior of young people is particularly important since the young are the ones who will integrate in the social total and gradually take over positions and roles in various sectors of social life. Thus, it is evident that any form of deviating behavior from the young constitutes an alarming phenomenon which directly affects the harmony of the social total. During the last two decades in Europe the rapid increase of law-breaking criminal behavior among juvenile immigrants has been the object of study of special scientists, the broader social total and the state in search of various ways to deal with this phenomenon. What follows is a survey conducted in the University of Crete in the city of Rethymno concerning the issue of lawbreaking criminal behavior among young immigrants in Greece.

The Effect of Socio-demographic Variables on Acculturation of Albanian Immigrants in Greece

Since the early 90s a migratory wave began overwhelms Greece. The majority of immigrants were from Albania. The Greek community, having a very high national and religious homogeneity faced immigrants with negativity. The aim of the present study is to explore the effect of demographic variables on Acculturation of Albanian immigrants in Greece. The sample was constituted of 306 Albanian immigrants in Greece. The results showed that Integration of immigrants is positively affected by female gender. The old age of immigrants was found to lead them to Separation, while the long stay in Greece lead to Assimilation. The 2nd generation immigrants were found to experience more Assimilation and less Separation and Marginalization than the 1st generation immigrants. The length of studies in Greece showed to improve Assimilation and simultaneously to reduce Separation and Marginalization.

Bodies of Silence and Resilience: Writing Marginality

Since 2009, the financial crisis in Greece has brought about a need to revisit the past and challenge previous historical assumptions in order to understand the socio-political present more effectively. Dance, and performing arts in general, have reflected this urge by giving voice to marginalized events and perspectives in Greek history, and by challenging the dominant rhetoric of ancient Greek lineage and continuity that often overlooked the significance of ethnic minorities. As such, the focus has shifted away from a sense of unity toward a fragmented understanding of Greek identity that is re-envisioning history and documenting the present by taking into consideration under-represented communities, such as ethnic minorities and immigrants.Drawing on a series of collaborative video-dance projects by Despina Stamos and Jill Woodward (passTRESpass and Bodies of Resilience), which engage with the subject position of immigrants in Greece during the crisis, this paper examines the relationship between marginality and dominant national histories, as well as the role of dance in (re)writing these “margins” and rendering them visible. Especially at a time when extreme nationalism and racism are on the rise in Greece, can dance provide the subjects of discrimination with agency, and create a space for them to “speak” against racist violence? How are these immigrants’ embodied histories in dialogue with the current rewriting of Greek identity and history?

Immigrants’ Satisfaction from the National Health System in Greece: In the Quest of the Contributing Factors

Immigrants deserve special attention as they constitute a very sensitive social group, facing an increasing risk of social exclusion. The access of immigrants to health services is one of the most important factors, which contributes to their integration into the society of induction. The purpose of this study is to track and assess the immigrants’ satisfaction from the health services provided by the Greek National Health System (NHS). The satisfaction level assessment is examined in conjunction with demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the study participants, as well as with the characteristics that are related to their personal experience with the National Health System in Greece. The research was conducted from March 2012 to May 2013. The sample of the research comprises of 126 “first-generation” immigrants on legal permit of residence in Greece, who lived in the prefecture of Attica. It is panel study based on “snowball sampling” and the statistical analysis was conducted with the use of the Stata (ver. 11), while the statistical analysis used probit estimation techniques. The demographic and social variables—particularly the variables of gender, “understanding the Greek language”, “education”, “participation in the community of origin” and “insurance”—the variables of “health” and specifically “long-term diseases” and the variable of “trust” are found to be highly related with immigrants’ satisfaction degree from the Greek health system. Our research concludes that health is a fundamental, human right and immigrants’ access to health services is essential not only for their instant and effective treatment of their health problems and the improvement of their lives but also for ensuring the public health in Greece. In order to properly incorporate immigrants in Greece in particular, the health policy decision-makers have to pay attention to the contributing factors.

