Greek economic crisis accelerates clashes between immigrants and locals.

[pampango]

Racial tensions mount in Greece

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/europe/100514/greece-immigration-economy-panteleimon

Today, he heads an Afghan immigrant association and lives in St Panteleimon, a gritty Athenian neighborhood balancing awkwardly along the racial fault line dividing the Greek capital. It is not a good time to be in Greece. The country is in the middle of a crisis, with official unemployment skyrocketing to over 12 percent in general and 25 percent among young people. Now that construction and industrial jobs are drying up, immigrants are less welcome than ever.

Muhamad is just one in the tapestry of immigrants crowding into St Panteleimon from Asia, Africa and eastern Europe. Tensions skyrocketed in recent years as immigrants began outnumbering Greeks and members of the Greek far-right moved there to fight “de-Hellenisation.” They rented or bought apartments overlooking the square, stretched Greek flags taut across their balcony railings, and began almost daily patrols harassing immigrants.

Although many left, others like Muhamad refuse to be intimidated.

Immigrants form an estimated 10 percent of Greece’s population of 11 million according to the United Nations. Periodic legalization drives and political inaction have exacerbated the racial divide and turned locals against the foreign presence. A chauvinist party called LAOS steadily gained in popularity. In the 2009 elections, it won 15 seats in parliament and became the third most-popular party in Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki. Its success reflects changing popular attitudes toward immigrants.

“In the past two years the harassment and intimidation have got worse and worse,” Muhamad said. “The right wing parties’ foot-soldiers often attack us, more as a vote-getting mechanism and to convince the electorate that they’re doing the job the police are not up to doing than because of anything else.” On May 4, knife-yielding vigilantes assaulted two Afghan laborers waiting to be picked up for a day’s work. A week before that, they had attacked the cafe where Muhamad spends his time. “There’s a heavy police presence but they do nothing when the fascists attack immigrants,” said Elektra Kouta, a human rights lawyer.

[madrchsod]

1. doing everything they can to distract people away from the truth...

the same thing will happen here if obama does`t get this country back on the road...