Survival and expansion: migrants in Greek rural regions

Abstract

Migratory movements towards southern Europe have increased considerably in the past 20 years. An important aspect of this process is connected to the agricultural sector and rural regions – a development connected to agriculture's particular weight in the economies and societies of all southern European countries. However, their role is not restricted to agriculture. They are also related to non‐agricultural economic activities and the overall support of aged populations, especially in marginal or mountainous rural areas. This paper draws on the qualitative and quantitative findings of two research projects carried out in three exemplar rural regions of Greece and over two different periods: 2000–2002 and 2004–2006. The aim of the research was the empirical investigation of the economic and social implications of the settlement and employment of migrant labour in rural Greece. The paper moves from the presentation of the theoretical and methodological framework to the presentation of the main findings for each period of the research. The socioeconomic implications of migrant employment and settlement in the regions studied are revealed in the light of the recent Common Agricultural Policy changes, and the changes following the implementation of ‘regularisation programmes’. Additionally, the characteristics of migration trends in these regions are identified and the formation of new migrant social groups, with different prospects of social integration and mobility, is revealed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Albania on the Move : Links between Internal and International Migration

“…Comparing data from the 2001 Greek census with those collected by the LFS in 2006, Baldwin-Edwards (2009: 23) suggests that employment of Albanians in Greek agriculture decreased by 50 per cent between these two years. Yet, they continue to constitute a considerable -if not a dominant -presence in this sector (Kasimis 2008). Until recently, they used to perform the heaviest and most stigmatised tasks such as harvesting, hoeing, weeding and manuring.…”

Albanian Seasonal Work Migration to Greece: A Case of Last Resort?

“…The latter, combined with stigmatization of manual labour in agriculture, is a strong factor affecting decisions of rural youths to take up off-farm work such as construction in local urban areas or to migrate seasonally to rural Greece. Ironically, most of those who take the second route become employed in agriculture, thus replacing Greek youths who themselves have left in large numbers for the cities, for precisely the same reasons (Cavounidis 2006, p. 108;Kasimis 2008;Kasimis and Papadopoulos 2005).…”

“…However, most of it has focused on urban areas, particularly in and around Athens and Thessaloniki, with rural areas largely overlooked (for key texts of the latter see Kasimis 2008; Kasimis and Papadopoulos 2005;Kasimis et al 2003;Sykas 2009a, 2009b). On the Albanian side, the impacts of migration on rural areas, especially from seasonal migrants working in agriculture, are not well understood (but see Gërmenji and Swinnen 2004;Gërmenji et al 2001;McCarthy et al 2006;Miluka et al 2007;Samson 1997;Vullnetari 2012a;Vullnetari and King 2011).…”

“…Comparing data from the 2001 Greek census with those collected by Labour Force Surveys in 2006, BaldwinEdwards (2008, p. 23) suggests that employment of Albanians in Greek agriculture decreased by 50 %. Yet, they continue to constitute a considerable-if not a dominant-presence in Greek agriculture (Kasimis 2008). Albanians are especially found in the plains of Thessaly and close to the Albanian border (Fakiolas 2003;Kasimis et al 2003).…”

Du contexte villageois au village global

“…Sur ce point, je partage l'argument de Becky Mansfield (2003, 3), selon lequel « spatialiser la mondialisation ce n'est pas seulement poser en principe la spécificité locale, mais c'est aussi prêter attention à la façon dont les pratiques économiques [entre autres] sont spatialement différenciées » 6 : la mondialisation ne se réalise pas de manière identique à l'échelle planétaire, et l'augmentation des échanges contribuerait à produire des différences, plutôt qu'une homogénéisation des lieux. Fonseca, 2008 ;Hugo, 2008 ;Hugo, Morén-Alegret, 2008 ;Kasimis, 2008 ;Morén-Alegret, 2008 ;Jentsch, Simard, 2009 ;Marrow, 2011 ;Nadler, 2012 ;Bayona-i-Carrasco, Gil-Alonso, 2013). D'autres études s'intéressent plus spécifiquement aux processus de mondialisation rurale (Woods, 2007 ;McCarthy, 2008) en lien avec la migratoire internationale (Hogan, 2004), comme par exemple l'étude de la circulation internationale à destination d'espaces ruraux qui constituent autant de niches économiques pour des migrants internationaux qui y travaillent généralement dans l'agriculture intensive.…”