Women Immigrants in the City

There is a saying in my country, “If you want to know who I am walk a mile in my shoes.”

I’d like you to close your eyes for a minute and imagine what it feels like to be an immigrant. You have left your country, your home, your loved ones and your job behind, to begin a journey to a new country. Many of you are forced into immigrating by the circumstance of WAR. Most of you are victims of failing economies and you have ventured out dreaming of finding a better tomorrow.

You arrive at your destination tired and worn out. Uncertainty is your best friend and despair your closest kin.

Imagine that the average Greek women needs X amount of time to find work, now multiply that by 10. Imagine the average family’s search for food and shelter and multiply that by 20. Imagine the Greek mother’s anxiety, hopes and dreams for her children’s future and well being and multiply that by 100. Facto r in the lack of language skills and the process of becoming legal in all equations and now you begin to get the idea. Now somehow you have discovered the reality for the immigrant woman..

What may seem for most of us the mundane trials and tribulations of everyday life for the immigrant becomes a seemingly never ending uphill struggle to survive. .

One of the foremost concerns of the immigrant woman is the acquisition of legal residence and work permits. Despite the fact that major efforts have been made by the Government to register and grant working permits to foreigners, problems do prevail. Bureaucracy and the lack of coordination between ministries have proved to be major stumbling blocks to the expedient acquisition of necessary documents. Registration for the White card (ProswrinhV KartaV ParamonhV) and then the Green card (KartaV ParamonhV PeriorismenhV CronikhV DiarkeiaV) in many cases still does not insure that you will be problem free. All too often the bureaucratic mechanisms grind to a halt at some phase of the process, causing deadlines to overlap and often expire.

Frustratingly enough the completion of the two phases den mπoruse na egguhqei stouV metanasteV oti qa diathrhsoun to nomimo kaqestoV akoma ki an arcika kataferoun na to aπokthsoun (Deltio quelliV, 1998 kai Baldwin-Edwards & Fakiolas, 1999).

From my experience when speaking with Foreign Women’s groups it can be determined that there is tremendous lack of information concerning their rights and the proper procedures for acquisition of permits, IKA etc. Women tend to rely on the experiences of others and often act in accord with their friends’ experiences. Different groups act accordingly to the collective experience usually based on length of stay in the country. For example the Filipinos who have been engaged in these procedures for some decades are the most informed because they have access to a strong grassroots network for support.

For the sake of time I would like to outline the priorities for the foreign women as they have been expressed to me through interviews with women of various ethnic backgrounds, economic status and educational training.

1. Employment
2. Language
3. Health and Social Services
4. Education
5. Day Care
6. Inclusion in Society (the need to be accepted, respected and to belong)

The number one requirement for all is work. Statistics compiled by the Eqnikou Institoutou ErgasiaV (EIE-KabounidiV & Catzidaki, 1999) show that 91% of foreigners come from 10 countries with Albanians comprising 65% of that total population. At a distance follow Bulgaria 6.7%, Romania 4.5%, Pakistan, Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, India, Egypt, the Philippines and Africa. For some of these countries the immigration is almost completely dominated by women for example Philippines 83%, Ukraine 80%, Moldavia74%. These statistics are extremely important when we begin to look at the impact these women have and will have in the work force and on the economy, particularly in respect to their position in relation to certain professions.

According to research done by Lambrianidis & Brahimi 2000, the majority of immigrant women are employed in three areas: Domestic Help with a daily wage Factory work mainly garment industry and Cleaning services for offices, apartment buildings etc. The break down of these categories changes percentage wise depending on where the women are from. For example almost 90% of Philippine women serve as domestic help. 27% of Albanian women work as domestic help and for the Africans it is fair to say that 85% of the women work in domestic help. According to the studies it is rare to find a foreigner working in the area they have trained for. A study of the Albanians in Thessaloniki showed that 28.7% of the women had degrees from higher learning institutions. A large percentage of the African women residing in Greece are students in Greek universities or have received degrees and work experience from other countries. Immigrant women whether Nurses, Professors or Political engineers for sure their beginnings here in Greece were to say the least humble!

H suntiriπtikh πleioyufia aπascoleitai se eπahhelmata me camilo kuroV ka aneπiqumhta gia tiV EllhnideV ergazomeneV. It must be noted that there is a huge problem of the so called flesh trade which seems to affect women of the Eastern block i.e. Ukraine, Georgia. I would do this subject an injustice to try to speak about this aberration of societal norm in ten minutes, but it has to be mentioned because it is a cruel reality for some women here in the city.

A large concern for many women who hold degrees and other qualified skills is that they be allowed the opportunity for advancement and betterment. There is a fear that they may become trapped in a socio-economic “ghetto” of employment opportunity. May it be noted that evidence from a study done by Lambrianidis & Brahimi shows that self-employed foreign women make up an alarmingly small percentage of the population.

