What happens when they all want in?
Greece was always a land of emigrants.
Since the 1990s however, and mostly due to the collapse of communism, the flow of people has been reversed to where Greece now has become a magnet to hundreds of thousands of people from all around the world. What started out as a trickle of mostly Albanians and Greeks from Northern Epirus, later become a flood of eastern Europeans, Kurds and expatriate Greeks. In addition, immigrants are now also coming into the country from Africa, Pakistan, and Russia.
With this unexpected influx of people, issues unimaginable just a short time ago have stormed to the forefront of national debate. How will Greece accommodate a growing population of non-Christians? What about language barriers and an increased crime rate? How can the shortage of affordable housing be alleviated? Can Greece integrate a new crop of foreigners in an already competitive and tight labor pool?
An uncertain future
Should Greece start imposing a ban on the number of illegal aliens that are allowed to apply for visas each year? Will Greece be forced to start cracking down more on illegal immigration? Or is the solution to realize the importance of these groups and realize that with out the influx of foreners Greece would be in a negative population growth pattern like most other western European countries?
Quick facts:
- Estimated 300,000 documented Albanians living in Greece, with many more living in the country illegally.
- 10,000 expatriate Greeks per year are moving to Greece from the former USSR.
- Greece has intercepted 40% more illegal aliens this year compared to last year,entering Greece from Turkey alone.
- 15 immigrants have been killed by landmines in the Evros area.
- An estimated 5,000 diaspora Greeks are moving back to Greece each year.
- Muslims are now building their first mosque in Athens, the first to be built since the Ottoman Empire.
- A large Sikh community has moved to the Peloponnesus area.
- Polish and Chinese communities have sprouted up in Athens.
- Immigrants make up almost 85% of the agricultural labor force in some areas of Greece.
- With over 11,000,000 people living in Greece now, immigrants make up at least 10% of it, or about 1.1 million people.
posted on Monday, August 22