The name is absent

34

With help from the Migrant’s Place Jigo was improving his Greek. The
Migrant ^,s Place was established in 1997 by the NGO, Network of Social Support for
Refugees and Migrants, as a place where migrants and refugees could interact with
Greeks, gain support, and find information. It has since grown into an influential center
where many different minority groups (of every ilk) meet. Since its inception, the
Migrant ^,s Place has offered Greek language lessons as part of their "∏iσω Θpαviα^,'
(Back Benches) program. Through the Migrant ^,s Place and elsewhere Jigo had also met
a few migrants that successfully transitioned into a comfortable life in Greece selling
produce at urban open-air markets (the laiki, λαiκf∣) which he saw as a potential future -
certainly better than hawking counterfeit designer purses on the street. However, in early
2007 Athens and most other local governments in the Attica region changed the
regulations governing the issuing of vendor’s permits such that only citizens and
permanent residents of Greece could obtain them. Hundreds of foreign nationals were
suddenly out of work, or forced to work illegally, sparking large protests. Jigo, still
interested in becoming a market vendor, asked me to research applying for permanent
resident status. I contacted the Canadian Embassy³² for direction and then proceeded to
the Foreigner’s Bureau at their suggestion.

The phone number I received from the Canadian Embassy connected me to a man
with a rough voice who answered with an abrupt “yes” after the phone rang eight or ten
times. After confirming I had the right office and receiving some verbal abuse for
speaking too slowly, the man informed me that the office was located far from the reach
of public transit and had limited hours - it was probably not worth my time to travel there.

³²1 am a Canadian citizen and have had contact with the embassy in Greece on other occasions, including
earlier that year when my apartment in Halandri was burglarized.

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