A thorough survey research on the presence and integration of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa conducted in the period 2011-2013 in Athens, where they are mostly concentrated, has demonstrated that their presence in Greece is not a recent phenomenon. Sub-Saharan Africans started coming as early as in the 1980’s either for studies in the context of formal exchanges between Greece and certain African countries or for employment in specific occupations.
The survey focused on the study of the socio-economic characteristics and the migration patterns of seven exemplary sub-Saharan African nationalities. It included first generation migrants as well as the so-called “second generation migrants”, i.e. children who were born in Greece or came to the country at a young age and had the chance to go through the Greek educational system.
Nationalities and countries of origin
Based on the timing of migration, the analysis of data on the first generation of male and female African migrants has shown that there are basically two groups of African nationalities:
a) the first group consists of the long-established migrant populations who came to Greece prior to 1990, including Ghanaians, Nigerians, Ethiopians and Congolese, and
b) the second group consists of more recent migration flows (in the period 2008-2011), including Senegalese, Somalis and Guineans. Of course, there are newcomers of the same nationalities as the long-established immigrants.
The recent African migration flows consist of males mostly, single in their large majority, relatively younger (under 25 years of age), who transit through Greece in search of a better future. The long-established groups of immigrants are older on average and better educated. Education is an important factor that differentiates the various nationalities. Among certain nationalities (Nigerians and Congolese) there is a fairly significant share of people with higher education, a fact that should not be downplayed when discussing the possibilities and the prospects for greater inclusion/integration of African migrants into Greek society.
Pre-migration assets
African migrants have two important pre-migration assets: persistence and determination, and family support in their country of origin. Two additional assets were also reported: the help received from male and female friends in Greece, and support from family already residing in Greece. For female migrants in particular, the existence of family in Greece stands out as an important pre-migration asset.
Nonetheless, pre-migration assets vary significantly between nationalities. For example, the most important asset reported by migrants from Ethiopia, Congo and Nigeria were family ties with individuals living in Greece, while migrants from Congo, Somalia and Guinea focused more on the importance of the help they received from friends and co-nationals.
Pre-migration assets may also be affected by other characteristics, such as the age at migration and the respondent’s years of stay in Greece. The most important asset for the under-25 migrants is family support in the country of origin, whereas older respondents report determination as the key asset. An additional factor that needs to be considered is the level of information received at home by would-be migrants. Comparatively speaking, migrants from Ethiopia were better informed, while the exact opposite (lack of information) was the case with migrants from Somalia and Guinea.
Destination
Overall, the irregular crossing of borders without documents is the main mode of entry for the overwhelming majority of the respondents residing in Greece in recent years. The share of respondents who crossed the borders irregularly is much higher in recent migration flows but drastically lower in earlier flows, when immigrants legally entered the country. Greece was reported to be one of the main destinations by as little as half of the African immigrants, a fact that suggests that Greece is not a destination of choice for a large part of the immigrants who live in the country.
The country of destination appears to be largely determined by the respondent’s nationality. Greece was the destination country for most of the older migrants from Ethiopia, Nigeria and Congo. The vast majority of African migrants have been stranded in Greece for a long period of time, unable to find a way out. Most notably, very high shares of Somalis and Guineans reported their intention to leave Greece, followed by the Congolese and the Senegalese.
Labour market integration
In terms of occupational status, only 60% of the African migrants have ever worked in Greece, the remainder not having had the time or not having managed to find employment during their stay in the country in recent years. Most of them are jobseekers and less than 43% have maintained their jobs.
Undeclared work has risen significantly in recent years as a result of the economic recession and this is associated with the rapid deterioration of the African migrants’ position in Greek society. Although many of the challenges they face in finding employment seem to apply to migrant populations at large, the African migrants’ labour market integration appears to have been reversed considerably in recent years. The following excerpt from an interview with a representative of the African community, who describes the difficulties men face and the contribution of women, is quite telling:
“Yeah, 75 to 70% are unemployed. I am talking about the last few years, they haven’t always been unemployed. Say since 2008. For example, in 2008 or 2009, it was 50% [unemployed] - 50% [employed]. Some had a steady job, some didn’t. Still, in the past it was easier, because you could find day labour. Most people used to live off day labour. Even if you were unemployed, you knew that you would find something to do at least two days a week. (...) [As to] (...) how they make ends meet, (...) some are sent money from Africa, others (the majority so far) rely on their wives who can still find a job. I mean as nannies, as [child] carers… such jobs still exist. So it’s women who work [in the cause of the household’s survival]...” (Μ.F.).
African migrants are mostly employed in the services sector and to a smaller extent in the manufacturing sector. Women are employed as domestic workers, in the retail sector and in the catering sector, whereas men are employed in construction, manufacturing, catering and retail trade. The longest-established immigrants in Greece are putting pressure in view of achieving a better financial status, although their expectations for an improved status are increasingly diminishing.
Housing
Housing conditions are an indicator of migrant integration into Greek society and paint a picture of their quality of life. African migrants present a high mobility in terms of housing. Such mobility is mostly seen among Somalis, while Ethiopians, Ghanaians and Guineans are the least mobile. A small part of the African migrants, however, especially respondents from Guinea, have not been integrated in the housing market, since they are either homeless or residents of abandoned buildings. For newcomers, in particular, the role of the community in finding accommodation is very important.
More often than not, African migrants tend to occupy the aged housing stock of the city of Athens. A significant part of them shares accommodation with at least six persons, thus has a lower quality of life. Cohabitation with several people has been reported as a challenge mostly by respondents from Congo, Guinea and Somalia. Housing conditions and amenities are very poor mostly among Somalis and Guineans; Ethiopians, Ghanaians and Nigerians report better housing conditions.
