[Peter]

Om det nu är några fler här som är "dåligt pålästa" kan de ju läsa igenom dessa artiklar. Jag vet en som verkligen behöver det....


Ur Ekathimerini:

No place for refugees

By Nikos Konstandaras

Greece’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers is drawing serious criticism from other European countries and international organizations. The issue, which is not widely covered in Greece, highlights the problems that pertain to the issue of political asylum in Europe as a whole but also to the structural problems that plague Greece on so many levels.
On January 31, 2008, the European Commission lodged a complaint against Greece at the European Court of Justice for not meeting its obligations to carry out a substantive examination of the asylum claims of people who have been sent back to Greece from another country. (The procedure, known as the Dublin II regulation, demands that asylum seekers have their case reviewed in the first EU country they entered, which, in many cases, results in their remaining in endless limbo in Greece.) Also, on April 17, 2007, the European Court found that Greece had failed to implement an EU directive establishing minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers while their requests are being processed.
Last Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) took the drastic step of calling on other countries not to send asylum seekers back to Greece because conditions here are inadequate. In January, Norway decided of its own accord to ignore Dublin II where Greece was involved. All this is a black mark against Greece but it also shows what critics of Dublin II have been saying for a long time: The whole procedure is flawed because it is based on the false assumption that conditions for refugees are the same across Europe.
The UNHCR commented that “When up to 90 percent of Iraqis seeking asylum in Sweden are recognized and zero percent get protection in Greece, they will move accordingly.” Also, Greece has often deprived asylum seekers of basic rights, such as the provision of an interpreter, legal aid, allowances and residence, the UNHCR noted. The UN (as do other organizations) acknowledges that Greece has made some progress lately but notes that this is not enough and calls on the European Commission and other European countries to help.
Some other international organizations are even more critical. In February, Amnesty International published a press release titled “No Place for an Asylum-Seeker in Greece.” It detailed the charges that have been leveled at Greece and urged Athens to comply with its obligations under international human rights, refugee and European law. At the same time, it urged other countries not to return asylum seekers to Greece. A few weeks ago, the secretary general of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), Bjarte Vandvik, declared: “Greece is not a safe place for those in need of protection.” The ECRE, which represents 63 refugee-assisting organizations in 28 European countries, is at the forefront of criticism of the Dublin II procedure.
Under this hail of accusations, Greece asked for the issue of political asylum to be discussed at the meeting of EU ministers of justice and home affairs in Luxembourg last Friday. There, in obvious acceptance of the EU-wide problem and Greece’s weakness, the ministers decided on closer cooperation between member-states, including the creation of an Asylum Support Office which would help move toward a Common European Asylum System that the EU envisions.
The subject is complex and no one can pretend to have simple solutions. Although many acknowledge that Greece is in a difficult geographical situation and could be swamped by refugees, the exasperation of other countries and organizations is focused on Athens’s almost total rejection of asylum requests as well as the inadequate (and sometimes brutal and criminal) conditions which asylum seekers face. At present, 20,000 people have requested asylum in Greece. Last year, only eight were granted refugee status (up from five in 2006), which is 0.04 percent of requests.
Is this the result of the general mismanagement and indifference of a state machinery that is incompetent at every level? Or is it perhaps a cynical tactic which makes it loud and clear that no refugee should expect anything in Greece and so should just keep moving on to another country? Either way, the situation is shameful and must be corrected. It is a blot on both our country’s past and its present.


Ur Athens News:

Immigrant entrepreneurs depend on their compatriots to help them get their business off the ground, but tough bureaucracy is making it difficult for them to keep it


KATHY TZILIVAKIS

Athens is home to dozens of immigrant-owned shops, which have greatly contributed to the resurgence of many of the city's neglected inner-city neighbourhoods

IMMIGRANT shopkeepers in Greece rely on their friends, relatives and other compatriots for survival, but tough regulations and bureaucracy are choking many of them out of business, according to a survey of African and Albanian immigrant entrepreneurs conducted by the Hellenic American University in Athens.
Based on their preliminary findings, most (40 percent) of the immigrant entrepreneurs who participated in the survey said they depend on friends and relatives for financial assistance. The livelihood of their business also seems to depend mainly on immigrants, as 51 percent of their customers are compatriots. A whopping 90 percent of the immigrants expressed that their immigrant community has been "very supportive".
Researchers discovered a similar situation in an earlier survey conducted among Albanian immigrant entrepreneurs, who also said they turned to relatives for a loan in order to set up shop.
But while a spirit of entrepreneurship is high among the African and Albanian immigrants surveyed, many see a rather bleak future. Of the Africans polled, 20 percent said their business is heading for closure and that they would like to try their luck in another country.
They blamed a series of bureaucratic obstacles, namely legislation passed in 2005 requiring immigrant shopkeepers to prove they have at least 60,000 euros deposited in their bank account in order to create a business in Greece. This requirement applies to any kind of business an immigrant is planning, no matter how small. And, when it comes time for them to renew their residence permit, they have to prove they have invested this money in their business and that they are making a suitable income.
"Almost every Albanian immigrant entrepreneur interviewed stated that the 60,000 euro minimum bank deposit required by law to start up a business in Greece is now the greatest obstacle immigrant entrepreneurs face in business ownership," says the Hellenic American University.
Other obstacles immigrant entrepreneurs must overcome, according to the research, include cultural exclusion, money problems, competition and customer relations. Many of the immigrant entrepreneurs surveyed said they believe xenophobia among Greeks impeded their cultural and social assimilation when they started their business. Many Albanian immigrants, for instance, decided to change their name to sound more Greek. Several immigrants reported discrimination as a major barrier towards starting their business.
Despite the problems, immigrant entrepreneurship appears to have increased rapidly in Greece. In downtown Athens, dozens of immigrant-owned shops (restaurants, cut-rate clothing stores, greengrocers, long-distance calling centres and video rentals) crowd Evripidou St between Koumoundourou Square and Athinas St. Many more shops are located on central Menandrou St near Omonoia Square. Owned and run mainly by Chinese, Pakistanis, Indians and Arabs, these ethnic shops have greatly contributed to the resurgence of many of Athens' neglected inner-city neighbourhoods.
In 2006, officials at the finance ministry reported that several thousand Chinese shops operate in Athens, Piraeus and the surrounding suburbs. An estimated 10,000 non-EU nationals are registered with the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This is roughly how many are insured by TEVE - the social insurance fund for the self-employed.

Det är intressant att se att Grekiska tidningar själva beskriver situationen på detta sätt. Eller hur Pao?

Peter - långsint...