The National Broadcasting Council decides on the decision on the degrading portrayal of a black woman in the show “Eftichite””

The National Broadcasting Council decides on the decision on the degrading portrayal of a black woman in the show “Eftichite””

  Blackface is an insult to an entire race, not a Halloween costume.

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(Ελληνικά) Παλαιστίνη – Ισραήλ. Ποιος είναι ο καλός σ’ αυτόν τον πόλεμο;

(Ελληνικά) Παλαιστίνη – Ισραήλ. Ποιος είναι ο καλός σ’ αυτόν τον πόλεμο;

Sorry, this entry is only available in Ελληνικά.

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Blackface: racism in disguise

Blackface: racism in disguise

“My childhood nightmare was masquerade parties. Always someone would have chosen to be the “black”, painted in dark paint, wearing a bone and an afro wig. The highlight: at one such party, my uncle’s wife came dressed like this” … and no, it wasn’t funny.

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Solomon: Generation 2.0 RED on “honorary” naturalizations

Solomon: Generation 2.0 RED on “honorary” naturalizations

  The (defiantly) honorary naturalization of the Turkish businessman Yasam Ayavefe last June revealed, among other things, another aspect of the crooked naturalization system in our country.

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Elina Tzengo: the struggle for Greek citizenship before the struggle for the gold medal

Elina Tzengo: the struggle for Greek citizenship before the struggle for the gold medal

European javelin champion, Elina Tzengo, that gave Greece the gold medal at the European Championships in Munich, until recently, could not even participate in international events. She didn’t lack talent, but Greek citizenship.

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The Item Bank and the new naturalization system: a critical assessment

The Item Bank and the new naturalization system: a critical assessment

The report entitled “The Item Bank and the new naturalization system: a critical assessment” is published as part of the project “Citizenship in practice”, implemented under the Active citizens fund program, by Generation 2.0 for Rights, Equality & Diversity in partnership with the Hellenic League for Human Rights. Specifically, it is part of the action “monitoring and highlighting issues in the procedure for granting citizenship” […]

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Choosing to dream | “Don’t lose your confidence and keep on searching’’

Choosing to dream | “Don’t lose your confidence and keep on searching’’

This is Mr. Fartash and he is 54 years old. He comes from Iran and lives in Greece for one year now. With a very polite and friendly personality, Mr. Fartash is the person who will share with you, without any hesitation, his many outstanding life experiences. When we needed his help, in order to write this article on his work story, he was willing […]

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Job Adverts of Thursday are now 5 years old

Job Adverts of Thursday are now 5 years old

February 11, 2016. The first ever Job Adverts Thursday article is being published by Generation 2.0 RED. A fresh and ambitious attempt of the organisation, just before the Career Counselling service was launched. An activity which was aiming back then, as well as today, to bring closer employers and people of migrant/refugee background seeking employment, by providing them with a common “networking” platform. “Job search […]

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Giannis should be #morethananathlete

Giannis should be #morethananathlete

“Greece is a country of white people”. This is a phrase of Giannis Antetokounmpo in a recent interview, in which he presented an image of his country through his own eyes. Following this interview, a crescendo of racism unfolds. Firstly, Konstantinos Kalemis, an executive of the National Center for Public Administration and until recently coordinator of Refugee Education, characterizes the Greek international basketball player with […]

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Managing Diversity in the Workplace

Managing Diversity in the Workplace

The non-profit organisation Generation 2.0 for Rights Equality & Diversity launched in March of 2019 an educational program on Diversity, addressed to organisations and companies, with the support of the International Rescue Committee. The program with the title “Managing Diversity in the Workplace” is based on the “Diversity 2.0 – An Employers’ Guide”, printed in February 2019 with the support of the European Network Against […]

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HIDE & SEEK: “All our life, the struggle for a paper, now it is our strong paper”

HIDE & SEEK: “All our life, the struggle for a paper, now it is our strong paper”

