43
both ideologically and symbolically (for more on racism and Greek identity see Tzanelli
2006 ). Although I should have perhaps expected this, I was nonetheless shocked to hear
overtly racist and ignorant comments from a government official - especially one
working at an office that serves immigrants.
I left the office disappointed. My interviews with Greeks had revealed this
attitude in the past, but I did, nonetheless, have hope that a government representative
might take a different line or at least indicate a positive upcoming policy change. This is
a crucial time for Greece as its undocumented migrant community is on the cusp of a
major change driven by several international political and social phenomena. With EU
expansion and the resultant opening of the job market in Europe, numbers of
undocumented migrants moving to Greece from such countries as Bulgaria, Georgia,
Ukraine and Romania will continue to drop42. Meanwhile, however, the flow of
undocumented migrants from Africa and Asia is on the rise and will continue to
increase43 - an inevitability the state has not accounted for, at least publicly. The total
number of undocumented migrants will increase and, under current policy, it will be
nearly impossible for this population to legalize (Baldwin-Edwards 2005). So while one
source of population flow is being closed off, another is only starting to open and flowing
into a basin from which it cannot easily escape. Greece will soon be inundated with
migrants like Jigo joining the growing informal community of survivors engaged in
illegal selling practices and other such activity while EU borders become further
42 This phenomenon was acknowledged by Greece’s Interior Ministry in an announcement made December
18, 2007.
4j This was also acknowledged by the Foreign Ministiy, although mentioned in passing and without any
projected population figures. An increase in migrants from Africa and Asia is also predicted by a number
of NGOs working in Athens and the by several members forming the National Commission of Human
Rights.