Hurriyet: Jobseekers from Greece Try Chances in Istanbul

By on January 10, 2012 in News

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet hosts a rather interesting article on crisis-hit Greeks who have immigrated to Istanbul. According to the article, Istanbul stands out as a popular destination for the 1.2 million Greeks – nearly ten percent of the population – who have emigrated and sought jobs abroad.

“In spite of accusations of “betrayal” by ultra-nationalist Greeks, rapprochement between Turkey and Greece is resulting in increased political, economic and social benefits for both sides” says Assistant Professor Dimitris Triantaphyllou, who came to Istanbul from Athens last year.

Psychologist Odysseas Voutsinas moved from Athens to Istanbul last month. Voutsinas was born in Istanbul in 1964 and studied at the Özel Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi before moving to Athens with his family. Voutsinas lived in Greece for 30 years, but he always had the idea of “returning” on his mind. “It was hard to leave Turkey, but it was hard to come back too”.

Fouli Koti, a twenty-five year old ex-Vodafone  manager in Thessaloniki moved to Istanbul and began working in the customer service department of an international oil company as Vodafone stores in Thessaloniki keep shutting down one after the other. “I wanted to take a risk and have a ‘Turkey adventure,’ but I must say I am disappointed in some ways,” she said. “I was living in one of the most popular districts in Thessaloniki and I was paying 340 euros for a big house of my own. Now I live in the central European side of Istanbul and pay the same amount for a small room in a shared house.”
Read the full article on Hurriyet



  • Mihalis

    Very inaccurate article.  Notice that there are no statistics on the number of Greeks who have supposedly moved to Turkey, but from what I have read elsewhere, it is no more than a few hundred, probably most of which have roots from Asia Minor.  Also, the woman who was quoted in the article about there only being two Vodafone stores left in Thessaloniki is way, way off.  Vodafone’s own website lists over 50 company stores in Thessaloniki alone.  But most importantly, the number cited that 1.2 million Greeks have “left” Greece just in 2010 is way, way, way off and was retracted by the Guardian, where it was first reported.  Read about it here: http://movegreeceforward.blogspot.com/2012/01/when-mythology-becomes-fact-12-million.html

  • Mihalis

    Is there any reason why the Greek Reporter has not retracted this article?  The 1.2 million figure  came from The Guardian and the Guardian later retracted it, so why not the Greek Reporter?  Could the pretty obvious editorial bias of the Greek Reporter have anything to do with it?  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/23/1057721/-When-mythology-becomes-fact:-the-12-million-people-who-left-Greece-in-2010