World Bank International Conference

Poverty and Social Inclusion in the Western Balkans

Brussels, December 14-15, 2010 Spatial proximity and social distance: Albanian migrants invisible exclusions Evidence from Greece Dr. Ifigeneia KokkaliRobert Schumann Centre for Advanced Studies European University Institute, Italyifigeneia.kokkali@eui.eu

I. Some general information

After the 1990s immigration towards Greece becomes significantFor the period 1991-2004, Greece reached immigration rates that exceed by far the respective rates of "traditional" countries of immigration, such as France, Germany, the United States and Canada.

Source : OECD

4

-0.3857142857

-0.01

0.3571428571

0.8785714286

0.9428571429

1.0214285714

1.1928571429

1.3833333333

1.46

1.55

1.55

2.1857142857

2.45

2.5428571429

2.8285714286

3.1214285714

3.1461538462

3.3214285714

3.3857142857

3.7615384615

3.8928571429

4.3846153846

4.5307692308

4.9230769231

4.9692307692

5.25

6.0307692308

8.3285714286

Net immigration For 1 000 persons, average 1991-2004

fr

OECD Factbook 2006 - ISBN 92-64-03561-3 - OECD 2006

Population and migration - international migration - international migrationImmigration nette

Par 1 000 population, moyenne 1991-2004 ou dernire priode disponible

Immigration nettePologne-0.4

Par 1 000 population, moyenne 1991-2004 ou dernire priode disponibleJapon-0.0

Rp.Slovaque0.4

Islande0.9

Rp.Tchque0.9

Finlande1.0

France1.2

Royaume Uni1.4

Belgique1.5

Hongrie1.6

Turquie1.6

Danemark2.2

Norvge2.5

Sude2.5

Pays-Bas2.8

Portugal3.1

Italie3.1

Nouvelle Zlande3.3

Autriche3.4

Allemagne3.8

Suisse3.9

Irlande4.4

Etats-Unis4.5

Australie4.9

Espagne5.0

Canada5.3

Grce6.0

Luxembourg8.3

http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/Default.aspx?QueryName=245&QueryType=View

fr

-0.3857142857

-0.01

0.3571428571

0.8785714286

0.9428571429

1.0214285714

1.1928571429

1.3833333333

1.46

1.55

1.55

2.1857142857

2.45

2.5428571429

2.8285714286

3.1214285714

3.1461538462

3.3214285714

3.3857142857

3.7615384615

3.8928571429

4.3846153846

4.5307692308

4.9230769231

4.9692307692

5.25

6.0307692308

8.3285714286

Chart

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Graphique 1a: Immigration nette Par 1 000 personnes, moyenne 1991-2004 ou dernire priode disponible

OECD Factbook 2006 - ISBN 92-64-03561-3 - OECD 2006

Population and migration - international migration - international migrationNet migration

Per 1 000 population, average 1991-2004 or latest period available

Net migrationPoland-0.4

Per 1 000 population, average 1991-2004 or latest period availableJapan-0.0

Slovak Republic0.4

Iceland0.9

Czech Republic0.9

Finland1.0

France1.2

United Kingdom1.4

Belgium1.5

Hungary1.6

Turkey1.6

Denmark2.2

Norway2.5

Sweden2.5

Netherlands2.8

Portugal3.1

Italy3.1

New Zealand3.3

Austria3.4

Germany3.8

Switzerland3.9

Ireland4.4

United States4.5

Australia4.9

Spain5.0

Canada5.3

Greece6.0

Luxembourg8.3

&C&Z&F

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Immigration in Greece: a Balkan immigration

1

Table 1: Foreigners in the last population census (2001)

NationalityTotal%Reason of immigration

WorkRepatriationFamily ReunificationStudiesAsylum seekersRefugeesOther reasons

%%%%%%%

Total762,191100.00413,21454.2151,6946.7899,96813.120.7870.009,9801.312,3680.31164,18021.54

Albania438,03657.47240,65654.9411,8692.7169,94915.978,2631.899270.21350.01106,33724.28