Written by Nataliya R. In the last years, thousands of young people – and others not so young – who were born and/or raised in Greece, have gotten  Greek citizenship. Outside the naturalization offices, one by one they emerged from the depths of the frozen waiting to the surface and took their first breaths. They obtained lungs  thatinhale fresh air, legs that travel freely, hands that […]

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HIDE & SEEK: “Ι don’t have a hundred rumbles, but I have one hundred friends”

HIDE & SEEK: “Ι don’t have a hundred rumbles, but I have one hundred friends”

Written by Nataliya R. The path of a refugee towards naturalization is like a poorly maintained rodeo at a luna park, that runs in a big avenue with 200 km/h, on a holiday. For some people, this road is one way, for others pedestrian, for some other motorway, and for others there is not even a road, they create it themselves. Sometimes with their own life. […]

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HIDE & SEEK: The Pause | “Intégrée means to be deep inside the society”

HIDE & SEEK: The Pause | “Intégrée means to be deep inside the society”

Written by Nataliya R. Dame was born in Senegal in 1967. Twenty-nine years later he comes to Thessaloniki, Greece and twenty-two years after that we meet in Korai square one Saturday afternoon. Young, smiling with kind eyes. Making estimations with robotic math, my first question to ask him was his age. Indiscriminate, but it was not making sense. “I am 51“. He is probably a Jarmusch’s […]

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We are here. Whether you like it or not.

We are here. Whether you like it or not.

Prompted by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s post on social media in regards to the derogatory racist remarks of so called sports journalist Takis Tsoukalas directed at his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo, we want to see an end to everyday racist behaviors as well as to highlight the response mechanisms available. The anti-racism law L. 4285/2014 passed in September 2014 counts any public, verbal or via press or via […]

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Choosing to Dream | “I want to become a lawyer, defending the rights of women, refugees and immigrants”

Choosing to Dream | “I want to become a lawyer, defending the rights of women, refugees and immigrants”

Fawzia came to Greece from Afghanistan at the age of 17. Today, she is 19 years old and a mother of a 1.5-year-old girl. She is also a volunteer in Generation 2.0 RED, as a teacher’s assistant on the advanced class of the Greek language courses. Her dedication and inclination in learning languages helped her speak very good Greek in less than 2 years. Now, […]

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World Refugee Day: Drawing a new life

World Refugee Day: Drawing a new life

Ahmad is 8 years old. He has brown hair and his dark eyes look around astonished. His brother, a few years younger, looks like him, only a little bit shorter. Both very quiet, they are playing together. Their mother wears pink trousers and her hijab is full of colors. With her green eyes she looks at her daughter, the youngest among her children. Next to […]

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HIDE & SEEK: The Pause | The teacher who didn’t study tells us: “Study!”

HIDE & SEEK: The Pause | The teacher who didn’t study tells us: “Study!”

Absent-mindedly spinning the globe light in Lena’s office, I stare at the continents that pass quickly before my eyes. So similar and so different! I put my pointer to stop the orbit and I look to see the place I got. My finger stands on Libya. I look closer and find myself on Tripoli. Closer… and I am in some unknown neighborhood. I see trees […]

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What do you wish employers knew about you and your skills?

What do you wish employers knew about you and your skills?

Written by Anna-Maria Vouzouneraki, Career Counselor of Generation 2.0 RED Many young people who are looking for a job today would like to be asked the question: What do you wish employers knew about you and your skills? They would definitely have a lot to say about their positive characteristics, their potential, the treasure that each of them carries within and wants to share. But […]

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Choosing to Dream – “As pressure makes coal into diamonds, it also brings man to perfection!”

Choosing to Dream – “As pressure makes coal into diamonds, it also brings man to perfection!”

This is Yasser. He is only 20 years old, which makes him the youngest person of our column until now! He comes from Afghanistan and has been living in Greece for two years now. With a very discrete presence and the most polite nature, Yasser is the kind of person you don’t forget, for he is such a good and sweet young man. After this […]

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5+1 Myths about Greek citizenship

5+1 Myths about Greek citizenship

Last week, the internet was flooded with duplications of an article published by capital.gr, leading up to the April 14th front page cover of Parapolitics. These articles, fueled with inaccuracies and leaps of logic, highlighted a supposed mass “Greekization” of migrants. It is common knowledge that in Greece every public debate on citizenship will trigger myths and will cultivate fear or hope, depending on how […]

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What do Greeks believe about migration and national identity in 2018?

