NEWSLETTER Anno 5, n. 13 - 19 settembre 2007

["Circolo Africa - Ancona" <segreteria at circoloafrica.org>]

NEWSLETTER DEL CENTRO DI DOCUMENTAZIONE E RICERCA PER LA CITTADINANZA ATTIVA

Anno 5, n. 13 -  19 settembre 2007

A cura di Gabriele Sospiro
Con la collaborazione di: 
Gabriele Sospiro (GS)
Paolo Sospiro (PS)
Jiske van Loon (JvL)
Bengu Bayram (BB)
Tobias Gehring (TG)
Dora Ioannou (DI)

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INDICE 
1.   CORSO ONLINE
2.   ATTIVITÀ DEL CENTRO
3.   PRESENTAZIONE NUOVO VOLONTARIO: TOBIAS GEHRING
4.   MIGRATION IN GERMANY
5.   MIGRATION TO TURKEY
6.   EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP AND DEMOCRACY IN MOLDOVA
7.   SOMETHING ABOUT GREECE
8.   LOESJE: THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
9.   EXCHANGE PROGRAMME IN TURKEY

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1. CORSO ONLINE
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Con l’inizio dell’autunno il Circolo Africa in collaborazione con
l’Università di Macerata organizzerà due corsi online su immigrazione e
cooperazione internazionale. Struttura del corso, modalità di valutazione e
certificati post corso sono ancora in fase di organizzazione. 
Per eventuali
informazione inviare una mail a 
segreteria at circoloafrica.org con oggetto: CORSO ONLINE IMMIGRAZIONE oppure COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE


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2. ATTIVITÀ DEL CENTRO
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Il Centro di Documentazione e Ricerca per la Cittadinanza Attiva è aperto il Martedì e Giovedì dalle 10 alle 13.00 e dalle 15.00 alle 18.00. Se avete libri da proporre così che noi possiamo acquistarli fatecelo sapere! Se state facendo una tesi di laurea o ricerche sull'immigrazione, sull'economia politica, o su temi riguardanti il terzo settore, etc. presso il nostro Centro potete ottenere informazioni ad hoc previa prenotazione telefonica.
Per contatti ed eventuali prenotazioni 071/2072585

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3. PRESENTAZIONE NUOVO VOLONTARI0: TOBIAS GEHRING 
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Ciao,

I am Tobias, and I will serve the Circolo Culturale Africa as volunteer for one year, from September 10, 2007, to September 9, 2008. I am 20 years old and I come from a small town in Germany close to Mainz (Magonza) and Frankfurt (Francoforto), where I lived with my parents and my brother. Before I finished school in this year’s March, I decided that before studying at a university, I wanted to spend a longer period of time abroad, both to engage socially and to discover a foreign country, its culture and language, many new people and also new parts of myself.
The European Voluntary Service means both a chance and a challenge to me; a chance, because it offers various new opportunities and enables me to make many experiences which will surely proof being of worth not only for the time of the EVS itself, but for my entire future life; a challenge, because for the first time, I am away for such a long time from both my home and my home country and will have to find ways of integrating myself into the project aswell as into the country, of organizing my everyday’s life and dealing with problems resulting hence more autonomously than ever before.
Yet, when I think of the days, weeks and months to come, it is a clearly positive and optimistic attitude towards them that arouses. A mere reason for this is that I know that I will spend my time doing something which I consider to make sense and to be helpful to the Circolo and its aims and which to do I am thus motivated.
The main reason why I decided to apply here at the Circolo is that I support its anti-racist attitudes and its aims towards mutual understanding between people from different cultural backgrounds. From daily news and from working for amnesty international, I know that all over the world, in history as in present times, many conflicts, a lot of violence and hate come from a lack of knowledge about other cultures going hand in hand with – mostly negative – prejudices and antipathies. Enabling cultural exchange, exchange of ideas, beliefs and attitudes to happen, enabling people to get to know another one’s background is a way of preventing unnecessary and yet respectively thus very cruel violence to take place before it begins and is a way to establish mutual respect and peace.
I am thus looking forward to working for Circolo Africa, as I do to discovering Ancona, of which I haven’t seen so far since when I write this article I have only been here for 24 hours. Yet, the first impressions I had of the city were rather positive, especially, I like the small, calm piazze which hardly exist in German cities. All in all, I feel that an interesting, new and important part of my life is just beginning, and I am glad about this.