Bulgaria35,1044.6127,50478.353971.132,6247.474411.261580.45430.123,93711.22

Georgia22,8753.0011,07248.405,15422.532,65611.612831.2400.0000.003,71016.22

Romania21,9942.8917,33778.834472.031,4256.482291.041,3406.092191.009974.53

USA18,1402.383,73520.598,07244.502,34912.951861.0300.0000.003,79820.94

Fed. Russia17,5352.307,81044.544,39425.062,08511.892041.16850.48190.112,93816.76

Cyprus17,4262.294,97528.556483.721,0466.006,83339.2100.0000.003,92422.52

Ukraine13,6161.7910,12174.335263.861,1488.431991.4660.0400.001,61611.87

UK13,1961.735,33940.469367.091,54111.681541.1700.0000.005,22639.60

Poland12,8311.687,93761.862511.961,30410.161250.971,77613.841291.011,30910.20

Germany11,8061.553,84832.591,58113.391,61813.702311.96130.1120.024,51338.23

Pakistan11,1301.4610,31792.70260.232111.90380.343863.4710.011511.36

Australia8,7671.151,21013.805,19559.268539.73400.4600.0000.001,46916.76

Turkey7,8811.031,52019.292,55932.477639.682172.751,51819.261,06713.542373.01

Armenia7,7421.023,55145.871,12614.541,17915.231962.5320.0300.001,68821.80

Egypt7,4480.984,95866.572443.286008.06290.39140.1910.011,50220.17

India7,2160.956,62091.74100.141502.0880.111542.1330.042613.62

Iraq6,9360.913,38048.73310.455057.2860.091,97728.504075.875708.22

Philippines6,4780.855,27581.43340.522273.5090.1460.0950.0889213.77

Other countries76,0349.9836,04947.418,19410.787,73510.172,8963.811,6182.134370.5719,10525.13

Table 2 Strangers' population per georgaphic ensembles (2001)

Nationality/ Geographic ensemblesStrangers' popolation (2001 census)%

Total762,191100.00

East-European569,73374.75

Balkans495,13464.96

Albania438,03657.47

Bulgaria35,1044.61

Romania21,9942.89

Other East-European74,5999.79

Fed. Russia17,5352.30

Ukraine13,6161.79

Georgia22,8753.00

Armenia7,7421.02

Poland12,8311.68

Main EU (15) senders, US-Australia, Cyprus69,3359.10

UK13,1961.73

Germany11,8061.55

USA18,1402.38

Cyprus17,4262.29

Australia8,7671.15

Asia-Africa47,0896.18

Turkey7,8811.03

Pakistan11,1301.46

Egypt7,4480.98

India7,2160.95

Iraq6,9360.91

Philippines6,4780.85

Other countries76,0349.98

2

3

and more precisely an Albanian immigrationIn the last Greek census (2001), 438.036 individuals of Albanian nationality have been registered.

This means 58% of the total foreign population of Greece and 4% of the total population of the country.

1

57.4706340012

4.6056697075

2.8856284055

2.3006044417

1.786428861

3.0012162306

1.0157558932

1.683436304

1.731324563

1.5489555768

2.3799808709

2.2863035643

1.1502366205

1.0339927918

1.4602638971

0.9771828846

0.94674432

0.9100081213

0.8499181964

9.9757147487

Foreign population in Greece (2001) per nationality

Romania

Russian Fed.

Bulgaria

Other countries

Albania

Ukraine

Armenia

Georgia

Poland

Iraq

India

Egypt

Turkey

Australia

Cyprus

Germany

UK

USA

Table1

Table 1: Usual resident foreign population* in the last census (2001)

NationalityTotal%Reason of immigration

WorkRepatriationFamily ReunificationStudiesAsylum seekersRefugeesOther reasons

%%%%%%%

Total762,191100.00413,21454.2151,6946.7899,96813.120.7870.009,9801.312,3680.31164,18021.54

Albania438,03657.47240,65654.9411,8692.7169,94915.978,2631.899270.21350.01106,33724.28