What do Greeks believe about migration and national identity in 2018?

For the third consecutive year, diaNEOsis conducted their nationwide poll “What do Greeks believe”. With the use of a questionnaire, the study reflects the position of today’s Greek citizen on a wide range of social issues. The 80 questions used capture the views, experiences and aspirations of the Greek citizen on topics such as Europe, the economy, individual rights, education, religion, sexual harassment as well […]

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The glass door behind me: the lesson we haven’t learnt, two years after the EU-Turkey Deal

The glass door behind me: the lesson we haven’t learnt, two years after the EU-Turkey Deal

Photo taken by Abdulazez Dukhan – Through Refugee Eyes An article by Silvia Giulini They were right in front of me, behind the glass door. It was the only thing separating me from 100 persons. They were of all ages: children, adults, old people. Some must have had my age, they could have been me, a friend of mine or a university classmate. Differently from […]

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ΗIDE & SEEK: The Freedom | Europe in her hands

ΗIDE & SEEK: The Freedom | Europe in her hands

I open the teleconference and her face fills the screen: young, calm and agile. Her name is Rosa. I do not tell her how beautiful her name is, this is what everyone tells her, no doubt, and I don’t want to sound banal. When she was a little kid she dreamed of becoming a lawyer to defend those who could not defend themselves, but when […]

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The Refugee issue ended in 2016… NOT!

The Refugee issue ended in 2016… NOT!

By Natalie Sotiropoulos From the 14th of February, Ghouta is being mercilessly pounded by aerial attacks against the remaining dissidents’ forces in the city. The Asad government claimed that no civilian population is targeted or threatened, but the data are shocking: According to the Syrian Human Rights Watch, more than 800 civilians have been killed by the violent bombings launched at the guerrilla bastion. Among […]

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Choosing to Dream | “To learn and to evolve: there is the key to success!”

Choosing to Dream | “To learn and to evolve: there is the key to success!”

The Choosing to Dream column this time hosts Saeid, a 31-year-old man from Iran. He has been living in Greece for something like more than a year now, and he already speaks so good Greek that makes you wonder: How does one learn such a difficult language so quickly? Very polite and willing, Saeid gave us a meaningful interview that answers the previous question. When […]

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Hide & Seek: The Entry, the Pause & the Freedom

Hide & Seek: The Entry, the Pause & the Freedom

You live your whole life in a country and you request to be recognized as a citizen: – You ask too much! As you start the complex and fluid process of citizenship: – We all have bureaucracy problems, yet you are the only one complaining about it! As soon as you get your papers and have the rights of a Greek citizen: – You are […]

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“My first day in G2RED… Τwo years ago!”

“My first day in G2RED… Τwo years ago!”

When you live in another country and you don’t understand what’s going on. An article by Silvia Giulini 23rd of February 2016. I was outside ROMANTSO, waiting for my supervisor. She told me to come at 10:00 but she was not there, yet. In front of me there was a bar, a door and a weird door phone without names, only numbers. The place was […]

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Choosing to dream – “I give all my force to this effort”

Choosing to dream – “I give all my force to this effort”

Our next interviewee is Henry Morris. He is 43 years old, from Nigeria and has been living in Greece for 13 years now. What to say about this guy? Full of energy, always smiling, more communicative than most of us, always up to something new and  willing to keep on going! Let’s hear it from him. “I am occasionally working at a pastry shop in […]

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Opening the Suitcase

Opening the Suitcase

Written by Nataliya R.* – Good morning, I’m here to sign up on the Population Register, I said proudly as if I came to receive a scholarship for the Oxford University. – When did the decision arrive? The voice behind the glass. – A week ago. My voice in front of the glass. – Oh, then no… you will come after 20 days in order […]

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Life in the hotspots, a Waiting for Godot life