(TG)
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Ciao,

ich bin Tobias und werde dem Circolo Culturale Africa ein Jahr lang, vom 10. September 2007 bis zum 9. September 2008, als Freiwilliger dienen. Ich  bin 20 Jahre alt und komme aus einer kleinen Stadt in Deutschland nahe Mainz und Frankfurt, wo ich bisher mit meinen Eltern und meinem Bruder gelebt habe.
Bevor ich im Maerz diesen Jahres die Schule verliess, entschied ich mich, vor dem Studium einige Zeit im Ausland zu verbringen, sowohl um mich sozial zu engagieren als auch, um ein fremdes Land mit seiner Kultur und seiner Sprache, viele neue Menschen und auch neue Teile meiner selbst zu entdecken.
Der Europaeische Freiwilligendienst bedeutet fuer mich sowohl eine Gelegenheit als auch eine Herausforderung; eine Gelegenheit, weil er eine Vielzahl neuer Moeglichkeiten eroeffnet und mich befaehigt, viele neue Erfahrungen zu machen, die sich sicherlich nicht nur fuer die Dauer des Freiwilligendienstes, sondern fuer mein gesamtes zukuenftiges Leben als wertvoll erweisen werden; eine Herausforderung, weil ich zum ersten mal fuer solch eine lange Zeit von daheim und meinem Heimatland fort bin und Wege finden muss, mich ins Projekt wie auch ins Land zu integrieren, und selbststaendiger denn je meinen Alltag organisieren und mit daraus entspringenden Schwierigkeiten umgehen muss.
Wenn ich an die kommenden Tage, Wochen und Monate denke, spuere ich deutlich eine positive, optimistische Einstellung zu ihnen. Ein wichtiger Grund dafuer ist, dass ich weiss, dass ich meine Zeit mit etwas verbringen werde, dass ich sowohl fuer sinnvoll als auch fuer dem Circolo und seinen Zielen zutraeglich halte und wozu ich daher motiviert bin.
Der Hauptgrund, weshalb ich mich beim Circolo bewarb, ist, dass ich seine anti-rassistische Grundeinstellung und seine Ziele hinsichtlich gegenseitigen Verstaendnisses zwischen Leuten mit verschiedenen kulturellen Hintergruenden unterstuetze. Aus den taeglichen Nachrichten und von meiner Arbeit fuer amnesty international weiss ich, dass ueberall auf der Welt, in der Vergangenheit wie in der Gegenwart, viele Konflikte, viel Gewalt und Hass einem Mangel an Wissen ueber Angehoerige anderer Kulturen entstammen, welcher mit – meist negativen – Vorurteilen und mit Feindseligkeiten Hand in Hand geht.
Kulturellen Austausch, den Austausch von Ideen, Ueberzeugungen und Meinungen zu ermoeglichen, es zu ermoeglichen, dass Leute den Hintergrund ihres Gegenuebers zu verstehen lernen, ist eine Moeglichkeit, unnoetige und dennoch bzw. deshalb sehr grausame Gewalt zu verhindern, bevor sie beginnt, und es ist ein Weg, gegenseitigen Respekt und Frieden zu errichten.
Ich freue mich daher darauf, fuer den Circolo Africa zu arbeiten, wie ich mich auch darauf freue, Ancona kennen zu lernen, wovon ich bisher noch nicht viel gesehen habe, denn als ich diesen Text schreibe, bin ich gerade seit 24 Stunden hier. Die ersten Eindruecke von der Stadt sind jedoch sehr positiv, insbesondere gefallen mir die kleinen, ruhigen piazze, die es in deutschen Staedten kaum gibt.
Alles in allem fuehle ich, dass ein wichtiger, neuer und interessanter Abschnitt meines Lebens gerade beginnt, und darueber bin ich froh.

(TG)

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4. MIGRATION IN GERMANY
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Immigration to Germany – now and in history

In spring 2007, when the conservative CDU published its new manifest, a remarkable change could be obeyed. Whereas former manifests always claimed that Germany* was no land of immigration, it now could be read that Germany is a “land of integration.” And one year before, the conservative minister of integration of the region Nordrhein-Westfalen even said that Germany is a “land of immigration” – a remark for which he was strongly criticized e.g. by the German minister of domestic affairs, Wolfgang Schaeuble, CDU. What is the reason of this conflict between the conservatives who are just about to abandon one of their former core positions?
The answer is clear when you have a look at the size of migration in Germany. Of the 80 million inhabitants of the country, seven million people don’t have the German citizenship, and another seven million are so-called “people with migration-background”, which means that they are German citizens, but that either they or their ancestors came to Germany as immigrants. So almost one fifth of the German population are either immigrants or have a migration-background, and as these 20% have a higher average number of children per woman than the rest, their proportion of the whole population is growing.
In the 1960s, the government decided to make it easier to immigrate to Germany, since the economic rise of the post-war-decade resulted in a situation that there was almost no unemployment, so especially for so-called low-qualified, work-intensive jobs, there were more offers than requests by the native German population. The idea behind this was that the immigrants should do these jobs, earn some money, push the economy and then go back to their native countries again. Yet the immigrants of this time, most of them Turkish, Italians and Greek, decided to stay longer. Thus, still today, people from these countries form – together with people from Poland and the former Yugoslavia and USSR – the majority of the people with migration-background. Another, yet much smaller of immigrants are refugees, many of them again from former Yugoslavia, from where they escaped during the war in the 1990s.

