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[h=2]Greece’s problem with immigration[/h]
June 9th, 2012 |
Author: Online Press
Many immigrants have made perilous journeys, but Greece is rarely their final destination
(BBC, 9 Jun) – The influx of new arrivals here has made immigration a hot social issue and a key theme in the upcoming election. In last month’s inconclusive poll, the virulently anti-immigration Golden Dawn party swept into parliament for the first time in its history, promising to lay landmines along the border with Turkey.
The party rejects the neo-Nazi label, but its leader has been filmed making Hitler salutes, and he recently denied that gas chambers were used in the Holocaust and said the figure of six million Jews killed was “an exaggeration”.
During a heated TV debate on Thursday a party spokesman hit a woman MP in the face, prompting a warrant for his arrest.
Last month, Golden Dawn members rounded on a derelict factory in Patras traditionally used by immigrants for shelter. They threw petrol bombs and set fire to parts of the building, clashing with riot police. The incident was sparked by the murder of a Greek man, allegedly by three Afghans.
The victim’s cousin, Thymios Koklis, says the attitude of Greeks towards uncontrolled immigration is hardening.
“We can’t have so many immigrants – we don’t even have jobs ourselves,” he says. “The migrants are in a way the victims of this whole story. But I would blame the government that doesn’t do anything to protect Greeks from the hordes who come here. We’re very scared of them – people say they would take the law into their own hands.”
Would he take the law into his own hands?
“If the state can’t protect me, someone has to. Myself and my family,” he says.
.
Rest of the article from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18371800
19 Votes
(BBC, 9 Jun) – The influx of new arrivals here has made immigration a hot social issue and a key theme in the upcoming election. In last month’s inconclusive poll, the virulently anti-immigration Golden Dawn party swept into parliament for the first time in its history, promising to lay landmines along the border with Turkey.
The party rejects the neo-Nazi label, but its leader has been filmed making Hitler salutes, and he recently denied that gas chambers were used in the Holocaust and said the figure of six million Jews killed was “an exaggeration”.
During a heated TV debate on Thursday a party spokesman hit a woman MP in the face, prompting a warrant for his arrest.
Last month, Golden Dawn members rounded on a derelict factory in Patras traditionally used by immigrants for shelter. They threw petrol bombs and set fire to parts of the building, clashing with riot police. The incident was sparked by the murder of a Greek man, allegedly by three Afghans.
The victim’s cousin, Thymios Koklis, says the attitude of Greeks towards uncontrolled immigration is hardening.
“We can’t have so many immigrants – we don’t even have jobs ourselves,” he says. “The migrants are in a way the victims of this whole story. But I would blame the government that doesn’t do anything to protect Greeks from the hordes who come here. We’re very scared of them – people say they would take the law into their own hands.”
Would he take the law into his own hands?
“If the state can’t protect me, someone has to. Myself and my family,” he says.
.
Rest of the article from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18371800
19 Votes
