Search

Migration is considered a meaningful strategy whereby both migrants and nonmigrants can improve their well‐being and their livelihoods. The paper emphasizes the migrants' own perspective and sheds light on movers' noneconomic drivers. The concept of aspirations is treated as a 'missing link' that allows research into migration at its intersection with social inequalities, hierarchies and diversity. The paper's main aim is therefore to elucidate Romanian migrants' aspirations and to illustrate how these aspirations are informed by their agency and reflect their well‐being both during and after the economic recession in Greece. Romanian migration provides sufficient grounds to invoke a more nuanced approach to migrants' well‐being, which takes their 'dreams of fantasy' into account, along with their subjective experiences of inequalities and multiple belonging. This paper frames migrants' well‐being theoretically as a relational process, but also in terms of the socio‐spatial arrangements of migrant mobility/immobility acts. Romanians' narratives are analysed in relation to their social trajectories, spatial movement(s) and settlement patterns during their international and internal journey(s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate to what extent highly educated skilled Greek migrants are attracted to global cities. With the use of a novel database, we find that highly educated Greek migrants are attracted more to cities indexed as global than to cities that are not indexed as global. Moreover, the more the international indexes that list a city as global, the greater the number of such migrants this city receives; that is, these migrants prefer to live in those global cities that are considered to have the most attributes to be classified as such. We provide information on which specific cities these migrants live in, thus filling a gap in the relevant literature. Our data further support a well‐documented argument that there is a mutual beneficial relationship between skilled migrants and global cities to the extent that global cities create a favourable socio‐economic environment that attracts highly skilled migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In biogeopolitics, the key state stakeholders develop and aim to accomplish their geopolitical goals by (mis)management and biopolitical governance of vulnerable population. In this paper, this population refers to asylum‐related migrants who use or aim to use an asylum request as their entry mechanism to the European Union. This paper explores the emergence of biogeopolitics at the EU borderland between Turkey and Greece during the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020. Statistics about irregular migration from Turkey to Greece, field observations in Lesvos (Greece) as well as media and social media discussions about COVID‐19 in Lesvos are analysed. In the biogeopolitics of COVID‐19, the governance and (mis)management of asylum‐related migrants include policies and practices to let these migrants to live or die, including regulating illegal border‐crossings, everyday living conditions at the reception centres, and actions regarding the pandemic. The COVID‐19 pandemic was used as an additional tool to foster biogeopolitics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a qualitative study of youth identities in Greece, the paper unpacks the dynamic processes of ethnonational (dis)identification and belonging that Albanian young migrants are implicated in. Analysis of in-depth interviews illustrates how racism, coupled with their lack of citizenship, affects their (dis)identifications. Additionally, categorisation is reported to crucially mediate their belonging, giving rise to a double-edged sense of otherness and alienation. The paper concludes by putting forward a conceptualisation of young migrants' collective identities as involving the emotive dialectic of (dis)identification, categorisation and belonging, along with negotiation of boundaries and acceptance by 'others' in both home and settlement societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper explores the reasons why and the processes through which the Greeks from the former Soviet Union altered their self‐identification after migration to their ethnic homeland. Responding to their labelling by the native Greeks and the doubts expressed about their Greekness, most introduce themselves as Pontians, even though the area of Pontos was not a marker of identification for them in the Soviet Union. They do so to express their felt experience of otherness in Greece and to claim their belongingness in the Greek nation. Exploring this case of ethnic return migration, the paper shows how migrants select among available ethnic options and redefine them, to assert their desired identities and strive for inclusion. In so doing it highlights the situational and processual character of ethnic identification, which should not be treated as a direct function of one's descent and culture. At the same time, it shows the constraining role of available ethnic options delimiting this process. Ethnic labels are not empty vessels. They carry particular significations that make them appealing or foreign to different migrant categories and also define the discursive and performative limitations in their ability to claim them and gain national acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The psychoanalytic literature on migration has extensively explored the psychic impact of the migration process on the people who migrate, whereas the predicament of the immigrants' children that were left behind in the country of origin has been largely overlooked. This paper has a twofold aim. Firstly, it sets out to explore the experience of being left behind as a child by parents who emigrated to another country for economic reasons, and secondly, it aspires to present a valid combination of psychoanalytic thinking and qualitative design. Methods: Fourteen adult men and women who as children were left behind in Greece when their parents emigrated were interviewed about their current perspectives on