Immigrants as seen by Germans

There are plenty different opinions amongst the German on how many immigrants should live in Germany and in how far they should assimilate to German culture and society. The variety of opinions includes views that everyone should be free to come to Germany and decide autonomously in how far he /she will try to integrate, as well as the opinion that every immigrant, also the well-integrated, should have to leave Germany. Interestingly, the party which supports the latter point of view, the neo-nazist NPD, is relatively strong in those areas where relatively few immigrants live. 
The clear majority however believes that immigration in itself isn’t a bad thing and welcomes immigrants**, but also asks them to make efforts to integrate such as learning the language. Immigrants, who bring with them their own habits and customs, can enrich the German culture and society – for example, the Turkish doener kebap is one of the most popular fast-food meals in Germany – but can also cause problems, when their lifestyle collides with the lifestyle the German people are known to, when for example Muslim parents don’t allow their daughter to join the swimming courses in school.

The social situation of immigrants

A major problem for and about immigrants is the education. The weekly magazine FOCUS, wrote in an article about the 2nd PISA research (“Ohrfeige fuer Deutschland”, 22. 11. 04): “In no other similar country in the world, success in school depends so much on the parents’ income and education as in Germany. Corresponding to the conclusion of the researchers, the school system fails mainly for worker and immigrant children. Being equally gifted, an academicians’ child has a three times so big chance to get the Abitur (certificate at the end of secondary school, allowing you to study at a university) than a workers’ child.” Since most immigrant children come from financially weak families, many immigrants don’t receive a good education, thus hardly find a job later, and so, also their children will be disadvantaged once, so that a milieu establishes, where good education is a rare gift, which one can hardly leave, where German is not spoken a lot and which is only weakly connected to other parts of society, so that it becomes a “parallel society.” Already today, there are places like Berlin-Kreuzberg, where the immigrants are mostly amongst themselves, and it is clear that a social division in immigrants and natives isn’t positive for mutual understanding, since it makes it more difficult that immigrants get to know Germans and vice versa. This phenomenon, however, is more or less restricted to those immigrants of who there are enough to form a homogeneous group of themselves (comparable to the North-African immigrant groups in France), and it is however not impossible for immigrants to find success and a real home within Germany and its society.

Topical immigrant policy

In the following survey on politicians’ ideas about immigration, I deal with the parties of the current parliament; the CDU/CSU (conservative), the SPD (social-democratic), the FDP (liberal), Buendnis 90 / Die Gruenen (environmental) and Die Linke (social-democratic, socialist). This choice, though excluding anti-immigrant right-wing-extremist parties, seemed best to me since the named five parties are those who have chances of entering one of the next governments and thus actively design the immigration policy. All further text is translated quotes from the parties’ websites.
-	CDU/CSU: “Everyone, society and the state are responsible for integration. It needs the co-operation of all, also the help of corporations. (…) Society has to enable immigrants to share social life. At the same time, people who live here must want to integrate. This includes to speak the German language and to accept the values and norms of the Grundgesetz (the German constitution). Especially, this is valid for equal treatment of men and women. This leading culture in Germany guarantees that our society stands together also in future. We refuse an unconnected next-to-each-other which only results into parallel societies.”
-	SPD: “Different worlds of life, ideas of values, cultural traditions, ways of life and mutual acceptance of these differences are a characteristic trait of living together in a society of immigration. (…) By contacts of people from a different social and cultural origin, cultures influence each other and change (…) Without getting to know other ways of cultural expression and respect towards other cultures, the foreign one can’t become the other one (…) Every policy of integration has to take the cultural aspects of immigration into a stronger account (… The SPD is) for a humane culture of acceptance instead of “German leading culture”.”
-	FDP: “The liberals want a society which is open for immigration and cultural influences from outside, but who autonomously decides and regulates the strength of their openness (…) Germany has immigration and needs immigration (…) The liberal citizen society (…) demands the will to integrate without asking for equalizing assimilation. A systematic policy of immigration and integration needs a legal basis (…) A successful integration of immigration needs the will to integrate, the deconstruction of discriminating hurdles and help-services to integrate.”
-	Buendnis 90 / Die Gruenen: “The multicultural society is reality we have to shape democratically (…) Our country has to open interculturally – in the towns, the social services, in associations, organization and policy (…) Living together in social multitude has to happen with the acceptance of common and solid rules, measured by the basic and human rights (…) We invite immigrants to become citizens of this country and engage for that the doors be opened (…) We advertise for a social consensus to offer (illegal immigrants) a way into legalization.”
-	Die Linke: “We ask for (…) the right to vote for all whose centre of life is in Germany (…) equal rights for the access to the work market (…) the right to German citizenship for all children born here and for all whose centre of life is in Germany (…) a simplification of gaining citizenship (…) an effective law against discrimination.”

