Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
IMMIGRATION
AND THE ALBANIAN INFLUX
Greece may continue to occupy the EU's economic cellar, but it's still far wealthier than many
of its neighbours. This has acted as a magnet for a permanent underclass of immigrants. Since
1990 they have arrived in numbers estimated at over a million, a huge burden for a country of
just over ten million citizens. These days your waiter, hotel desk clerk or cleaning lady is most
likely to be Albanian, Bulgarian or Romanian, to cite the three largest groups. There are also
significant communities of Pakistanis, Egyptians, Poles, Bangladeshis, Syrians, Filipinos,
Ukrainians, Russians, Equatorial Africans, Kurds and Georgians, not to mention ethnic Greeks
from the Caucasus - a striking change in what had hitherto been a homogeneous and
parochial culture.
The Greek response has been decidedly mixed. Albanians, who make up roughly half the
influx, are almost universally detested, and blamed for all manner of social ills. For the first time,
crime - especially burglaries - is a significant issue. The newcomers have also prompted the
first significant anti-immigration measures in a country whose population is more used to
being on the other side of such laws. A member of the Schengen visa scheme, Greece sees
itself, as in past ages, as the first line of defence against the barbarian hordes from the East. The
Aegean islands regularly receive boatloads of people from every country in Asia.
The twenty-first century: boom … and bust?
Greece entered the twenty-first century on a high; entry to the
eurozone
in 2001 was
seen as hugely prestigious, while the
2004 Olympic Games
were considered a triumph
- which, in sporting and public relations terms, they probably were. EU funds and
Olympic investment kick-started widespread infrastructure improvements, and the
future seemed rosy. Both these events, however, turned out to be symptomatic of
Greece's
problems
. Even at the time of entry to the euro, it was an open secret that the
figures had been massaged to ensure Greece met the strict criteria - the extent of that
fix only became apparent later. And behind the successful facade of the Olympics were
vast cost overruns in the desperate rush to complete the facilities, and a complete lack
of legacy planning that has left many venues to rot.
In December 2008,
rioting
broke out in Athens, provoked by the police shooting of a
15-year-old student. The weeks of unrest that followed - as young people, in particular,
protested their lack of opportunities - were the first sign that the wider world had of
Greece's deep-rooted troubles and impending
crisis
. When PASOK was returned to
power in 2009, now led by
George Papandréou
, the extent of the economic problems
began to be fully revealed, with a
national debt
of €262 billion and a deficit running at
12.7 percent of GDP (against a euro limit of 3 percent). As Greece's huge public sector,
lax tax collection and allegedly widespread corruption came increasingly into the
spotlight, government attempts to cut spending and increase revenue ran into the
double whammy of popular opposition and economic downturn. As we went to press
at the end of 2011, Papandréou had stood down in favour of a government of “national
unity”, while the latest of a series of
EU bailouts
again failed to make much impact on
the financial markets, or on Greece's ever-growing debt. Default or a humiliating
departure from the eurozone looks inevitable. Whatever the outcome, Greece's
short-term economic future looks bleak.
2004
2004
2008
2011
Athens Olympics pass off
triumphantly, though
their legacy is less
happy.
No-hopers Greece
triumph at the European
Football Championships
in Portugal.
Rioting breaks out in
Athens, bringing the
country's economic crisis
to world attention.
Greek debt crisis
threatens to engulf the
whole of Europe.