Armenia7,7421.023,55145.871,12614.541,17915.231962.5320.0300.001,68821.80

Australia8,7671.151,21013.805,19559.268539.73400.4600.0000.001,46916.76

Bulgaria35,1044.6127,50478.353971.132,6247.474411.261580.45430.123,93711.22

Cyprus17,4262.294,97528.556483.721,0466.006,83339.2100.0000.003,92422.52

Egypt7,4480.984,95866.572443.286008.06290.39140.1910.011,50220.17

Fed. Russia17,5352.307,81044.544,39425.062,08511.892041.16850.48190.112,93816.76

Georgia22,8753.0011,07248.405,15422.532,65611.612831.2400.0000.003,71016.22

Germany11,8061.553,84832.591,58113.391,61813.702311.96130.1120.024,51338.23

India7,2160.956,62091.74100.141502.0880.111542.1330.042613.62

Iraq6,9360.913,38048.73310.455057.2860.091,97728.504075.875708.22

Pakistan11,1301.4610,31792.70260.232111.90380.343863.4710.011511.36

Philippines6,4780.855,27581.43340.522273.5090.1460.0950.0889213.77

Poland12,8311.687,93761.862511.961,30410.161250.971,77613.841291.011,30910.20

Romania21,9942.8917,33778.834472.031,4256.482291.041,3406.092191.009974.53

Turkey7,8811.031,52019.292,55932.477639.682172.751,51819.261,06713.542373.01

UK13,1961.735,33940.469367.091,54111.681541.1700.0000.005,22639.60

Ukraine13,6161.7910,12174.335263.861,1488.431991.4660.0400.001,61611.87

USA18,1402.383,73520.598,07244.502,34912.951861.0300.0000.003,79820.94

Other countries76,0349.9836,04947.418,19410.787,73510.172,8963.811,6182.134370.5719,10525.13

* Between the usual resident foreign population (762191) and the resident foreign population (761813), there is no diffrence in the total population per group; there is, however, a difference concerning the intra-group distribution per reason of immigrati

Table 2: Foreign population per georgaphic ensemble (2001)

Nationality/ Geographic ensemblesStrangers' popolation (2001 census)%

Total762,191100.00

East-European569,73374.75

Balkans495,13464.96

Albania438,03657.47

Bulgaria35,1044.61

Romania21,9942.89

Other East-European74,5999.79

Fed. Russia17,5352.30

Ukraine13,6161.79

Georgia22,8753.00

Armenia7,7421.02

Poland12,8311.68

Main EU (15) senders, US-Australia, Cyprus69,3359.10

UK13,1961.73

Germany11,8061.55

USA18,1402.38

Cyprus17,4262.29

Australia8,7671.15

Asia-Africa47,0896.18

Turkey7,8811.03

Pakistan11,1301.46

Egypt7,4480.98

India7,2160.95

Iraq6,9360.91

Philippines6,4780.85

Other countries76,0349.98

Tableau : Population trangre par ensemble gographique (2001)

Nationalit/ EnsemblesgographiquesPopolation trangre (recensement 2001)%Nationalit/ Ensemblesgographiques%

Total762,191100.00Albanie57.47

Bulgarie4.61

Est-Europen569,73374.75Roumanie2.89

Balkans495,13464.96Fed. Russe2.30

Albanie438,03657.47Ukraine1.79

Bulgarie35,1044.61Georgie3.00

Roumanie21,9942.89Armenie1.02

Autres Est-Europen74,5999.79Pologne1.68

Fed. Russe17,5352.30Royaume Uni1.73

Ukraine13,6161.79Allemagne1.55

Georgie22,8753.00USA2.38

Armenie7,7421.02Chypre2.29

Pologne12,8311.68Australie1.15

Turquie1.03

envoyeurs principaux UE (15), USA-Australie, Chypre69,3359.10Pakistan1.46

Royaume Uni13,1961.73Egypte0.98

Allemagne11,8061.55Inde0.95

USA18,1402.38Irak0.91

Chypre17,4262.29Philippines0.85

Australie8,7671.15Autres pays9.98

Asie-Afrique47,0896.18

Turquie7,8811.03

Pakistan11,1301.46

Egypte7,4480.98

Inde7,2160.95

Irak6,9360.91

Philippines6,4780.85

Autres pays76,0349.98

Table 2: Resident foreign population per georgaphic ensemble (2001)

Nationality/ Geographic ensemblesForeigners' population (2001 census)%

Total761,813100.00

East-European569,73374.79

Balkans495,13464.99

Albania438,03657.50

Bulgaria35,1044.61

Romania21,9942.89

Other East-European74,5999.79

Fed. Russia17,5352.30

Ukraine13,6161.79

Georgia22,8753.00

Armenia7,7421.02

Poland12,8311.68

Main EU (15) senders, US-Australia, Cyprus69,3359.10

UK13,1961.73

Germany11,8061.55

USA18,1402.38

Cyprus17,4262.29

Australia8,7671.15

0.00

Asia-Africa47,0896.18

Turkey7,8811.03

Pakistan11,1301.46

Egypt7,4480.98

India7,2160.95

Iraq6,9360.91

Philippines6,4780.85

Other countries76,0349.98

Table1

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Population trangre en Grce (2001) par nationalit

Roumanie

Bulgarie

Albanie

Ukraine

Australie

Chypre

Allemagne

Royaume Uni

USA

Table2-epeks

Table 2 Foreigners' population per georgaphic ensembles (2001)