Immigrants in Hessen

With 12.2% (as to Statistisches Bundesamt, 31. 12. 1998), Hessen has a very large proportion of immigrants, only surmounted by Hamburg (15.2%), Berlin (12.7%) and Baden-Wuerttemberg (12.5%). The ten nations where most of the immigrants come from are Turkey (25.4%), Italy (9.4), former Yugoslavia (8.9), Greece (4.5), Croatia, Poland (3.4 each), Spain (3.2), Morocco (2.9), USA (2.7) and Iran (2.2). Within Hessen, the immigrants however concentrate on the very urbanised Rhein-Main- Gebiet (Rhine-Main Area) with Frankfurt, which itself is inhabited by 195,400 of Hessen’s 733,989 people from foreign countries.

* If nothing different is said, the term “Germany” in this text always refers to the Federal Republic of Germany, as do related terms like “German politicians”, “the German population” etc.
** http://www.presseportal.de/pm/32522/769270/reader_s_digest_deutschland/: Of 7,800 asked in Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Portugal, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Switzerland, 47% agree that immigrants are a benefit to their new home country, and 73% report about positive experiences with immigrants in daily life

(TG)
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MIGRATION IN DEUTSCHLAND

Einwanderung nach Deutschland – jetzt und in der Geschichte

Als die konservative CDU im Frühjahr 2007 ihr neues Parteiprogramm vorstellte, konnte ein bemerkenswerter Wandel festgestellt werden. Wohingegen frühere Programme stets behaupteten, Deutschland* sei kein Einwanderungsland, konnte man nun lesen, Deutschland sei ein „Integrationsland.“ Und ein Jahr zuvor sagte der konservative Integrationsminister Nordrhein-Westfalens sogar, Deutschland sei ein „Einwanderungsland“ – eine Aussage, für die er z. B. vom deutschen Innenminister Wolfgang Schäuble, CDU, stark kritisiert wurde. Was ist der Grund für diesen Konflikt zwischen den Konservativen, die gerade dabei sind, eine ihrer früheren Grundpositionen aufzugeben?
Die Antwort ist klar, wenn man einen Blick auf das Ausmaß der Einwanderung in Deutschland wirft. Von den 80 Millionen Einwohnern des Landes haben sieben Millionen nicht die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft, und weitere sieben Millionen sind so genannte „Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund“, was bedeutet, dass sie deutsche Staatsbürger sind, aber dass entweder sie oder ihre Vorfahren als Einwanderer nach Deutschland kamen. Also sind fast ein Fünftel der Bevölkerung Deutschlands entweder Immigranten oder haben einen Migrationshintergrund, und da diese 20% im Schnitt mehr Kinder pro Frau bekommen, wächst ihr Anteil an der Bevölkerung stetig.
In den 60er Jahren entschied die Regierung, es Leuten zu  erleichtern, nach Deutschland einzuwandern, da der Wirtschaftsaufschwung der Nachkriegsjahre zu einer Situation führte, in der es fast keine Arbeitslosigkeit gab, weshalb es insbesondere für so genannte gering qualifizierte Jobs das Angebot die Nachfrage der einheimischen Bevölkerung überstieg. Die Idee hinter dem ganzen war, dass die Immigranten diese Arbeiten erledigen, etwas Geld verdienen, die Wirtschaft ankurbeln und dann in ihre Heimatländer zurückkehren sollten. Die Einwanderer, die meisten von ihnen Türken, Italiener und Griechen, entschlossen sich jedoch, länger zu bleiben. Daher bilden noch heute Menschen aus diesen Ländern – zusammen mit solchen aus Polen und den früheren Jugoslawien und UdSSR – die Mehrheit der Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund. Eine weitere, aber kleinere Einwanderergruppe besteht aus Flüchtlingen, von denen wiederum viele aus dem früheren  Jugoslawien kommen, woraus sie während dem Krieg in den 90er Jahren flohen.