Ethnolinguistic vitality, language use and social integration amongst Albanian immigrants in Greece

The focus of this paper is on the relationship between Albanian speakers' ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) perceptions and their language maintenance, language use and choice patterns. A subjective EV questionnaire, and a language usage questionnaire capturing domain-specific language use was completed by 200 Albanian immigrants of first and second (one and a half) generation residing in various areas all over Greece. In addition, interviews were conducted with 180 informants from the sample to generate useful information for the qualitative analysis. The findings of this study chime with recent findings on Albanian immigrants' social integration strategies. Data analysis uncovers three themes: first, language use is domain-specific, with preferences for the L1 in the home/family domain only, L2 being the language of choice elsewhere especially for the 1.5 generation; second, there are low perceptions of EV of the L1 group across the sample; and third, there is evidence for a shift in language use and competence as a result of an integrative attitude to migration by the respondents, governed mostly by practical reasons.

Family language policies among Albanian immigrants in Greece

This article reports on an investigation of family language policies among 37 Albanian immigrant families in Northern Greece within the framework of Spolsky's language policy model. Data collection was based on semi-directed interviews with parents which were analysed using both content and discourse analysis. According to our findings, three groups of families were observed in our sample. A small number of families (n=4) did not transmit the ethnic language to their children and showed no interest in maintaining ties with the homeland. In another group of families (n=12) positive attitudes towards ethnic language maintenance were accompanied by specific language management efforts and language practices in support of the ethnic language. However, the majority of our informants (n=21) did not engage in such efforts, even though they, too, expressed positive attitudes towards Albanian language maintenance. We argue that although most immigrant parents may share positive attitudes towards ethnic language maintenance, they may differ as to whether they embrace bilingualism as an asset or accept the dominant ideology according to which the simultaneous development of two languages may hinder the development of the majority language.

Public health services knowledge and utilization among immigrants in Greece: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundDuring the 90s, Greece has been transformed to a host country for immigrants mostly from the Balkans and Eastern European Countries, who currently constitute approximately 9% of the total population. Despite the increasing number of the immigrants, little is known about their health status and their accessibility to healthcare services. This study aimed to explore the perceived barriers to access and utilization of healthcare services by immigrants in Greece.MethodsA pilot cross-sectional study was conducted from January to April 2012 in Athens, Greece. The study population consisted of 191 immigrants who were living in Greece for less than 10 years. We developed a questionnaire that included information about sociodemographic characteristics, health status, public health services knowledge and utilization and difficulties in health services access. Statistical analysis included Pearson’s ×2 test, ×2 test for trend, Student’s t-test, analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation coefficient.ResultsOnly 20.4% of the participants reported that they had a good/very good degree of knowledge about public health services in Greece. A considerable percentage (62.3%) of the participants needed at least once to use health services but they could not afford it, during the last year, while 49.7% used public health services in the last 12 months in Greece. Among the most important problems were long waiting times in hospitals, difficulties in communication with health professionals and high cost of health care. Increased ability to speak Greek was associated with increased health services knowledge (p<0.001). Increased family monthly income was also associated with less difficulties in accessing health services (p<0.001).ConclusionsThe empowerment and facilitation of health care access for immigrants in Greece is necessary. Depending on the needs of the migrant population, simple measures such as comprehensive information regarding the available health services and the terms for accessibility is an important step towards enabling better access to needed services.