Language- skills and usage :

Although official training and formal schooling is almost non-existent, language skills amongst men seem to be high According to the research done by Lambrianidis, Albanian men due to day to day on the job usage of the language seem to learn quite well the Greek language. On the other hand the women statistically more than half do not have satisfactory use of the language.

It is imperative for the immigrant woman to learn the Greek language. If she is to integrate and assimilate into the Greek society we as a society should be troubled by the low percentages of immigrants capable of also writing the language. Once again statistics show ( Lambrianidis &Brahimi,2000) that 35% of Albanian women had partial knowledge of written language while 56% had no knowledge of the written language. My experience with the African community allows me to suggest similar percentages for them as well.

Health Insurance and Retirement Benefits

One of the most positive things to come out of the registration and legalization process is the rise in numbers of insured immigrants. It is estimated that about 65% of Albanians in Lambrianidis’ study have acquired health books.

For most women asked the greatest fear is the fear that the system will fail them when they need it most. Death of a spouse, severe illness and birth defects in newborn were some of the cases indicated. Many women also felt that they futilely pay into a retirement system that will only desert them in their old age because most of them will not have accumulated the required ensima for even the lowest pensions. Many who dream of one day returning to their homelands desire a system through which they could retrieve their money or some % of it for coverage in their countries.

Education

In the case of education for their children let’s consider the fact that in the Greek school system there are approximately 105.000 immigrants, 65,000 are of Albanian origin. Immigrant students make up 7.9% of the total population according to statistics compiled by Drettakis,2000. It is of main concern to certain groups that their children be allowed to also learn their languages.

The ministry of Education has a number of pilot multicultural schools but sadly they do not have multicultural teachers! Studies done in the pilot program for Roma education showed, student performance and attendance was enhanced by the participation of Roma teachers. It is imperative that children have positive role models that reflect their own reality, not only for purposes of education but for purposes of positive self image and self esteem.

In spite of initial barriers, the last few years have shown increasing success of foreign students in the Greek educational system. This success is reflected in the

ever increasing numbers of foreign students who achieve perfect scores and are thus entitled to carry the Greek flag as tradition goes.

Primary Day Care access continues to be a problem for foreign women. Research shows that the lack of day care centers affects many Greek women too. Special effort however must be made to accommodate these children as little or non of the parents have the luxury of being able to stay home or do they have the extended family to help with child care needs. Day Care is the 1st stepping stone in the process leading up to these children’s acclamation to Greek society and language.

It is in day care that they will acquire their first friends a necessary exchange for Greek and foreign children. Interaction of the mother’s is also easier in day care. The pressures of 1st grade homework do not exist and through activities parents are more inclined to socialize.

Finally and perhaps most important is the need expressed by all of the women to BELONG. Foreigners want to become a “Visible” part of their communities. Women want to feel that they are recognized as human beings and not just the receiver of hundreds of orders given each day in hundreds of households!

One woman from living in Crete put it like this “ Everyday we are spoken AT on the job. Outside of the work environment we are not spoken TO. It’s like we are invisible.” Thanks to many of these women our lives a made easier. Because of them we have more time to spend on our careers, on ourselves, with our families and our spouses. When we need our loved ones to be looked after we rely on their good natures and grace. We owe it to them to see them really see them for the human beings that they are and for their so needed contribution to our society.

I may add that it is important that each community keep its identity intact. Of the 500 Albanian people asked in Lambrianidis’ study, 170, 34% said that they changed their names to facilitate access to the Greek community.

In closing I pose a question for you all, How can the Municipalities help the transition from immigrant to community member?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Train your personnel well. Ensuring that your personnel are always well informed of all the latest updates on issues concerning immigrants. Very often mandates are circulated but seldom read by all causing confusion for all.

2. Be creative in finding programs that fund initiatives to help immigrants. Find ways to use funds to hire qualified immigrants for particular tasks relating to them. Language barriers are always a source for frustration for the staff and the immigrant. Use qualified interpreters (from your community of immigrants) who can be the first to handle immigrants needs

3. Now that registration is the duty of the municipality you have all the statistical data to assess your community needs. Help foreigners help themselves. Grass roots organizations when well organized can save bureaucrats a lot of money! Make your facilities accessible for gatherings, language classes and seminars.

4. Develop sensitivity in your community through activities that celebrate the different cultures in your community. Designate a World Day in your neighborhood. Create incentives for building a tighter community that includes everyone. This can be done by creating teams that everyone can be a part of, create awards for good neighbors, safety patrols for community action against crime, Old people watch – volunteers who look in on the aged in your community and many more.

5. Most of all accentuate the positive and the similarities of everyone and not the differences.

«To na einai mia koinwnia monoπolitimikh se ena πoluπolitismiko kosmo einai meionekthma. Mia anoikth πroV ta exw ekei dhnatothta na eisπrattei dhmioqrgika ta mhnumata twn kairwn. Oi koinwnies πou xeroun na akoun,na bleπoun kai na maqainoun coriV πrokatalhyeiV qa aπokomisoun ta πerissotera ofelh.» Lamπrianidhs- Lumπerakh

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE!!!!!