Nationality/ Geographic ensemblesStrangers' popolation (2001 census)%

Total762,191100.00

East-European569,73374.75

Balkans495,13464.96

Albania438,03657.47

Bulgaria35,1044.61

Romania21,9942.89

Other East-European74,5999.79

Fed. Russia17,5352.30

Ukraine13,6161.79

Georgia22,8753.00

Armenia7,7421.02

Poland12,8311.68

Main EU (15) senders, US-Australia, Cyprus69,3359.10

UK13,1961.73

Germany11,8061.55

USA18,1402.38

Cyprus17,4262.29

Australia8,7671.15

Asia-Africa47,0896.18

Turkey7,8811.03

Pakistan11,1301.46

Egypt7,4480.98

India7,2160.95

Iraq6,9360.91

Philippines6,4780.85

Other countries76,0349.98

res_foreign_per_geographic_ensm

Table 2: Resident foreign population per georgaphic ensemble (2001)*

Nationality/ Geographic ensemblesPopulation (2001 census)% of the total foreign populationAttica (Piraeus excluded)% of the group's total population in GreeceDepartment of Athens% of the group's total population in GreeceDepartment of Thessaloniki% of the group's total population in Greece

Total10934097334112328052621084001

Foreigners761813100.0032919143.2127488236.08669418.79

Main East-European and ex-URSS56973374.7922675739.8018562532.58541549.51

Balkans49513464.9919888540.1716121332.56352657.12

Albania43803657.5018131141.3914554433.23316117.22

Bulgaria351044.61950227.07869824.7829318.35

Romania219942.89807236.70697131.707233.29

Other East-European and ex-URSS745999.792787237.362441232.721888925.32

Russian Fed.175352.30584733.34428024.41461226.30

Ukraine136161.79736754.11666348.9465745.76

Georgia228753.00304013.29276812.101046738.26

Armenia77421.02173322.38150219.4029624.83

Poland128311.68988577.04919971.691911.49

Main EU (15) senders, US-Australia, Cyprus693359.10

UK131961.73

Germany118061.55

USA181402.38

Cyprus174262.29

Australia87671.15

Main Asia-Africa470896.183342870.992819559.889161.95

Turkey78811.03624479.23565771.785847.41

Pakistan111301.46803972.23586852.72150.13

Egypt74480.98525870.60478964.30941.26

India72160.95248934.4992112.76320.44

Iraq69360.91571782.43556980.29240.35

Philippines64780.85568187.70539183.221672.58

Other countries760349.98

* For Athens and Thessaloniki we did not include the numbers of foreigners coming from EU countries (15), USA, Australia and Cyprus, as well as foreigners the number of whom is insignificant or irrelevant to the present study.

MBD0004274A.xls

1

Tableau 5: Etrangers lors du dernier recensement de la population (2001)

NationalitTotal%Raison d'immigration

TravailRapatriementReunification familialeEtudesDemandeurs d'asyleRefugisAutres raisons

%%%%%%%

Total762,191100.00413,21454.2151,6946.7899,96813.120.7870.009,9801.312,3680.31164,18021.54

Albanie438,03657.47240,65654.9411,8692.7169,94915.978,2631.899270.21350.01106,33724.28

Bulgarie35,1044.6127,50478.353971.132,6247.474411.261580.45430.123,93711.22

Georgie22,8753.0011,07248.405,15422.532,65611.612831.2400.0000.003,71016.22

Roumanie21,9942.8917,33778.834472.031,4256.482291.041,3406.092191.009974.53

USA18,1402.383,73520.598,07244.502,34912.951861.0300.0000.003,79820.94

Fed. Russe17,5352.307,81044.544,39425.062,08511.892041.16850.48190.112,93816.76

Chypre17,4262.294,97528.556483.721,0466.006,83339.2100.0000.003,92422.52

Ucraine13,6161.7910,12174.335263.861,1488.431991.4660.0400.001,61611.87

UK13,1961.735,33940.469367.091,54111.681541.1700.0000.005,22639.60

Pologne12,8311.687,93761.862511.961,30410.161250.971,77613.841291.011,30910.20

Allemagne11,8061.553,84832.591,58113.391,61813.702311.96130.1120.024,51338.23

Pakistan11,1301.4610,31792.70260.232111.90380.343863.4710.011511.36

Australie8,7671.151,21013.805,19559.268539.73400.4600.0000.001,46916.76

Turquie7,8811.031,52019.292,55932.477639.682172.751,51819.261,06713.542373.01

Armenie7,7421.023,55145.871,12614.541,17915.231962.5320.0300.001,68821.80

Egypte7,4480.984,95866.572443.286008.06290.39140.1910.011,50220.17

Inde7,2160.956,62091.74100.141502.0880.111542.1330.042613.62

Irak6,9360.913,38048.73310.455057.2860.091,97728.504075.875708.22

Philippines6,4780.855,27581.43340.522273.5090.1460.0950.0889213.77

Autres pays76,0349.9836,04947.418,19410.787,73510.172,8963.811,6182.134370.5719,10525.13