Life in the hotspots, a Waiting for Godot life

Estragon: What do we do now? Vladimir: I don’t know. Estragon: Let’s go. Vladimir: We can’t. Estragon: Why not? Vladimir: We’re waiting for Godot. – Samuel Beckett – Written by Silvia Giulini I looked around. Scattered between the bushes, which were dry because of the very warm weather, some tents proved the presence of people living there. It took me some time before getting closer. […]

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Angela Davis | More relevant than ever

Angela Davis | More relevant than ever

Written by Natalia Sotiropoulou A few days ago, Angela Davis was the keynote speaker at the Pulantzas Institute in Athens, for the “Abolition Feminism: Theories & Practices of our Time” event. I don’t think there is someone, anyone really, who could be more appropriate as a central speaker than a woman whose agenda has been around and relevant for almost fifty years. For those who […]

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The Treadmill Era: Testimony by a slave trade victim

The Treadmill Era: Testimony by a slave trade victim

“We keep on going, thinking we run away from the old ages but, in reality, we stand on the exact same place.” An article by Ahmed Fares Stage one: The Facebook When H. changed his Facebook profile picture and I saw him standing beside the Eiffel tower, I took the decision to do anything possible or impossible to move to Europe. This is how P. […]

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Slavery in 2017: The Unheard of

Slavery in 2017: The Unheard of

An article by Etinosa Erevbenagie It’s not because I saw an almost age mate of mine, who grew up in the city where I was born, being captured, humiliated, tortured, auctioned and sold. Yes, sold. You read that right: SOLD. Just like an iPhone 6 you don’t want anymore. It’s not because most of them are from West Africa, where I’m also from. It’s not […]

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Through other people’s opinions

Through other people’s opinions

An article by Natalia Sotiropoulos “If it wasn’t on TV, it never happened…?” Each and every one of us shapes his/her opinion based on his/her experiences, on what he/she saw, heard or read. What happens, though, when you haven’t seen, heard or read something? What happens when it comes to shaping an opinion on an issue that is currently happening? This is when the Media […]

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Choosing to Dream | “Without speaking the language we can’t build any kind of relationship”

Choosing to Dream | “Without speaking the language we can’t build any kind of relationship”

Our third interviewee for the “Choosing to Dream”column is Foroozan Amiri. Foroozan is a young woman, only 25 years old, who comes from Afghanistan. She arrived in Greece last year and has been working as a cultural mediator for some time now. But how did she make this fresh start? We will let her speak for herself. “I am currently working with Save the Children […]

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In the middle of Flanders

In the middle of Flanders

By Silvia Giulini In the middle of Flanders, in Belgium, 30 minutes from Bruxelles by train, there is a small city called Mechelen. Its beautiful main square is enclosed by small symmetrical houses and, behind some of them, the cathedral raises majestically. Although significant, there is something even more beautiful than its monuments, which makes this city unique: The fact that 138 different nationalities live […]

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A Postcard from Greece

A Postcard from Greece

By Silvia Giulini At the stroke of the 20th hour of the day, the sailors weigh anchors and the ferry starts, slowly, to glide on the sea. Next to me Abdullah, a young Afghan guy, smiles. He turns towards me and tells me, almost in confidence, “I don’t want to see Lesvos at least for the next five years. I hate it”. In front of […]

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Refugees skate their way from the camps to the center of Athens!

Refugees skate their way from the camps to the center of Athens!

By Rosie Fly Meet Alex. Alex is the owner of the Ministry of Concrete in Athens. Some time ago, the shop was about to close and an old stock went for sale. Fortunately for us, things changed, the shop stayed open and got transferred in the center of Athens (Axarlian Dionisiou 3, Syntagma). So, Alex, apart from an honest  businessman (honest businessman = someone who […]

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Choosing to Dream | “We must never stop fighting!”

Choosing to Dream | “We must never stop fighting!”

