GREECE: Members of Greece's immigrants community celebrate the opposition socialists party lead in exit polls

Record ID: 348444

  • Title: GREECE: Members of Greece's immigrants community celebrate the opposition socialists party lead in exit polls
  • Date: 5th October 2009
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (OCTOBER 4, 2009) (REUTERS) (NIGHTSHOTS) HUNDREDS OF IMMIGRANTS HOLDING CELEBRATION DEMO IN CENTRAL ATHENS IMMIGRANTS SHOUTING PASOK, NAME OF SOCIALIST PARTY AND CLAPPING VARIOUS OF IMMIGRANTS BANGING DRUMS AND BELLY DANCING AND WAVING PASOK PARTY FLAGS IMMIGRANTS WAVING FLARES
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Reuters ID: LVA3ZZUHNVY36GI8AKZEAC8KCQQ6
  • Story Text: Members of Greece's immigrants community held their own celebrations, dancing and singing in the streets, over the opposition socialists party lead in exit polls.
    Members of Greece's immigrant community celebrated on Sunday (October 4) what looked like a victory for the opposition socialist party in elections.
    Immigrants from Afghanistan and the Middle East took the streets in their own celebrations as exit polls showed the opposition socialists leading by a wide margin.
    Its been a tough year for immigrants, plagued by various problems and the victims of racial backlash.
    Illegal immigration is a serious problem in Greece, tens of thousands of illegal immigrants cross by land and sea from Turkey every year and are forced to live in ghetto like conditions in Athens or in immigrant reception centres on islands.
    This year police conducted various sweeps of neighbourhoods rounding up the immigrants in order to take them to reception centres.
    Immigrants protested and were the victims of attacks from right wing groups.
    Human rights groups have complained that asylum grants are low in Greece while immigrants say they want their children born in Greece to be recognized by the state as citizens, a policy PASOK has placed on its agenda. The socialists also promised local voting rights to immigrants with more than five years of residence.
    In Athens immigrants live in filthy, overcrowded conditions, lured into criminal activity and putting them on the front-line of racist attacks and also face harassment by police.
    Human rights groups argue that the legalization of the immigrants and granting more political asylum applications will curb any criminal activity and help to better integrate them into society, as opposed to mass deportations.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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