Table 2 Strangers' population per georgaphic ensembles (2001)

Nationality/ Geographic ensemblesStrangers' popolation (2001 census)%

Total762,191100.00

East-European569,73374.75

Balkans495,13464.96

Albania438,03657.47

Bulgaria35,1044.61

Romania21,9942.89

Other East-European74,5999.79

Fed. Russia17,5352.30

Ukraine13,6161.79

Georgia22,8753.00

Armenia7,7421.02

Poland12,8311.68

Main EU (15) senders, US-Australia, Cyprus69,3359.10

UK13,1961.73

Germany11,8061.55

USA18,1402.38

Cyprus17,4262.29

Australia8,7671.15

Asia-Africa47,0896.18

Turkey7,8811.03

Pakistan11,1301.46

Egypt7,4480.98

India7,2160.95

Iraq6,9360.91

Philippines6,4780.85

Other countries76,0349.98

2

3

Albanians in Greece (1): familial migrationsIn the early 2000s, Albanian migration shifted from a young mens migration to a long-term settlement of the Albanian family (generally speaking).

The arrival of women contributed to a considerable shift in the way Albanian immigration was looked upon by the dominant society.

II. Spatial proximity and social distance*: Albanians and Greeks in Thessaloniki

* Chamboredon Jean-Claude, Lemaire Madeleine (1970), Proximit spatiale et distance sociale. Les grands ensembles et leur peuplement, Revue franaise de sociologie, Vol.11, No.1, janv. /mars.

Some insights from theoryin Europe, for long we have been thinking that increasing ethnic and social mix in the city neighbourhoods would be the key to the inclusion of migrants in the host societies.

since the 1970s, the article of Chamboredon & Lemaire (1970) Spatial proximity and social distance: the grands ensembles and their populating has challenged this belief, by demonstrating that spatial proximity does not necessarily involve social proximity.

We will argue the same for the case of Albanians in Greece.

Social proximity: (as meant here)

indicates the relations established between individuals or groups on the basis of a social bond

Albanians in ThessalonikiAccording to the last Greek census in 2001, the Department of Thessaloniki counts for more than one million inhabitants, of which nearly 9% are foreign nationals.

7% of Albanians having settled in Greece live actually in Thessaloniki.

The Albanians are by far the most numerous foreign group of Thessaloniki, counting for 47% of the citys foreign population, and approximately for 3% of its total population.

Metropolitan area of Thessaloniki: geographical distribution of Albanian and Bulgarian migrantsBulgarians: are over-represented in 2 communes of the study area (in red) hardly any balanced communes (pale blue and pale pink). Albanians: do not offer any great concentrations their presence is rather balanced

The location quotientComparing two concentrations of a subgroup:Concentration of persons in a set of geographical unitsConcentration of persons in the entire study areai the geographical unit (e.g. municipality/ commune)

* the study area (e.g. city)

S the population subgroup (e.g. Albanians, Georgians, etc.)

P the total populationAlvanides & Kotzamanis, 2005

Residential dispersion (2a)No large concentrations of Albanian households in the same areas of the city.

Compared to other immigrant groups settled in Thessaloniki (such as the Bulgarians, the Russians, etc), Albanians rather offer a more dispersed prototype within the urban space.

Almost omnipresent in the city.

Evidence from an empirical study conducted in 2005-2006 in Greece

labour market integration

housing and living conditions

social relations and discrimination in several different cases (the work place, public services and stores, school when children are concerned, etc.).

Significant dimensions of social exclusion/ inclusion processes

Labour market integrationmore than 70% of the sample were full-time workers, their jobs were officially registered and they were currently insured;

the majority of our sample (27%) received the laws minimum number of social security stamps annually requested at the time in order to obtain a residence permit. Still, 20% of the sample were not insured, while 18% had fewer stamps than the minimum demanded at the time for the residence permits renewal.

From those who have been unemployed at some time, less than one out of ten ever received unemployment benefits.

Regarding payments compared to the average payment (for the same labour done by a Greek worker), less than 1/3 respondents believed to have been equally paid, while 6 over 10 persons believed to have been unequally paid.