The Right of Immigrants to Vote in Local Elections in Greece

Legal regime of foreigners in Europe has gained in recent years after a change of populations of particular importance that grow over the years (Vlahos G., Legality of persons and individuals, Volume of the Greek Supreme Court II, 1982, pg. 25, Venizelos E., European Citizenship and the Greek Constitution,Greek Legal Rewiev EEEyrD, 1993, pg. 271). This paper will look as a host country of emigrants. The large number of immigrants was certainly due to her disorder in the Greek population. The biggest challenge of the present and future is the integration of foreigners into the Greek society, which relates to integration of a number of legal issues related to the principle of equilibrium (by country of origin) and the principle of proportion (Dimitropoulos G. A., The Constitutional Rights of the foreigners in Greece, 2004, pg. 10). Sanctions and protection of any kind of a right of immigrants is a condition self-understanding, which should always be taken into account in Greece and not only there, but in any state that is founded on the principles and values of modern democracy. Given this principle, Greece in its recent law that was passed by the Greek Parliament approved by a majority of voting rights of immigrants resident in Greece and the right to be elected as members of the municipal councils or municipal councils if they possessed residence permit required by this law (Pasok party voted in favor and two far-left party SIRIZA, and the right against two parties, Laos and Nea Dimikratia, while the Communist Party voted abstention). The truth is that this law constitutes a legal innovation for Greece, a country that suffers from a lack of modern legislation on the legal treatment of foreign nationals who were permanent resident in Greece (Kakalis P., Greek legislation, the right of foreigners, 2005, pg. 45). On the following pages will analyze the background of the establishment of the Greek legislation on foreigners, the rights accorded to them by the law of 2010 (3838/2010), which will essentially be viewed in sections 14-21, stipulating the franchise of foreign immigrants in Greece, their right to be elected in local elections and the decision of the Greek court which seeks cancellation of articles based on the principle of popular sovereignty and several other articles of the Constitution Greek ( Papasiopi,Pasia. Z, The new Law 3386/2005 for foreigners, Thoughts and problematics, 2006, pg. 43.). DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n2p19

Social development and transnational households: resilience and motivation for Albanian immigrants in Greece in the era of economic crisis

This paper examines the ways in which the Greek economic crisis has affected the social development of Albanian immigrants in both the sending and the host country. It focuses on transnational households and family development projects and examines the degree of resilience and the power of motivation that drives people’s reactions during the crisis, comparing first- and second-generation immigrants. My research focuses mainly on those Albanian immigrants who by the third year of the economic crisis still live in Greece. The empirical analysis is based on primary data derived from participant observation, a semi-structured questionnaire with second-generation migrants and in-depth interviews amongst first- and second-generation Albanian immigrants residing in both urban and rural areas in Greece.

Dietary habits of Albanian immigrants living in Greece in comparison to Albanians living in their country

The aim of this study was the investigation of the dietary habits of Albanian immigrants living in Greece for at least 3 years in comparison to those living in Albania permanently. The study was designed as a comparative cross-sectional one. The sample consisted of 638 persons, of whom 299 were living in Greece and 339 were permanently living in Albania. Dietary habits were recorded by a quantitative questionnaire, including all food categories that have been used for the estimation of the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Demographic information, data on education, work and income were recorded. Data collection took place in both Greece and Albania by means of a personal interview. The mean MDS was 32 (±4.2) and 30.3 (±4.5) for Albanian immigrants in Greece and residents of Albania, respectively, (p < 0.001). Bivariate analysis identified that the participants with higher education level, more physical activity, monthly family income ≥€1,500, those with 3–7 meals per day, those with 5–7 breakfasts a week, employed and ex-smokers displayed higher MDS. In the multivariate linear regression analysis, residents of Greece had higher MDS than residents of Albania. Also, those with higher education level, those with more physical activity, those with 3–7 meals per day and those employed had higher MDS. The findings of this study showed that dietary habits of Albanian immigrants in Greece were improved compared to those of the Albanians living in their home country.

Immigrants and Media in Greece: An Empirical Investigation for the Period 2002-2008