Wie die Deutschen die Einwanderer sehen

Es gibt viele verschiedene Meinungen unter den Deutschen darüber, wie viele Einwanderer in Deutschland leben sollten und wie stark sie versuchen sollten, sich der deutschen Kultur und Gesellschaft anzupassen. Die Vielzahl der Ansichten umfasst Sichtweisen, dass jeder nach Deutschland einwandern können sollte und selbst darüber entscheiden sollte, inwiefern er oder sie versucht, sich zu integrieren, ebenso wie die Meinung, dass alle Einwanderer, auch die gut integrierten, Deutschland verlassen sollten. Interessanterweise ist die Partei, die die letztgenannte Ansicht unterstützt, die neonazistische NPD, dort vergleichsweise stark, wo relativ wenige Einwanderer leben.
Die klare Mehrheit meint jedoch, dass Einwanderung an sich nicht schlecht ist**, dass jedoch auch die Immigranten Anstrengungen unternehmen sollten, sich zu integrieren, etwa, indem sie die Sprache lernen. Immigranten, die mit sich ihre eigenen Lebensweisen und Sitten bringen, können die deutsche Kultur und Gesellschaft bereichern – beispielsweise ist der türkische Döner Kebab eines der beliebtesten Fast-Food-Gerichte – können aber auch Probleme hervorrufen, wenn ihr Lebensstil mit dem kollidiert, den die Deutschen gewohnt sind, wenn beispielsweise muslimische Eltern es ihren Töchtern nicht erlauben, am schulischen Schwimmunterricht teilzunehmen.

Die gesellschaftliche Situation der Immigranten

Ein grosses Problem für und bezüglich Immigranten ist die Bildung. Das Wochenmagazin FOCUS schrieb in einem Artikel zur zweiten PISA-Studie („Ohrfeige für Deutschland“, 22. 11. 04):“ In keinem anderen vergleichbaren Staat der Welt hängt der Schulerfolg so stark von Einkommen und Vorbildung der Eltern ab wie in Deutschland. Das deutsche Schulsystem versagt nach dem Fazit der Forscher bei der Förderung von Arbeiter- und Migrantenkindern. Bei gleicher Begabung hat ein Akademikerkind in Deutschland eine mehr als dreimal so große Chance, das Abitur zu erlangen, als ein Facharbeiterkind.” Da die meisten Einwandererkinder aus finanzschwachen Familien stammen, erfahren viele von ihnen keine gute Bildung, können daher später schlechter einen Arbeitsplatz finden, und so werden auch ihre Kinder einst benachteiligt sein; so entsteht ein Milieu, in dem eine hohe Bildung ein rares Gut ist, welches man schlecht verlassen kann, wo wenig Deutsch gesprochen wird und welches nur schwach mit den anderen Teilen der Gesellschaft verbunden ist, sodass es eine Parallelgesellschaft wird.
Bereits heute gibt es Orte wie Berlin-Kreuzberg, wo die Einwanderer weitgehend unter sich sind, und es ist offensichtlich, dass eine Gesellschaftsteilung in Einwanderer und Einheimische nicht gut für gegenseitiges Verständnis ist, da sie es erschwert, dass Einwanderer Deutsche kennen lernen und umgekehrt. Dieses Phänomen ist jedoch mehr oder weniger auf diejenigen Einwanderergruppen beschränkt, von denen es genug gibt, als dass sie eine einheitliche Gruppe bilden können (etwa vergleichbar den nordafrikanischen Einwanderern in Frankreich), und es ist trotz allem nicht unmöglich für Einwanderer, in Deutschland und seiner Gesellschaft Erfolg und eine echte Heimat zu finden.