Housing 93% of our sample lived in a house or apartment

10% of the dwellings had toilet facilities outside the house, while 1% did not have at all

approximately one person out of eight benefited from hot water in the dwelling

Only one person out of two had heating in the entire house

With their personal work, many have greatly improved their apartments, thus decreasing the gap between Greeks and Albanians housing conditions.

More than half of the respondents (54%) declared to have encountered difficulties in purchasing or renting a house.

The main difficulty registered was that landlords refused to rent a house to Albanians (for one person out of two). Almost 6 out of 10 persons interviewed had difficulties in purchasing or renting a house because they werent Greeks.

Social relations & stigmatisation57% of the sample mainly associates, in its free time, with co-nationals.

None of our interviewees had a Greek partner or wife/husband.

More than one out of four respondents concealed his/her Albanian origin, while more than one over three has used a Greek name instead of his/her own.

Children in schoolFrom those of the respondents that had children in a schooling age, considered that their offspring faced problems in their school environment.

Isolation from their fellow pupils appeared to be the main problem encountered, concerning more than half of the children in question.

Other significant problems encountered were language difficulties (27%) and unequal treatment by teachers (27%).

Some rather discouraging conclusionsThe Albanians integration into the labour market and their housing conditions, present a complex image of exclusion inclusion.

Our respondents socialization is associated in one way or another to the common origin, i.e. to other Albanians. Besides, no intermarriage with Greeks seems to occur.

Discrimination takes places in the housing market, at schools, etc. Overall, we cannot talk of social inclusion of Albanians in Greece.

>>>The Albanians quasi omnipresence in the city of Thessaloniki suggests that they live more or less in the same places as the Greeks [i.e. spatial proximity of Albanians and Greeks].

the observation that the Albanians mingle spatially with the Greeks cannot be taken as an index for their social aggregation to Greeks or for their social inclusion into the dominant society; [rather: differential exclusion of Albanian immigrants in Greece (Castles & Miller, 1998)]

nor does it give any sign for the spatial equality of the two groups, e.g. equality in the housing conditions.

III. Albanians in Greece:an integrated migratory group?

Inexistence of apparent ethnic infrastructure (2b)

Unlike other migratory groups in Thessaloniki, Greece, Albanians do not dispose any of this: shops, places of worship, clubs, schools.

But:Russians & Georgians have their own commercial shops: mini-markets, cafs, restaurants. Filipinos have their own places of worship, a primary school, a day nursery, etc. Poles and Russians have their own schools in Athens.

Ex- Soviets ethnic infrastructure Georgian bus agency in the city-centreRussian phone-shop & money exchangeGrocery shops with ex-soviet products in close proximity to the bus-agency

International money transfer Russian and Georgian respectively Georgian agency of express transport of objects and documents Georgian fast-food

The only signs revealing the Albanians presence: i) translation offices

ii) Albanian bus-agencies

An ephemeral trace in the urban space: job-seeking piazzas

>>> Albanians invisibility Albanians spatial pattern involves territorial dispersion rather than a significant concentration into the urban space. [omnipresent]

Albanians as a group do not offer any visibility into the urban space.a double expression of this: a diffused distribution of Albanian households in the city districts absence of any ethnic infrastructure that would render visible the Albanian presence in the city

Some myths and realities concerning the integration of Albanians in Greece

From a heavily stigmatized migratory group recently thought to be the most integrated one.

3 preconditions for this:

actual predominant familial character of the Albanian migration; identity dissimulation: name-changing and christening of the Albanian children belonging to families of Muslim affiliation;

the absence of any marked ethnic infrastructure within the city space render the Albanians spatially invisible as a group.

Thank you!

Good morning to everyone.The objective of my presentation will be to show that things are not always as they appear to be, and this also in the case of the Albanian migrants in GreeceWho are recently thought to be a successful paradigm of immigrant inclusion. I will argue that their supposed integration is more fictive than real and I will show under which conditions this is said

There will be 3 parts in my presentation.And the very first one is dedicated to exposing some general information.As many of you may know, from the 1980s Greece has shifted from an emigration to an immigration country.

This immigrant population is overwhelmingly Balkan.

Foreigners coming from East-European countries constitute, according to the 2001 Greek census, 75 percent of the total foreigners population in Greece, of which 58 percent are Albanians and 17 percent are originated from seven other ex-socialist countries, i.e. Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia. Nationals from other countries, such as reunified Germany, Cyprus, U.S. or Australia represent no more than 9 percent, and if, to those, we add the rest EU countries (EU of 15), we hardly reach 13 percent. In addition, nationals of the six more represented countries of Asia and Africa, i.e. Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Iraq and Philippines, constitute only 6 percent of foreigners appearing in the census.First bullet:In 1995, 75 percent of the Albanian migrants were male, and 34 percent were under 30 years-old. Six years later, in 2001, over 41 percent of all Albanian migrants are women and we register a non-negligible rate of dependent young persons (children aged 0-14 years account for over 21 percent of the Albanian population in Greece). For the 2nd bullet:Before, Albanian men were seen with suspicion and were stigmatized as dangerous, uncivilized, dirty, and so on; the family reunions, which in Greece were mainly requested by Albanians rather than other immigrant groups, succeeded together with other reasons in changing this image.