Relations with the country of origin
African migrants do not visit their countries of origin frequently enough, due to the long distance. This behaviour, however, changes significantly as soon as they start considering Greece as their country of settlement. In this case, the share of respondents who visit their country of origin as frequently as possible grows. Moreover, African migrants maintain contact with their countries of origin and in many cases are regularly informed about developments there.
Sociability
With regard to the sociability of African migrants in Greece, it can be observed that men spend time out of home or in public spaces more often than women do. Women tend to frequent co-nationals’ homes or controlled spaces dominated by patriarchal structures (e.g. religious spaces). The domestic space is the main realm of female sociability, whilst the public space and the workplace are the main realms of male sociability. Family-, nationality- or race-based interpersonal networks are made the most of and actually constitute the base on which both genders build their sociability. Women, in particular, do not easily appear in public and segregate themselves.
Involvement and active citizenship
Both male and female African migrants have a very low participation rate in formal professional networks (e.g. trade unions, professional associations) or civic networks (e.g. civil society organisations, political parties). On the other hand, they are very highly involved in migrant associations and religious associations.
Among the African migrants, those hit the hardest by the country’s economic crisis are those who achieved and/or sought integration/incorporation in Greek society. The economic crisis affected the integrated migrants, i.e. usually the long-established, legally residing ones, etc. They are the ones faced with the greatest challenges.
A characteristic excerpt from an interview with a representative of a migrants’ organization demonstrates that the Greek state’s sole concern when it comes to migrant integration is the labour market and that no comprehensive, consistent or well-thought-out policy for the inclusion/integration of migrants appears to have been developed:
“For those who have spent many years [here] and have stayed, Greece is the only country in which one may be granted the residence permit only to lose it one or two years later. I mean, the state uses migrants like machines, you see… It links their presence in the country with work, with employment. If you are employed, you get the papers; if not, you get nothing. I mean, for so many years they’ve been talking about social integration, but I haven’t seen any policy on this issue. And this has been a cause for problems in Greek society. [In other words,] a migrant who spent twenty, twenty-five years in Greece is treated just the same as a migrant who’s just arrived… I mean, a migrant who entered, say, two years ago. As soon as they enter [Greece], (...) they are regularised; (...) [in accordance with the] regularisation laws in the past, migrants who had just entered and migrants who had lived here for thirty years [received the same treatment]. [In] the same way, you were told: You didn’t collect enough employment stamps, that’s it, you’re gone! And the migrant who had arrived the day before: You don’t have enough employment stamps, that’s it, you’re gone! This kind of policy cannot bring about integration.” (F.Μ.Ν.).
The great majority of African immigrants report that their financial status is below average compared to the native households. Better financial status is reported by those who came in the past and have lived in Greece for several years, are of a relatively older age, highly-educated and, of course, have the legal documents. Higher expectations are more likely to be reported by migrants of a lower financial status, who consider that by seeking opportunities their financial situation can improve.
Integration of the “second generation”
At the end of this brief record of issues pertaining to the inclusion/integration of African migrants it would be interesting to look at some excerpts from interviews about the integration of the first generation, the relationship between “first” and “second” generation, and some identity challenges for the children of migrants in Greece.
A young man who came to Greece at an early age and went through the Greek educational system draws a distinction between the challenges for the first and the second generation and focuses on the need for children to actively facilitate and enhance the parents’ inclusion/integration:
“The point is the migration issue in Greece overall. It is not about the second generation. The second generation is part of the migration issue. It has its own problems, nothing special. The main challenge for the second generation is the gap separating it from the first generation. Today, a child who can speak Greek, who conducts himself, understands what Greece is, or indeed what the crisis is… there is a different perception between a second generation child and the first generation. (...) The first generation goes at great lengths to make sure that their children are not faced with the same difficulties as themselves, but they do not tell them the truth. I mean, in the world we are living in, there is no chance that you will find a job even if you have a PhD… No employer would ever care about that (...) Even if you do have a job, it does not solve your problems. There will always be problems. The government does not have a solution.” (Ν.Κ.).
The ambiguous position of the children of African migrants is eloquently described by the daughter of an African migrant who enjoys legal status, since her father was granted refugee status many years ago:
“Especially the children who grew up or were born here, when they are with Africans they are treated, they are seen as Greeks and when they are with Greeks, respectively, they are seen as Africans by the Greeks. We have, like, an ambiguous, how shall I put it… identity. We are vacillating between the two. One person sees you in a certain way, another person sees you [in a different way]. And this is also true for, say, persons of mixed race. Children born to mixed marriages (...) When they are with black people, they are seen as white; when they are with white people, they are seen as black. That’s what I mean.” (Μ.Κ.).
Another elucidating description was provided by a child of Nigerian migrants, who attempts to build an “individual identity” for himself without favouring either the African or the Greek identity:
“[I am building] like a bridge between the two, the two lands, say. That’s what I do. Building a new identity. I cannot say I am Greek, nor can I say I am African. That’s not possible. (...) If you join the two circles together, I stand in the space where they intersect. In the golden section (...) [And I do this] in full conscience” (Μ.Α.).
According to estimates, although the number of African newcomers dropped noticeably after 2012, African immigrants suffer a disproportionately large number of racist attacks compared to their population, based on data from the Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN). At present, most of the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are undocumented and less than 5,000 individuals have a valid residence permit. Most of them are in search of ways and opportunities to leave the country, and this is true even for those who do have legal residence documents. Among those who have lived in the country for decades, there are several who believe that the country is “kicking them out”, because of the red tape and the inconsistency of its migration and citizenship policies. It could be suggested that those who remain in Greece do so in spite of the difficulties they face and because of the interpersonal and familial relationships they have established.