Greeks of Georgia: Main factors and motivations of emigration

Abstract

Massive migration from Georgia started in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The majority of the migrants went abroad seeking jobs, and like other ethnic groups residing in Georgia, Greeks were actively involved in this process. Even though the driving factor of migration appears to be Georgia's difficult economic situation, some official institutions looked upon this process as a form of repatriation. This article aims to establish the factors leading to the migration of Georgia's Greeks, analyzes 42 interviews carried out during the research, and compares socio-economic conditions in Georgia with those in the countries of destination.

Boundaries and Belonging in the Greek Community of Georgia

“…These four consultants present the minority opinion, not only in this corpus(Loladze, 2016(Loladze, , 2019 but also in other studies (cf Kokoev et al, 1999)…”

“…38 For a thorough exploration cf. Loladze (2016Loladze ( , 2019. 39 Similar to the policies in Germany, the process of obtaining citizenship became stricter and more exclusionary over time.…”

“…In addition to the many useful contacts it made available to me and the almost constant exchange on preliminary findings, difficulties and inspirations, it allowed me to work, travel, collect data and think together with Nika Lo-ladze, a human geographer working on the various Greek migrations in the project (cf. Loladze 2016Loladze , 2019. Our collaboration enriched this study in the following ways:…”

“…Along with their self-identification as Greek this experience of "staying behind" unites my consultants. Loladze (2016Loladze ( , 2019 carefully explores how most consultants speak about the decision to emigrate as one based on economic considerations. As discussed above, consultants also mention the civil war and rising nationalism.…”

Comparando o uso das línguas pelos falantes de minorías linguísticas: o caso dos descendentes alemães no Brasil e o caso dos gregos na Geórgia

“…Sobre o contexto da Geórgia, a comunidade dos gregos georgianos se disseminou drasticamente a partir do fim da União Soviética. A crise da Grécia certamente provocou um certo movimento de retorno à Geórgia, mas a maior parte dos jovens prefere continuar a sua migração para outros países europeus, como Chipre (ZOUMPALIDIS, 2016) ou Alemanha, e alguns preferem os Estados Unidos (LOLADZE, 2016). Se os laços entre os georgianos moradores de Geórgia e os outros que migraram são suficentemente fortes, e o uso dos meios de comunicação modernos que favorecem a interação entre eles se convencionalizarem bastante para praticar um uso recíproco e suficentemente intenso da língua necessário para dar continuidade a seu uso em outras terras, essa questão pode ser o ponto de partida para pesquisas futuras.…”