Mr. Mahmoud is 63 years old and Bangladesh is his country of origin. He has been living in Greece for more than 20 years and he sets the example of a person who has not only faced efficiently the difficulties that came his way, but he also made good use of the opportunity he saw. Always with his backpack, after having handed out his CV […]

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Diversity on a witch-hunt

Diversity on a witch-hunt

By Natalia Sotiropoulos A few days now, articles about the fierce prosecution of the homosexuals in Chechnya are all over the internet. As the independent Russian newspaper Novoya Gazeta states, homosexuals are being prosecuted, arrested and imprisoned. There have been denounced tortures and murders, as well as the existence of a concentration camp for homosexuals. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm all these facts, because the government […]

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20th of March, one year exactly after the Deal of the EU with Turkey

20th of March, one year exactly after the Deal of the EU with Turkey

By Silvia Giulini Photo by Abdulazez Dukhan, Through Refugees Eyes On the 20th of March 2016, exactly one year ago, the EU-Turkey Deal started to be applied. I was 24 and a few weeks before the signing of the Deal, I started my post graduated internship at Generation 2.0. It was my first time living abroad and I was finally working in a place where […]

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Choosing to Dream | “Hard Work Never Fails!”

Choosing to Dream | “Hard Work Never Fails!”

We launch a series of narratives concerning individuals who made a fresh start in Greece. They share their story with us, along with the difficulties they had to face, but also the new opportunities they took advantage of. Our first interviewee is Mawhib, 34, from Eritrea. He has now been living for 9 months in Greece and has been granted the refugee status. “I work […]

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How many more lives are going to slip through our hands before we talk about Moria?

How many more lives are going to slip through our hands before we talk about Moria?

It’s not long since we last spoke about the safety gaps in the camps, specially the one in Moria. The media talk about “unfortunate incidents” and “individual events”, but the truth is nowhere near these statements. When the tents in the camp of Moria were completely covered in snow and destroyed, topical media talked about policemen that did not let anyone inside nor outside of […]

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2017 is only a few hours away

2017 is only a few hours away

* Photo by Abdulazez Dukhan, Through Refugee Eyes New year’s eve is just around the corner, people are counting backwards the hours left, running to buy last minute gifts, the atmosphere is festive, children are happy cause of the snow, everyone is tightening their scarves, some hate Christmas and stay at home, others enjoy the holiday spirit, these magical days, the hugs, the kisses, the […]

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Because I wasn’t a Kid, I was a Foreigner

Because I wasn’t a Kid, I was a Foreigner

By Ganna Milenko A knock on the door of the classroom. The teachers stops the lesson. All eyes on the door that opens. The Vice Principal stands by the door with a A4 paper on hand. He apologizes to the teacher and takes a formal look. “The foreigners, please, stand and follow me”, he says with a loud and steady voice, as if we are […]

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“I love you Athena!”

“I love you Athena!”

The message of a young refugee leaving Athens “Well, here we are it is my last hours in Greece, Holly Greece, I really don’t know how to thank you and your people, for everything you gave to me: Love, adventures, good company, and for helping me to Rebuild my personality. Athens I am so sorry cuz I am leaving, you are my 2nd home I’ll […]

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Repeating the Greek Citizenship Story

Repeating the Greek Citizenship Story

By Dora Vangi & Nikos Odubitan In July 2015, the Law 4332/15 was voted, amending the Citizenship Code, and coming to fill in the legal vacuum caused by the abolition of the law 3838/10, securing the right to Greek citizenship for the second generation, meaning children of migrants who were born and/or raised in Greece. Without a doubt, that was its goal. However, still today, […]

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One More Typical Day in the Office of Generation 2.0 RED 

One More Typical Day in the Office of Generation 2.0 RED 

By Melina Kalfandi & Dora Vangi 30 people were gathered in the offices of Generation 2.0 RED, a space within 30m2, to use computers and internet provided for free to communicate with the Asylum Agency and get that hot-shot interview for international protection. The procedure is this: for every language and country of origin, there are specific hours to make an appointment through skype, one […]

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Young People and Hate Speech? We should blame everyone else but them