I have studied the spatial pattern of Albanian immigrants in Greece only in the city of Thessaloniki, which is the second biggest after Athens. First bullet:In a way, the spatial proximity and the social mix in the urban space were thought to be the vector of social cohesion and the key to the incorporation of newcomers.

We could define the social proximity:as the similarity of households socio-economic conditions, But also as the cultural affinity binding people (Allain, 2000).

we do not intend to illustrate the social distance of Greeks and Albanians in a strict sense of class distance, based on differences of socio-professional stratification. We will rather opt for a vaguer definition of the social distance as the opposite of the social proximity, by this latter meaning the relations established between individuals or groups on the basis of a social bond.

According to the last Greek census, the Department (district) of Thessaloniki counts more than one million inhabitants of which nearly 9 percent are foreign nationals. The Albanians account for 47 percent of the citys foreign population and approximately for 3 percent of its total population. Far behind come the Georgians (about 16 percent of the citys foreign population), the Russians (approximately 7 percent) and the Bulgarians (4.38 percent).

Despite the size of their population, Albanians do not practice the residential clustering.This is, however, the case of some other groups, such as Georgians, Russians. Those groups present: an over-representation in some areas of the city, mark ethnically the neighbourhoods in which they settle. For example, these ethnic settlements emerged only after the arrival of the newcomers and their names suggest the lands left back to the home country (e.g. Colhis we will see that later on, in some photos I brought you).

We will come back to the ethnicisation of the space later on.

In the geographical scales examined (communes), we did not find any large concentrations of Albanian households in the same areas of the city. Compared to other immigrant groups settled in Thessaloniki (such as the Bulgarians), Albanians rather offer a more dispersed prototype within the urban space. Their spatial distribution is diffused and Albanians themselves seem to be almost omnipresent in the city.

I have distinguished here 3 sets of different elements that I consider as important in the study of the exclusion/inclusion of a migratory group.And these are factors that concern: ..

These findings come from our empirical study commissioned by the World Bank and conducted by the Laboratory of Social and Demographic Analyses, University of Thessaly (Greece) in 2005-2006.3rd bullet:A parenthesis here:

In the early 1990s, with the advent of increasing migration flows in Greece and especially the massive arrival of undocumented immigrants the media have gradually started to incriminate foreigners and especially the Albanians. Phenomena of resentment and albanophobia were given rise, since an entire nation the Albanians has been convened under the stigma of the criminal. Going back to our empirical findings, approximately 6 over 10 respondents experienced a discrimination of any kind due to their Albanian descent. The considerable stigmatisation of the Albanian immigrant in Greece seems to have generated phenomena of identity dissimulation; mainly name-changing, but in some cases also christening of Muslim Albanians (cf. Kokkali, 2008 & 2010). After the last bullet:This indicates that those interviewees considered that they would have better chances to get a job if they presented themselves as individuals of Greek origin (Vorioepiroti), that is to say members of the Greek minority in southern Albania. Problems of inclusion occur also at school...For the first bullet:the Albanians incorporation into the labour market presents a rather complex image of inclusion exclusion. While we cannot speak of exclusion from the labour market or even from the formal labour market, since the majority of jobs are officially registered and Albanians themselves are socially insured , we can neither maintain a sufficient inclusion. This is because of their inadequate social security, which, in turn, does not allow them to access unemployment benefits as the rest of workers in Greece. Yet, this exclusion, in the long term, could turn into a more permanent exclusion from the labour market overall, leading thus to various possible forms of marginalisation. This is even truer at the moment, when the economic crisis in Greece hits harshly Albanian workers too.

After the end of all bullets:The issues addressed above do not pretend to examine exhaustively the patterns of inclusion-exclusion of Albanian immigrants in Greece. But, by acting as indicators, they allow us to get a slight idea of the asymmetries that exist. It is very difficult to talk of inclusion when considering Albanians, because even if they managed more or less successfully their economic integration, from many other different aspects their social inclusion to the environing society remains a question.

