Greece is facing financial problems while bewildered Greeks are voting for racist political parties. They claim that illegal immigrants and immigrants in general are responsible for high unemployment rates. On the contrary, peaceful foreign people living in Greece prove they love our country and work for its benefit every way they can.
“Greece has enough place for everyone,” shout four immigrants sending the message of peaceful co-existence.
German Markus Stolz makes attempts to promote Greek wines abroad. He lives in the broader area of Attica, in Varybobi, along with his Greek wife Alexandra and their four children. During the past eight and a half years that he has lived in Greece, he has realized that “Greek wine is as special as Greeks. It has so many varieties and its quality keeps improving.” Markus has traveled along the country visiting almost every Greek winery during the past six months.
Sandra Berten’s personal story looks like a fairy tale. The 31-year-old artist was born in Belgium, lived for few years in Iraq, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Congo and Burundi, while she has spent the past six and a half years in Greece. “I first discovered Greece thanks to my grandparents who lived here for 13 years. My grandfather was a Philhellene while my mother worked for the Greek community of Belgium and knew many Greeks,” she says. Mrs Berten adds that she got enthralled by Greece’s contradictions, colors, smells, food and of course, people and encourages Greeks not to stay focused on the negative aspects of their current life. “With positive energy, we are able to do many creative things and improve the country’s image abroad,” she concludes.
Carlos Loperena comes from Mexico and loves the Greek light and wonderful scenery all over the country. He turned his passion for Greece to work and now, he creates post cards of every beautiful corner of Greece. The Mexican architect has been living and working in Greece for over 10 years. “While I was in New York for my master’s degree, one of my best friends and later colleague was a Greek man, Alexandros Vaitsos. Through his stories about Greece, I fell in love with your country,” told the interviewee to Ethnos’ editor.
The fourth immigrant interviewed was Greek-American Todd Johnson, a 31-year-old accountant working for a shipping company. He moved to Greece less than four years ago. He had a general image of Greece in his mind from his grandfather’s stories. His grandfather was from Cyprus and his wife from Smyrna. As for Mr Johnson, he remembers spending his summer vacation in Greece, in northern Chalkidiki as well as having visited many Greek islands during the past years. “I chose moving to Greece over living and working in New York. It’s a whole different culture. In Greece, your friends or neighbors invite you at their place, share their food with you and should you need a place to stay, they are always willing to host you for a while. Greeks make you feel comfortable, as if you were a member of their family. But this has nothing in common with the American life-style,” he explains. He also admits that Greece is full of contradictions which make this country fascinating. “You may have a beer with your friends in Exarhia (in downtown Athens) while few meters away people may drop motolov bombs or a car is being burnt,” he says smiling.
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