their childhood experiences. Their narratives were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative research method that can offer material suitable for psychodynamic understanding. Results: The analysis of the interviews yielded the overarching theme "Trauma" and four superordinate themes, "Intense emotions," "Effects on parent–child relationship," "Defenses," and "Psychopathology." The discussion of the results focuses on the psychoanalytic exploration of the trauma induced by the early and prolonged parent–child separation and its psychic sequelae. Conclusion: Being left in the country of origin by parents who emigrated to another country for economic reasons was a traumatic experience for the "left‐behind" children. The complexities of this situation may be depicted through the combination of qualitative research methods and psychoanalytic understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explores the ways in which Greek migrants in their early adulthood position themselves in discourse on mobility decisions. For the purposes of the study, 17 virtual interviews with Greek migrants (aged between 25–40 years old) in European cities were conducted. Analysis, based on the principles of critical discursive social psychology, indicated that, in their accounts of migration decision‐making, participants positioned themselves in various ways: as career/job seekers, as adventurers, as well as (personal or institutional/economic) crisis‐ridden individuals. Multiple subject positions were constituted by an amalgam of rational/practical and affective repertoires which depicted migration as a multifaceted, dynamic and non‐linear project. Analysis also highlighted the multiple spatial (transnational, national and local) and dynamic temporal constructions mobilized by participants, in order to construct their motivations for migrating. Discussion of findings suggests that social psychology (a) can vitally contribute to migration literature, by considering ways in which social actors position themselves by the use of historically and culturally specific resources and by their orientation to local interactional concerns in the context of accounting for their mobility and (b) can be benefited by considering spatial and temporal aspects in the analysis of migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes some of the findings of a qualitative study into the health and illness beliefs of Greek Cypriots living in London. Data were collected through group and individual in-depth interviews and were analysed using the grounded theory approach of constant comparison and saturation. Two of the six themes which were identified are discussed in this paper. The findings provide the reader with important insights into Greek Cypriots' beliefs of health and illness. The paper argues that the understanding of such beliefs from a cultural perspective is vitally important for all those involved in the provision of health care to this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early 1990s Greece became one of the prime destination countries for the migrant peoples of the collapsing regimes of the Balkan and Eastern European countries, experiencing, thus, a historical reversal of the massive exodus, in the 1950s and 1960s, of Greeks to the labour markets of Germany, Australia and the USA. This historical reversal seems to identify a pattern that is common to the Southern European countries. Over the last ten years, immigrant population has grown to attain approximately one tenth of the population of Greece. This development occurs at a time when pressures are being exerted on agricultural incomes following the reform of the CAP and subsequent evidencing of the first consequences of market liberalization in the context of a globalizing international economy. This paper aims at analyzing and interpreting the main findings of an empirical research programme on the economic and social implications of migrant settlement and employment in rural Greece. The research was carried out in three paradigmatic regions of the country: a) in a mountainous, less favoured region, b) in a region with dynamic agriculture, and c) in an insular region of agricultural and tourist development. The paper draws from a qualitative study of administrators and opinion leaders. It is divided into four parts: the first part presents the main elements of migration in rural Southern Europe in the frame of what is known as the South European model of migration. The second part discusses migration towards Greece and reviews research work relating to rural migration. With reference to methodology and the main research hypotheses, the third part presents the analysis of empirical findings concentrating on the importance of migrant labour for the operation of the farm and rural restructuring followed by a discussion of the position and role of migrants in rural society and development. The final part summarizes the main conclusions of this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Out of all European countries, the one with the lowest rate of childbearing outside marriage is Greece. However, it seems that the traditional attitudes towards family formation and childbearing have begun to change in Greece as well. Illegitimacy ratio has increased fourfold in less than 30 years. It is by using the vital statistics provided by the National Statistical Service of Greece that this paper answers to research questions regarding the sociodemographic profile of unwed mothers in Greece, in terms of educational level, age, and nationality. It also tries to find out what are the reasons of non-marital childbearing in Greece and to investigate the geographical variation of this phenomenon within the country. A key finding is that the rise in the illegitimacy ratio from the 1990s onwards is largely due to the inflow of immigrants from other countries, mostly from the former Eastern Bloc. The social profile of these unwed mothers is totally different from their Greek counterparts, implying that foreign nationals who have children outside marriage do so by conviction and not because an