1. Introduction Since the Dorians' descent in the antiquity in Greece until the barbaric invasions in the 6th century AD in Europe and the transplantation of Europeans in the new continents overseas, immigration act as a catalyst in formulating the societies with the big cultural changes it brought in every era, in all widths and lengths of the planet. In today's globalized environment immigration once again radically changed the international scene and caused rapid transformations. At the macroeconomic level, the liberalization of goods, capital and people is essential for transforming the planet into a global village (Kontis, 2005). At microeconomic level, this means that immigration is an integral part of the political, social, economic and broader cultural life and concerns us directly. At the threshold of the 21st century, the daily life of the Greeks and the prospects of the Greek society are inextricably intertwined and attached organically, more than ever before, to the developments taking place within the framework of interdependence and commitment with international organizations, particularly towards the Union. Part of this perspective according to Norbert et. al. (2005) is the process of conformation of a single supranational institutional entity and the foundation of the European citizenship, which focuses on residency and not on nationality and origin of the citizens (Papadopoulou, 2006). In Greece, as immigration is a very recent phenomenon, the rise of nationalist and racist speech through the media and the reproduction of negative stereotypes of immigrants comprise a serious problem. Besides, after 2004 significant changes occurred during the recording of current news. However, stereotypes and prejudices in the wider society have not been eliminated while the image often presented by the media maintain and even strengthen these prejudices instead of removing them. The under-representation or the poor representation of immigrants, refugees and returnees has a particular impact on the general public. Broadcasting, news and films shown by the media, promote obvious or veiled racism, cultural stereotypes or snapshot, confirm and often reinforce existing prejudices, which may cause or aggravate social attitudes that lead to discrimination, racism and social exclusion. Furthermore, the represented by the increasing number of the social groups, maintains relationship mistrust with the national media: there are few personalities, articles, stories and issues that concern them. This leads to further social exclusion and marginalization. The introduction of the concept of diversity in the media every day has a significant impact on the perceptions and attitudes of viewers and listeners. It will provide to the members of different social groups positive roles models and will offer a greater and more balanced picture of these groups, as well as a more accurate view of society in which they live. Both aspects are important to ensure a more respected position in Greek society for the immigrants and refugees and limiting outbreaks of racism and xenophobia. Furthermore, the presentation of public persons of different social groups will motivate positively the young people who come from families of immigrants or refugees (Vrakopoulou, 2004). 2. Media and Immigrants in Greece Observing the media, since the phenomenon of immigration became part of the social reality of our country, a fundamental conclusion was derived. This conclusion is that the press, broadcasting and the news about immigrants and their lives in our country, can be classified into two broad categories. The first group relates to airings and reports that predict calamities regarding the presence of immigrants in our country. The prediction of impeding calamities regarding immigrants is the main characteristic of the programmes that: (a) present the increase in crime as a result of the increasing number of immigrants and (b) consider immigrants as the main cause of the increasing unemployment in Greece, because they steal the jobs from Greek workers. …

Motivations of migrant entrepreneurship in Greece: a factor analysis approach

PurposeThe past decade has shown a remarkable growth in entrepreneurship among immigrants in Greece, while their contribution to Greek society is still clouded by issues of social integration, crime, exclusion, racism and discrimination. The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify the motivations that are responsible for migrant entrepreneurship in the case of Greece.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the principal component factor analysis technique in order to investigate common factors that might explain underlying beliefs about the perceived variables. The research questionnaire includes open‐ended and closed questions to collect the necessary information in order to provide insights into a variety of critical factors which determine the start and existence of ethnic firms.FindingsIt is found that the intention to become an entrepreneur depends on family survival needs, immigrant community ties, personality features or traits and market infrastructure and general conditions of the Greek economy.Originality/valueThe findings of this study provide important insights into the perceived and actual motivations encountered by immigrant entrepreneurs in Greece and allow for implications to be made to both owners and government policies.

‘Categories We Share’: Mobilising Common In‐groups in Discourse on Contemporary Immigration in Greece

ABSTRACTPrejudice reduction has been an important concern within social psychology both in theory and applied research. According to the premises of Social Identity Theory, redrawing of the category boundaries is often considered a necessary step in order to battle prejudice, because in‐group favouritism when the category boundaries change is diffused to the previously distinct identities. The present paper offers a review of the relevant research, and following a discourse analytic perspective argues that recategorisation can also be viewed as a rhetorical resource that people use in verbal interaction in order to achieve certain rhetorical ends. This point is exemplified using interview data from Greece with Greek participants who mobilise common in‐groups between themselves and the immigrants in Greece. Different common in‐groups were mobilised on the basis of common human nature, common ethnic descent and through the use of the common experience of migration that many Greek people have because Greece has been an emigrant sending country for the biggest part of the 20th century. Occasionally, these category constructions were used to differentiate between immigrants of different ethnic descent claiming that only certain immigrant groups can integrate to Greek society, whereas on other instances, these common in‐groups were used in order to inoculate speakers of accusations of prejudice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

