Migration in Europe

Contents

front page

Page

Chapter/Section

1.Greek History: Waves of Emigration

1.1.Introduction/General information

1.2.19th century

1.3.20th century

1.4.21st century/nowadays Greece

2.Two figures who immigrated to Greece and made their mark on the country

2.1.Lord Byron

2.2.Ross Daly

3.Two Greek figures who had to leave Greece and made a distinct mark worldwide

3.1.George Papanikolaou

3.2.Aristotle Onassis

Greek History: Waves of Emigration

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1.1.

Introduction/General information

Migration is a general term describing movement from one area to another.

Immigration is a sub-category of that which refers to people moving into a country from another country.

"Migration is an expression of the human aspiration for dignity, safety and a better future. It is part of the social fabric, part of our very make-up as a human family".

-Ban Ki-moon

Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their country due to war, persecution or natural disaster.

Trying to escape by any means.

In recent years there has been a large migratory movement, due to economic difficulties and long-term warfare. The refugees’ plight is an issue directly affecting all countries, and especially those of Europe, which have tried to support the displaced.

Immigration smiles in our city Trikala

check out the following compilation of pictures from refugees:

Two important waves of mass emigration took place after the formation of the modern Greek state in the early 1830s, one from the late 19th to the early 20th century, and another following World War II.

1.2.

19th century

The first wave.

The first wave of emigration was spurred by the economic crisis of 1893 caused by the rapid fall in the price of currants - the major export product of the country – in the international markets.

In the period 1890-1914, almost a sixth of the population of Greece emigrated, mostly to the United States and Egypt.

This emigration was, in a sense, encouraged by Greek authorities, who saw remittances as helping to improve the Greek economy.

The lasting effect on Greece's national consciousness was the expansion of the notion of "Hellenism" and "Hellenic diaspora" to the "New World" as it can be seen in the above picture.

1.3.

20th century

Immigration during 1919–1922,

the population exchange between GREECE and TURKEY.

The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement between May 1919 and October 1922.

The most remarkable point of the war is the Catastrophe of Smyrna. The Greek front collapsed with the Turkish counter-attack in August 1922, and the war effectively ended with the Great Fire of Smyrna.

Before the Catastrophe some of the Greeks who were living in Asia could sense that difficult times were coming and decided to emigrate to Greece.

1922 The Destruction of Smyrna

Glen Beck Spotlights the Great Fire of Smyrna

The Turkish government made the Greeks who were living inside their country leave in one night without their belongings. The local people treated those who arrived as foreigners. Thus, the Greeks became refugees in their own country.

If you are interested in the Catastrophe of Smyrna you should check out:

Moreover, with the Treaty of Lausanne the Greek and Turkish governments agreed to engage in a Population Exchange. It involved at least 1.6 million people (1,221,489 Greeks from Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, the Pontic Alps and the Caucasus, and 355,000 Muslims in Greece), most of whom were forcibly made refugees.

Interviews with Anatolian immigrants in Greece

Why did Huseyin return to his home in Greece 92 years later?|AJ stories

Greece: The Refugees’ Grandmother in Idomeni

If you are interested in the Population Exchange you should check out:

The Pontiac Genocide

saw the end of the Pontos community in its historic homeland, an area which accommodated a huge Greek population and culture. Entire villages and cities were devastated, while thousands were forced to flee to neighbouring countries.

According to various sources, several hundred thousand Ottoman Greeks died during this period. Most of the refugees and survivors fled to Greece (adding over a quarter to the prior population of Greece).