INTEGRATION IN GREECE
Aug 8th, 2007 by kendi
The idea of integration is a very controversial one, in a sense because one is not sure exactly what should obtain in any country. Some people have argued that immigrants can never be integrated until the second generation. In other words if you migrate to a country, it’s very difficult to be fully integrated but your children should be.
In Greece the lack of legal status of so many immigrants is a considerable problem to even talk about the process of Integration. So it’s not only the lack of legal status, it’s also the intermittent nature of sometimes having a legal document and sometimes not.
If this is not sorted out, by the Greek State having a more flexible and open policy. Integration will proceed very slowly, much more poorly in Greece than any other European Union country.
If the law has clearly defined who a migrant is, one who is without Greek citizenship and under the UN convention rule, someone who has been away from his or her country for more than one year. The big question is why the policy of the Greek state makes it almost impossible for the migrant population to fully integrate.
The unfortunate part is lack of knowledge on the exact number of immigrants that are employed in the labour sector as the census of 2001 was a rough estimate. The census showed that Egyptians were in the majority excluding other African Nationals who may have overstayed their visas or study documents or are here with other documents. Greece does not release the data but the high visibility of African migrants may be just the exact opposite. There is a possibility of overestimation.
The policy of the European Union on migration(African) is not understood as only national policies exist. The existing policy is on policing the borders relating primarily to the Mediterranean. This cannot be effective as people will find a way to migrate if they want to.
Most Mediterranean countries face constant problems in this area. Spain has tried to address the issue, which is finding ways for people to legally migrate. Now, it directly accepts skilled labour from Mauritania and other West African countries. A move opposed by the rest of Europe.
Britain has the history of encouraging medical migration which it is now stopping because it’s realized how disastrous it is for African countries who are losing their medical personnel.
The debate on what should be done about migration has become complex and one wonders if progress will really be made. With increased emphasis on regional issues, maybe the debate should be on Europe as a continent and Africa as a coherent continent.