unwanted pregnancy resulted to birth, which is mostly the case with Greek unwed mothers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are crucial nodes of global economic networks. A city's economic success largely depends on its social capital and the existence of a hegemonic coalition for development. This paper focuses on Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, a country on the European periphery. The slow pace of development during the last 20 years has placed Thessaloniki in a vicious circle. It is argued that given the significant structural problems in Greece, a wide social coalition for development that embraces a large segment of the socio-economic, political and intellectual forces is necessary to boost Thessaloniki's development and ensure that its fruits will be reaped by all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The policy of Greek authorities towards immigrants is the subject of this paper. By the term “policy” we mean both the legal framework concerning immigration and the practices of Greek authorities and their agencies regarding immigrants. We argue that this policy is defined by the commitments and the obligations undertaken by Greece as a member of the EU, but also by the number, the ethnic composition, the economic and social situation of immigrants, the attitudes of Greeks towards them and, also, the effects of their presence. In this context, the policy is characterized by dilemmas and hesitations. This is due to the attitudes of Greek opinion and concerns about the possibility that the immigrants could in the long term create problems of national integration. Those main concerns are counterbalanced, to some extent, by the contribution of immigrants to the economy. Like other members of the EU, Greek authorities have tried twice, in 1997 and in 2001, to legalize the illegal immigrants. Legalization seems to benefit both the immigrants and the Greeks. Crime rates have been reduced and xenophobia is losing ground. On the other hand, recent studies have shown that the situation of the immigrants has started to improve. Despite these positive developments, the dilemmas of immigration policy have already registered in everyday life and allow for various hostile practices towards the immigrant population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is a case study of the remittance behavior of immigrants in Greece. In addition to some of the usual factors affecting remittance behavior, it examines five factors than have received little attention in the literature: relative deprivation, existence of property in the country of origin, expectation on inheritance, stability of employment, and more than one migrant in the family. We use Heckman's selection model with survey data from 607 immigrants. Significant factors for the decision to remit are the existence of children living with the migrant, stability of employment, and gender. The basic factors affecting the size of remittances are the level of income, the existence of children living with the migrant, and the length of time in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To report on an active case finding (ACF) intervention that took place in the migrant camp of Oinofyta, Greece, upon suspicion of active TB transmission. Methods: Upon diagnosis of 3 TB cases among camp residents, an ACF intervention among contacts was implemented. All camp residents were offered two‐step screening, that is tuberculin skin testing (TST) followed by chest X‐ray in case of positive TST (defined as ≥5 mm). Results: 336 of 379 (89%) camp residents underwent TST testing, of whom 110 (33%) exhibited a positive skin reaction. The rate of positive TST results was particularly high in the elderly and significantly higher in adults than in children. Differences by sex or nationality were not observed. Of the 110 cases with positive TST, only 75 underwent chest X‐ray, resulting in the detection of one pulmonary TB case in an adult woman. Conclusions: In the given intervention context, two‐step ACF proved to be operationally cumbersome, with many residents lost to follow‐up and a high Number Needed to Screen. Simpler ACF designs should be pilot‐tested in similar settings in the future, and blanket screening of all camp residents should be reconsidered. Conclusions drawn by these exercises should pave the way for adopting a comprehensive, context‐specific and evidence‐based national strategy on TB in migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the official Italian administrative data, the community of Italians living in Athens went on growing over the years, including the last decade. What are the drivers of Italian immigration in a less‐developed country than Italy, a country which recently has also experienced a more serious crisis than the Italian one? To answer this question, we followed a research strategy based on in‐depth interviews to Italians living in the Athens area. After reviewing the features of the Italian community and those of the group of interviewees, we focus on the respondents who found a job in Athens, both as independent workers and as employees. Our results show that a great number of drivers are at work in producing a migration flow from Italy to Greece. They support the idea that contemporary international migration (more specifically, intra‐European migration) cannot be fully understood by relying exclusively on an economic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews how and to what extent the EU–Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016 has affected the modus operandi of migrant smugglers in the Aegean region and migrants' decisions to interact with them for irregular crossings from Turkey to Greece. It draws on field research, including 46 in‐depth interviews with migrants in Izmir, Turkey, a transit city and migrant smuggling hub. Based on analysis of these narratives and participant observation, it argues that the Statement has generated changes concerning the smugglers' modalities and services while not affecting migrants' decisions to engage with them to reach Europe. Although the Statement