Young People and Hate Speech? We should blame everyone else but them

By Dora Vangi …And in Lifo we read “1st, LOL”. Where does this LOL come from? We can only feel sadness can we feel about what we just watched and it should be published, not for targeting this guy as a racist – we are sure that he expressed himself in that way due to ignorance – neither for the “irony” of this incident, but […]

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Civil Partnership & Moral Panic    

Civil Partnership & Moral Panic    

An article by Vassilis Gerasopoulos, a Criminology postgraduate student in Utrecht From the moment the civil partnership was voted, I am experiencing – in lack of a more fitting term– internal conflict. A voice in my head (the most realistic – or, perhaps, the most pessimistic) tells me that there is no reason for celebrating a legislation that has been unreasonably delayed and which, when […]

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The meaning of integration for the Government according to the National Strategy for the incorporation of third-country citizens in 2013

The meaning of integration for the Government according to the National Strategy for the incorporation of third-country citizens in 2013

By Andromachi Papaioannou In April 2013, the National Strategy for the integration of third-country citizens, which replaced the National Strategy of 2011, was published in the Ministry of Interior. Comparing the two strategies someone can easily understand the complete different perspective on the meaning of integration in an institutional level. “Integration is a dynamic, a two-way process of mutual adaptation of both immigrants and citizens […]

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Hidden Away with the Suitcases       

Hidden Away with the Suitcases       

By Nataliya R. I was born in 1987 in Symi, Ukraine, to my mother, who was a social historian and my father, who was a taxman. A few years later the Soviet Union collapsed. All the academics lost their jobs because they were supposedly undermining the new regime. So, in 1993, my mother took me and my brother and moved far away from an abusive […]

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Anna’s story, exactly how she sent it to us

Anna’s story, exactly how she sent it to us

Another child of immigrant origins that has gone to Greek school and graduated Greek University but still has no access to the labor market in her studies sector, not because she does not have the necessary skills, but because she does not have the Greek citizenship. “I am Anna from Thessaloniki, I come from Albania and I have been living in Greece for 18 years […]

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Equal Citizens | Interview with Bryan

Equal Citizens | Interview with Bryan

My name is Yohana Bryan, I am Assyrian and Ι was born on the 10th of August, 1984, in Tehran. My parents took the decision to leave the country since it was involved in a conflict with Iraq, plus the regime was theocratic (Islamic),thus opposing “infidels”. On the 11th of March 1987 we acquired the much-desired visa and came to Greece. I was two-and-a half […]

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Equal Citizens | Interview with Sarah

Equal Citizens | Interview with Sarah

What does Greek citizenship mean to you? To be Greek? For me, to have a Greek citizenship means that my rights are recognized as a citizen of the Greek society, not only because I was born and I live here, but because I have the Greek education. What does the country of your parents mean to you? I consider the country of my parents as […]

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Samara’s Theater: Conditional Citizenship | A Critical Stand

Samara’s Theater: Conditional Citizenship | A Critical Stand

By Joan van Geel Last June, Samaras was proudly showing off his generosity. Although Giannis Adetokounbo was already granted citizenship behind the scenes, Samaras saw his chance for a classical political trick. While surrounded by cameras, Samaras pretended to give Giannis his desired citizenship from his hands personally. Meanwhile, he extensively complimented Giannis for his extraordinary basketball performances, a sport so popular throughout Greece. Samaras emphasized how proud Greeks should be […]

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“Thee Greek education” and the hypocrisy of the State

“Thee Greek education” and the hypocrisy of the State

By Nikos Deji Odubitan & Andromacha Papaioannou * The artcicle was published at Protagon In the end, to become Greek, one needs more than just to be born or raised in Greece. What we all realized a month ago was that to become Greek, one needs to get (at least) in the NBA draft. Because, apparently, everything else is just not enough. Having finished school […]

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Hate Speech

Hate Speech

By Andriana Mardaki, Lawyer Many times, while searching information that interests me on the Internet, I see that what is more interesting, are the comments that accompany the articles or the opinion of the author. I also note that the more I read them the more I forget the original text, which was after all the main reason that attracted me to read them. The same […]

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