Gegenwaertige Einwanderungspolitik

In der folgenden Uebersicht über Ideen der Politiker zur Einwanderung beschäftige ich mich mit den Parteien, die im aktuellen Parlament vertreten sind; der CDU/CSU (konservativ), der SPD (sozialdemokratisch), der FDP (liberal), Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen (umweltorientiert) und Die Linke (sozialdemokratisch, sozialistisch). Diese Auswahl, wenngleich sie einwandererfeindliche rechtsextreme Parteien außen vor lässt, erschien mir am sinnvollsten, da die genannten fünf Parteien diejenigen sind, die Chancen haben, einer der nächsten Regierungen anzugehören und somit aktiv die Immigrationspolitik mitzugestalten. Die folgenden Texte sind Zitate von den Websites der Parteien.
-	CDU/CSU: “Integration liegt somit in der Verantwortung des Einzelnen, der Gesellschaft und des Staates. Sie braucht das Zusammenwirken aller - auch die Mithilfe der Unternehmen (…)Die Gesellschaft muss den Zuwanderern Teilhabe am gesellschaftlichen Leben ermöglichen. Gleichzeitig müssen die Menschen, die hier leben möchten, auch den Willen zur Integration haben. Dazu gehören das Beherrschen der deutschen Sprache und die Annahme der Werte und Normen des Grundgesetztes. Dies gilt insbesondere für den Grundsatz der Gleichberechtigung von Frauen und Männern. Diese Leitkultur in Deutschland garantiert, dass unsere Gesellschaft auch in Zukunft zusammenhält. Ein unverbundenes Nebeneinander, das nur zu Parallelgesellschaften führt, lehnen wir ab.”
-	SPD: „Unterschiedliche Lebenswelten, Wertvorstellungen, kulturelle Traditionen, Lebensweisen und die wechselseitige Anerkennung dieser Unterschiede prägen das Zusammenleben in einer Einwanderungsgesellschaft (…)Durch die Begegnung von Menschen unterschiedlicher sozialer und kultureller Herkunft beeinflussen sich Kulturen gegenseitig und verändern sich (…) Ohne das Kennenlernen anderer kultureller Ausdrucksweisen und den Respekt vor anderen Kulturen kann aus dem Fremden nicht das vertraute Andere werden (…)Jede Integrationspolitik muss daher die kulturellen Aspekte der Zuwanderung stärker einbeziehen (… Die SPD ist) für eine humane Kultur der Anerkennung statt "deutsche Leitkultur".“
-	FDP: „Die Liberalen treten für eine Gesellschaft ein, die offen ist für Zuwanderung und kulturelle Einflüsse von außen, die aber das Maß ihrer Offenheit selbst bestimmt und festen Regeln unterwirft (…) Deutschland hat Einwanderung und braucht Einwanderung (…) Die liberale Buergergesellschaft (…)verlangt Bereitschaft zur Eingliederung, ohne jedoch eine gleichmachende Anpassung einzufordern (…) Systematische Einwanderungs- und Eingliederungspolitik brauchen eine gesetzliche Grundlage (…)Eine erfolgreiche Integration der Zuwanderung setzt Integrationswillen, den Abbau diskriminierender Hürden und Eingliederungshilfen voraus.”
-	Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen: „Die multikulturelle Gesellschaft ist Realität, die wir demokratisch gestalten wollen (…)Unser Land muss sich interkulturell öffnen – vor Ort in den Städten, in den sozialen Regeldiensten, in Verbänden, Verwaltung und Politik (…)Ein Zusammenleben in gesellschaftlicher Vielfalt muss einhergehen mit der Anerkennung gemeinsamer und verbindlicher Regeln. Maßstab sind die Grund- und Menschenrechte (…)Wir laden die Migrantinnen und Migranten ein, Bürger dieses Landes zu werden, und setzen uns dafür ein, dass die Türen geöffnet werden (…)Wir werben für einen gesellschaftlichen Konsens, um (illegalen Einwanderern) ein Angebot zur Legalisierung zu machen.“
-	Die Linke: „Wir fordern (…) aktives und passives Wahlrecht für alle, die ihren Lebensmittelpunkt in Deutschland haben (…) gleiche Rechte beim Zugang zum Arbeitsmarkt (…) das Recht auf die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft für alle Kinder, die hier geboren werden und deren Eltern ihren Lebensmittelpunkt in Deutschland haben (…) die Erleichterung der Einbürgerung (…) ein wirksames Antidiskriminierungsgesetz.“

Einwanderer in Hessen

Mit 12,2% (laut Statistischem Bundesamt, 31. 12. 1998) hat Hessen einen sehr hohen Immigrantenanteil, der nur von Hamburg (15,2%), Berlin (12,7%) und Baden-Württemberg (12,5%) übertroffen wird. Die zehn Länder, aus denen die meisten dieser Immigranten stammen, sind die Türkei (25,4%), Italien (9,4), das frühere Jugoslawien (8,9), Griechenland (4,5), Kroatien, Polen ( je 3,4), Spanien (3,2), Marokko (2,9), die USA (2,7) und Iran (2,2). Innerhalb Hessens konzentrieren sich die Immigranten jedoch auf das sehr städtische Rhein-Main-Gebiet mit Frankfurt, welches selbst von 195.400 der 733.989 Ausländer Hessens bewohnt wird.