aimed to decrease irregular migration, disrupt smugglers' "business models," and open safe routes for migrants, it has instead increased their vulnerability and exploitation to an extent. Accordingly, the article reveals the paradoxical and controversial aspects of the Statement vis‐à‐vis the promises and consequences it generated in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In times of economic downturn, perceived realistic intergroup threats (e.g., labour competition) often dominate political and media discourse. Although local outgroups (e.g., local immigrants) can be experienced as sources of realistic threats, we propose that such threats can also be perceived to be caused by distant outgroups (e.g., European Union members perceiving Greece to threaten their economies) and that such distant threats can carry over into local intolerance (e.g., increasing intolerance towards local immigrant groups). We predicted and found in two studies that perceived distant realistic threats carried over into local intolerance via two different pathways. First, direct reactions towards the distant outgroup can generalize to culturally similar local outgroups (the group-based association pathway). Secondly, Study 2 indicated that when the distant threat was attributed to stereotypical outgroup traits (e.g., being lazy), distant realistic threats activated local realistic threats, which subsequently influenced local intolerance (the threat-based association pathway). Taken together, our studies indicate that perceived realistic threats foreign can turn domestic, but in two different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The present article examines the strategies that immigrants living in Greece use to cope with stigma that arises in their interaction with both Greek society and their communities of origin. Drawing on interviews and focus groups conducted with immigrants from a variety of countries, a dialogical analysis illuminates the ways in which immigrants actively negotiate stigmatizing perspectives and transform themselves. Strategies include the deployment of social categories such as those of 'human being' and 'crazy' person, and concepts such as those of 'lawfulness' and 'fate'. These were used to construct meanings of equality and inclusion into society, to deny responsibility for stigma and to discredit stigma as absurd. They enabled participants to see themselves as proud, equal, self-dependent individuals who plan actions for social change. The article suggests that coping with stigma should not only be understood in terms of stress regulation, leading to positive or negative outcomes, as suggested by current literature, but as a meaning-making effort, through which individuals transform the way they see themselves and act within their world. A meaning-making approach moves away from individualistic, outcome-oriented explanations to a socially situated perspective on stigma that studies the processes through which social meanings are subjectively perceived as stigmatizing and are used to challenge stigma. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses second-generation Albanian youth in Athens, Greece, focusing on youths who immigrated with their parents in infancy or early adolescence. It comments on family relations and emotions of love, compassion, debt, and respect for parents. The author considers how the youth balance personal desires and obligations and analyzes their individualism, particularly in planning for the future. Other topics include the education and employment of Albanians in Greece and the collapse of the socialist regime in Albania which caused families to leave.

Our purpose in undertaking this research is to methodically map the labour market circumstances of the main immigrant groups in Greece. We classify all of the Districts of Greece into three categories (Diverse, Mixed and Unmixed) according to the ethnic composition of each District. We measure how the employment status of the immigrants varies (1) according to the ethnic group and sex of the immigrant, and (2) according to the ethnic composition and economic structure of a District. In general, the majority of immigrants exhibit lower unemployment and higher economic activity rates than the indigenous Greeks. Three immigrant groups (Albanians, Bulgarians and 'Other'), which make up two-thirds of the foreign-born population of Greece, have lower unemployment rates than the national average, and lower rates than Greeks as well. The poorest labour market outcomes are observed in Unmixed and Mixed Districts, whereas Diverse Districts are better off. At the regional level, the most disadvantaged Geographical Department is the Ionian Islands, since it presents the highest unemployment rates for the general population for both sexes. With regard to sex-differential unemployment across immigrant groups, we found that women exhibit higher unemployment than men in almost every ethnic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the importance of geographical proximity between Greece and Albania for the migrating experience of Albanian immigrants who work in the Greek countryside. From the fieldwork research we conducted in the countryside of northern Greece we find that the geographical proximity between Greece and Albania (the fact that they are bordering countries) and the inherent seasonality of agricultural employment allow immigrants to make rapid and repeated moves between the two countries and also work on a seasonal basis on their family agricultural holdings for the few months when they return home. Hence, these features embody a range of employment options that give these immigrants the opportunity to work on both sides of the border, transferring resources and skills acquired in Greece to Albania. As a result, a considerable proportion of immigrants working in agriculture actually work in both countries, and their annual employment and attempts at upward economic mobility are geographically dispersed in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To estimate species turnover of plants on 32 small islands within a 