The Annual Demand for Seasonal Immigrant Labor in Greece and its Influence on the Entrance of Albanian Workers

The paper investigates the annual inflow of legal immigrants in Greece the last 6 years, 2005–2010, on the basis of the demand of Greek employers for seasonal immigrant labor in provenance from non-European Union countries. This process is determined by the new legislative framework described by the Law 3386/2005 on the entrance, accommodation and social integration of third-country nationals in the Greek territory. Every year Greek authorities determine the maximum number of residence and work permits that will be given to non-EU immigrants. Permits concern mainly seasonal jobs and profited basically to Albanian workers. Local needs for work determine the number of immigrants on the local level. Local demand is expressed through prefectures (Greece is divided administratively in 54 prefectures). The local needs determine the national demand, and therefore the annual inflow, for legal economic immigrants from non-EU countries. The paper analyses the evolution of this demand and tries to explain the factors that influence this evolution; are they mainly structural or they are related to economic activity? The analysis is based on a prefectural level because it permits a more qualitative approach of the evolution since we can have a more specific result. It appears that some prefectures, especially at the region of Central Macedonia, concentrate the main part of the annual demand for seasonal workers from third countries, basically Albanian workers. This demand is oriented to land workers, mainly for agricultural work. It appears that unemployment has only limited influence on this demand.

Beyond "Home Identity"?: Immigrant Voices in Contemporary Greek Fiction

The unprecedented influx of immigrants in Greece in the last decades has led to a proliferation of fictions of migration. The emerging stories of migrants, refugees, and repatriates constitute a privileged field for the expression and reconfiguration of the problems created by the explosive presence of cultural difference within the nation's supposedly homogeneous society. Recent texts by Boulotis, Faïs, Firtinidou, and Hatzimoisiadis pose questions of identity, belonging, and democracy from the perspective of migrant characters, who articulate in their first-person narratives the experience of discrimination and victimization suffered in the host society. Reading these texts presents perplexing issues: does first-person or monologic narration intended to portray reality authentically, to criticize oppressive practices, and to generate empathy for the suffering immigrant contribute to the vision of a constructive intercultural existence? Do such invented self-accounts of experience suggest a conceptualization of immigrant characters as empowered subjects? Do they allow for conceptions of identity as multiple and provisional or do they reproduce essentialist notions rooted in the national culture?

Immigration and Entrepreneurial Diversification in Contemporary Greece

Entrepreneurship represents a very important element in the sustainable development of a country’s economy and becomes more complex when viewed from the angle of migration, which affects nearly all countries whether they are a place of origin, transit, destination, or a combination of these. Utilizing survey data, this essay attempts to identify the key factors explaining the entrepreneurial initiatives of immigrants in Greece. It reviews the literature of immigrant entrepreneurship and gives an overview of immigration and the profile of immigrants in the country. The essay ends with some conclusions about the findings and suggests future implications.

Examining Islamic Associations of Pakistani and Bangladeshi Immigrants in Greece

Since the mid-1970s the territory of Greece has turned from an emigration to an immigration space. A considerable number among the thousands of immigrants that arrive every year in the country are of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin and of Muslim faith. Their Muslim background plays a significant role in the organisation of their communities. Islam is a strong factor when it comes to the development of their social life and in this sense it influences the process of immigrants' acculturation within the host society. The informal worship place (informal mosque) is the space where the faithful fulfil their religious duties, meet each other and spend much of their free time discussing and exchanging views on mundane and more serious matters. However, the majority of the informal mosques are related to various Islamic associations which hold their own views on religion, society and life. The Pakistani and the Bangladeshi Islamic associations in Greece fall into two broad categories: the missionary movements and groups and the organisations with a ‘political dimension’. An examination of the Islamic associations' discourse, activities and aims shows that the organisations of the first category promote a very conservative stance for their constituencies towards the host society, whereas those of the second category encourage the immigrants to integrate, while preserving, however, their ‘Islamic values’. Meanwhile, the efforts of the Greek state and society to integrate the Muslim immigrants with a long presence in the country lack in determination and effectiveness.