*Sofern nichts anderes gesagt wird, bezeichnet der Begriff „Deutschland“ in diesem Text immer die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ebenso verwandte Begriffe wie „deutsche Politiker“,  „die Bevölkerung Deutschlands“ etc.
**http://www.presseportal.de/pm/32522/769270/reader_s_digest_deutschland/: Von 7800 Befragten aus Belgien, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Portugal, den Niederlanden, Schweden, Spanien und der Schweiz stimmen 47% zu, dass Immigranten ihr neues Heimatland bereichern, und 73% berichten von positiven Erfahrungen mit Einwanderern im Alltag.

(TG) 

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5. MIGRATION TO TURKEY
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Since the early 1980s Turkey’s relationship with Europe and the Middle East has been marked by the large migration flows through its territory, ranging from regular migrants to irregular and transit migrants and asylum seekers. A large portion of the asylum and refugee flows and transit migration through Turkey and directed at Western European countries originates in the Middle East. In addition, significant irregular migration flows to Turkey originate in various Asian and African countries, with the aim of reaching Western European countries. Irregular migration flows into Turkey are characterized by three main trends. 
The first involves mainly migrants from Eastern European countries, such as Romania and Moldova, who come to Turkey in search of work. Some Turkish farmers and construction companies in the western regions of the country have come to rely heavily on East European labour migrants, while many middle- and upper-class families employ mainly Moldovan women as maids. Many of these entered Turkey legally but subsequently overstayed their visa or failed to get them renewed. The second form of irregular migration to Turkey concerns the transit migrants who came to Turkey mainly from the Middle East (predominantly Iranians and Iraqis) and from various Asian (e.g. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and African (e.g. Congo, Nigeria and Somalia) countries. These migrants often target Turkey as a transit zone as they attempt to reach and enter West European countries. Most of them fall within the illegal entry and departure category, while others drift into illegality as they overstay their tourist visas. The third group of irregular migrants includes rejected asylum seekers who are reluctant to return home and are in search of illegal jobs and/or opportunities to migrate illegally to another country.
Although some high-level public officials refer to around one million illegal foreign workers in Turkey, no direct and reliable data regarding the details of irregular immigration in Turkey are actually available. But there are some indications. The Bureau for Aliens, Borders and Asylum at the Directorate of General Security in the Ministry of the Interior (BFBA) recorded nearly 95,000 cases of irregular migrants in 2000 – 55 per cent of whom were apprehended as they entered or left illegally, with overstayers accounting for the remaining 45 per cent. The ten principal countries of origin are Iraq (19%), Afghanistan (10%), Moldova (9%), Iran (9%), Pakistan (5%), Romania (5%), Russian Federation(5%), Ukraine (5%), Georgia (3%) and Bangladesh (3%). 
The most recent case of immigration by ethnic Turks to Turkey occurred when over 310,000 Bulgarians of Turkish background fled the repressive Bulgarian regime in 1989 . Subsequently, more than half of them returned to Bulgaria, with only a few moving on to third countries, the rest remained in Turkey. In late 1992, another group of refugees with certain affinities to Turkey arrived from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Though some of these had valid travel documents, the vast majority arrived illegally. Most of the Bosnian Muslims who came to Turkey were able to stay with relatives and Turkish citizens of Bosnian descent and many of them intended to go on to the West and resettle there. Although there are no exact figures on how many Bosnians were in Turkey at any one time, some reliable sources put the figure at between 20,000 and 25,000. While more than three-fourths of Bosnians returned to their homeland, a small proportion remained with relatives and friends in Turkey and over 3,000 obtained Turkish citizenship .An estimated 5,000 Bosnians who had come to Turkey with the intention of migrating to the West eventually obtained refugee status there.

Current issues of concern

The EU authorities are urging Turkey to devote more resources and energy towards its efforts to combat and control illegal migration and the trafficking of human beings across and within its borders. Turkey is also being asked to adopt the necessary measures to stem the tide of irregular migrants originating in Turkey itself – demands which Turkey feels are imposing a further heavy burden on its already stretched technical, financial and legislative resources. However, these demands and considerations are central to EU-Turkish relations and create many areas of concern for both sides, from security and human rights issues to economics and politics.