For the 2nd bullet:rather than integration and inclusion, Albanian immigrants in Greece seem to counter a short of differential exclusion, meaning that the migrants are accepted and incorporated in certain fields of the society (e.g. the labour market), but, on the other hand, the access to other fields (social security, citizenship, political participation, etc.) is refused to them (Castles & Miller, 1998) When talking about the ethnic mark in some of the citys districts, we mean the ethnicization of the cityspace due to the establishment of ethnic infrastructure. Whats that? It can be specific commercial facilities, a groups own particular services (such as places of worship, clubs, schools, doctors, etc.).

There does not seem to exist any ethnic infrastructure in Thessaloniki concerning especially Albanians: shops, places of worship, clubs, and possibly schools. BUT:we can find several companies of money transfer and cafs exclusively Georgian (where, the shops and agencies signs are written in Georgian and are named after some areas in Georgia, as for instance Colchis), but also many Russian restaurants and mini-markets, as well as a number of churches and doctors coloured Russian or at least ex-Soviet (with the church services programme and the signs for the doctors surgeries and the mini-markets using the Russian language). Besides, Filipinos have their own places of worship, a primary school and a day nursery in Athens.

From this ethnic mosaic, Albanians are surprisingly absent. Lets see what is their mark in the urban spaceAnd they also present an ephemeral trace in the urban space, meaning that when they leave those places theres nothing indicating their previous appropriation of space for job-seeking piazza.

And this is a solely Albanian way of job-finding- Nobody else does it this way!!

1st bullet:Indeed, the Greek society has gradually viewed immigrants and Albanians in particular firstly with suspicion and resentment, harshly stigmatising them, then with a paternalistic and utilitarian spirit. The post-2000 campaign in politics and the media viewed immigrants as beneficial to the Greek economy, while Albanians in particular were presented as to have largely contributed in the construction works needed for the organization of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. As such, for the collective Greek imaginary, from the dangerous criminals they were in the 90s and the early 2000s, the Albanians have gradually become the good and integrated migrants, a paradigm to cite.

Lets see why, their integration is more fictive than real. 2nd bullet: There are three basic preconditions for this supposed integration. The first one concerns the actual predominant familial character of the Albanian migration. As I said previously, in the early 2000s, Albanian migration shifted from a young mens migration to a long-term settlement of the Albanian family, generally speaking. A parenthesis here:This is not new in the study of migration. The Algerian sociologist Abdelmalek Sayad: very tellingly describes the good immigrants, i.e. those who can be trusted because they behave like us; those who [I QUOTE] have given themselves the same social and family structures as 'us' as well as the same familial ethos, because those immigrants cannot stand being separated for long from their wives and their children, and they are constantly being joined by their families. Conversely, those who behave differently from us, who would give themselves social and family structures and a domestic moral in which we do not recognize ourselves a moral which is shocking for the societal sensitivity (as if there was no culture than our culture, Sayad , op.cit.) , are not good migrants, because they certainly form a bothersome factor to assimilation. Back to the Albanians case:In this respect, the Albanians (actually living in Greece mainly in family) do not challenge the moral values of the dominant society. This was not the case in the early 90s when the pattern of the newcomers essentially men was completely different: four to five persons (sometimes even more) used to stay in small, ramshackle apartments altogether. Actually, this is the case of more recent migrants in Greece, such as the Pakistani, Bangladeshis and other Asians, as well as Africans. It is those groups of migrants that are actually considered dangerous and became the new scapegoats, replacing thus the Albanians.

And this leads us to the 2nd precondition:We said before: The Albanians do not challenge the values of the Greek society.This is even more so if we consider the phenomena of identity dissimulation or at least identity negotiation that took massively place in Greece: it is about the aforementioned name-changing and in some cases the christening, especially of the Albanian children belonging to families of Muslim affiliation. Those practices offer an exemplary indication of how the Albanians otherness has been silenced or at least dissimulated so as to fit in the Greek society, which is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian. Let me explain also that they have changed their names in order to pass for co-ethnics from the Greek minority in Albania (Vorioepiroti) and for the same reason they have also christened their children or even themselves, erasing thus every cultural ethno-national and especially religious difference that could hinder inclusion. This invisible difference is the key to the Albanian immigrants supposed integration. And It forms the second precondition which explains why the Albanians are considered to be the most integrated migratory population in Greece.

The last precondition is of spatial order. The absence of any marked ethnic infrastructure within the city space render the Albanians spatially invisible as a group. Hence, once again, the Albanians via their invisibility do not challenge the existing orders, values, practices, etc. of the dominant society and thus let for discussions to go freely on the subject of their integration.