4. Crisis and the resurgence of emigration from Greece: trends, representations, and the multiplicity of migrant trajectories

Abstract

In the context and conjuncture of the crisis affecting the Eurozone as whole, yet shaking mostly its “weakest links”, rising unemployment and steep decreases in salaries and welfare allowances are cited as push factors contributing to what is seen as the emergence of a new emigration wave from Southern Europe. This is especially true for Greece, the country which has been hit hardest by the crisis, recession and austerity, and their social and political consequences. In Greece, there is extended media coverage of this new emigration, which is presented as an one-way option for certain population segments, notably the young and the highly skilled, and hence a drain of the most dynamic part of the country’s labour force. Despite this media attention, however, little is known about the current intensification of emigration from Greece and its characteristics, as well as the experiences of the country’s new “crisis migrants”. This paper aims to partly fill in this gap. It begins by sketching the broad picture and identifying key trends, before explore key issues public It then providing a typology of we and work “in Europe” often depicted in Greek media, we bring to the fore the ambivalence of mobility decisions and the multiplicity of individual pathways.