20-year period and to assess possible changes in community composition and properties, such as species richness and factors affecting it, nestedness, species co-occurrence and overall community similarity. Additionally, to assess the possible effects of grazing, gull colonies and fire on turnover values. Location Thirty-two islets in the eastern Aegean Sea (Greece). Methods Complete sampling of plants was performed in 1974 and in 1990–94 (mostly in 1994, which was used as the reference year). Species turnover rates were estimated using both per island and per species approaches. Multiple regression was used to evaluate factors affecting species richness. Chi-square tests were applied to compare community composition among sampling periods. The effects of various factors on turnover rates and species richness were examined using one-wayanova andancova. Mann–Whitney tests were applied in order to check for differences between frequencies of occurrence of extinct, immigrant and persisting species. Community nestedness was calculated usingbitmatnest and the C-score index for co-occurrence was estimated using EcoSim7. Species similarities among islands in each of the 1974 and 1994 data sets were assessed using Jaccard’s index and the two similarity matrices were compared using a Mantel test. Results Of 391 species recorded on the islets, 334 were present in 1974, 301 in 1994 and 244 were common to both these periods. Species richness in the 1974 and 1994 data sets was significantly correlated with elevation and area, but not with distance from the nearest large island. Richness was positively affected by grazing, but not by fire or gull colonies. The slopes of species–area and species–elevation regressions were almost identical in 1974 and 1994. Mean relative turnover was 2.06 (species per islet) and 3.26 (islets per species). Turnover was not correlated with area, elevation or distance from the nearest large island. Nestedness and co-occurrence levels were very similar. Tables of islet by islet floral similarity (Jaccard’s index) did not differ between the 1974 and 1994 data sets. Main conclusions The turnover rates found are among the highest recorded for plants; at the same time the islet communities exhibit notable stability in overall properties. Our results provide evidence for rapid shifts in species number that may nonetheless be considered as equilibrial dynamics, as these islets are able to respond rapidly to environmental change and disturbance. Human activities, notably the application of grazing, have a significant complicating effect on community dynamics, enhancing observed turnover rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article looks at the ‘return’ migration of second-generation Greek Americans to their parents’ homeland, Greece. It is based on interviews with, and written accounts supplied by, 40 participants in the research, all now living in the Athens region. The article addresses two main sets of questions. First, why do they relocate to Greece, what are they looking for, and how do they cope with difficulties and disappointments? Second, and more specifically, how do they react to the fact that Greece is no longer a homogenous hellenistic society, but has become in recent years a de facto multicultural one due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers and their families? Three hypotheses are proposed for this inter-migrant encounter: returnees, shocked by the ‘new immigration’, view it negatively as upsetting the ‘pure Greek’ homeland they had hoped to find; returnees are more sympathetic because of their own families’ history as immigrants in multicultural America; and returnees differentiate themselves as ‘good’ migrants from Greece’s immigrants who are constructed as ‘bad’ migrants. Evidence from the migrants’ testimonies is found to support all three hypotheses; however, there is more support for the second one. In addition, a fourth outcome was voiced: that of discrimination against Greek Americans who are made to feel, in certain circumstances, outsiders by the ‘true’ Greeks. Suggestions are made for further comparative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the impact of illegal immigrants in Greece from both Eastern European countries and other developing countries. Increases in the country's labor supply; Employment of illegal immigrants; Compensation and productivity of illegal immigrants; Competition in employment between immigrants and Greeks; Perception of the community towards the immigrants.

Data on illegal migration to Greece have recently become available from the Greek Employment Observatory. This article presents some descriptive characteristics of the migrants, including country of origin, marital status, education, age, profession and place of residence. It also provides an analysis of migrants' choice of location within Greece. The majority of illegal migrants are manual or unskilled workers seeking employment mainly in the agricultural sector or in urban areas. There is substantial differentiation between males and females in terms of age, education, marital status and profession. In a limited sense, the data provide support for the idea of "feminization" of migration flows. Large flows of migrants are directed to the urban centres but migration as a proportion of county populations is not higher for the big urban centres (Athens and Thessaloniki) than for others. Migrants' choice of place of residence are not affected by the rate of unemployment. Males are attracted to areas with significant agricultural production and females to urban centres. Females are willing to travel longer distances in order to find employment, but for males distance is an insignificant factor. Per capita gross domestic product is an important factor only when migration flows are measured as a proportion of the population. Although the analysis does not justify strong policy statements, it indirectly provides some basis for arguing that allowing or tolerating illegal migration is not the best policy from the point of view of national interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]