Athens, Greece.
In today's
globalized world, there are an estimated 214 million immigrants worldwide. Greece in
particular has more immigrants than any other Southern European country in
proportion to its population. About 11% of the registered Greek labor force are
foreigners.
Albanian
migrants constitute some 60% or more of the immigrant population. More recent
immigrant groups consist of Asian nationalities, especially
from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Political
asylum seekers, refugees and illegal immigrants flow through Turkey, mostly from Afghanistan,
Iraq, Kurdistan,
Iran, Somalia and
other countries. Since
the 1990s, increases in such flows have led to the emergence of immigration as
an increasingly important political issue in Greece.
Immigrants in Greece
Greece’s European Union membership,
coupled with its geographical location between East and West, also contributes
to its role as a transit nation in trafficking routes. As a gateway to Western
Europe, illegal immigrants are often trafficked through Greece in order
to reach other EU countries.
More images at: Kevrekidis Photography
Being an
immigrant, illegal or not, has become a risky way of life in Athens. In the economically ravaged Greece, nationalism
is on the rise. Members of the neo-Nazi party “Golden
Dawn” (Χρυσή Αυγή) have been beating up immigrants in
the streets.
© 2013
Jordan Kevrekidis