Legislation, policies and practice

The Law on Settlement was adopted in 1934 (Law 2510, 14 June 1934) in connection with the arrival of ethnic Turks in the early years of the Republic. It continues to be the main legislative text dealing with immigration, and determines who can enter, settle and/or apply for refugee status in Turkey. It provides for individuals of Turkish descent and culture to be accepted as immigrants and refugees in Turkey. Its relevance and implications regarding irregular migration are indirect. For instance, irregular immigrants, mainly asylum seekers of Turkish descent and culture, have been allowed to stay in the country either on an unofficial basis, or even to settle, work and eventually obtain Turkish citizenship. Although this tendency to favour people of Turkish descent and culture has often been counter-balanced by concerns over the possible arrival of large numbers of ethnic Turks, out of political considerations Turkish authorities have tended to adopt a liberal attitude towards such immigrants 

Challenges Ahead 

Turkey's traditional immigration policy was strongly shaped by nation-building concerns, as well as efforts to sustain a homogenous national identity. Turkey's current ambition to become an EU member and the accompanying political liberalization is straining the state's traditional concept of national identity. There is growing pressure to adopt policies that recognize Turkey's ethnic and cultural diversity. However, this pressure is not yet reflected in immigration legislation. Parliament is currently considering replacing the Settlement Law of 1934. The new draft law, although considerably changed, continues to restrict the right to immigration exclusively to people of "Turkish descent and culture." If past practice is taken as a reference point, this will probably mean that those identities that the state deems unlikely to melt into a homogenous Turkish identity will continue to be excluded. In other words, Albanians, Bosnians, Circassians, Pomaks, Tatars, and Turks—mostly from the Balkans—will be able to immigrate to Turkey, while others will face a closed door. Minorities claiming a link to Turkey who are not Sunni Muslims, that is, everyone from Armenians and Assyrians to Greeks and Jews, as well as unassimilated Kurds and Alevis, will find it difficult to immigrate. Such a policy will not be in harmony with the emerging European Union "common" immigration policy, which increasingly emphasizes civic connections to host territory, employment prospects, and cultural diversity, rather than a prospective immigrant's ethnic or national origin as grounds for immigration.

African immigrants in Turkey

In the past decade or so, an increasing number of Africans have arrived in Turkey as transit migrants or asylum seekers. Although they enter Turkey from various points, the majority of them live in Istanbul. NGO representatives and officials estimate the number of irregular
African migrants in Istanbul to be between 4,000 and 6,000. 
A report is prepared  to describe the demographic characteristics of African migrants, their reasons for and patterns of migration, as well as their living conditions and problems in Istanbul. The report is based on the findings of the research conducted from February 2005 to 2006 in Istanbul, which included a survey of 133 Africans, in-depth interviews with a number of them, as well as interviews with elite informants in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Turkish police in Istanbul and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Ankara.
Compared to Eastern European irregular migrants, African migrants’ movements to and from Turkey appear less circular, that is, most of them do not exit and reenter Turkey over the course of a year. However, there may be an exception to this in the case of traders from West Africa, particularly some Nigerians, Senegalese and Ghanaians, who appear to enter and exit Turkey to carry on their informal suitcase trade. The difference between the patterns of Eastern European irregular migrants’ and Africans’ movements may stem from several reasons: often, Africans’ objective is to secure transit on
to Western Europe, not employment in Turkey; and besides, Turkey has tightened its visa regime in an effort to curb irregular migration, as part of its obligations towards the EU. At the beginning of 2005, the Turkish visa regime for 48 Sub-Saharan African countries was changed. Since then, the applications of persons from those countries need to be approved by the MOI before a Turkish consulate can issue visas. Moreover, Turkey cancelled tourist visa exemptions to Kenya and South Africa in 2003 . Police officers said that, since the visa regime change, the number of irregular African migrants who arrive with valid visas and then overstay the duration of their visas has declined.

The Survey

The respondents to the survey were from 11 different nationalities, Somalis (53) and Nigerians (21) being the largest groups. The other respondents were from Ghana, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo,24 Mauritania, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi, Sudan and Djibouti. 78 were men and 55 were women.
In response to the question “why did you come to Turkey and not some other country?” 40.8 percent of the respondents marked “I was deceived that I would be taken to Greece but was left in Turkey”  79.6 percent of Somali respondents marked this answer as well as 77.8 percent of Mauritanians and 57.1 percent of Eritreans. 31.3 percent of the respondents said they came to Turkey because they had friends here. Half or more of the Nigerians, Ghanaians, Congolese,Ethiopians, Kenyans and Burundians marked this option. A total of 11.6 percent of the respondents expressed the opinion that it was easy to enter Turkey legally or illegally, and easy to move on to Europe via Turkey. A couple of Nigerians said they came to Turkey to find jobs as football players. Although no Ghanaians marked this option in the survey, the interview with one Ghanaian man indicates that finding employment in a Turkish football team was what motivated him to travel to Turkey. 8.8 percent said they came to Turkey for “other” reasons, their explanations for which included various economic factors as well as plans to pursue higher education in Turkey.

Life in Istanbul: Social Interactions

In parallel fashion, respondents’ opinions on their relationship with Turkish citizens were overall not negative. 35.6 percent said they had no problem with Turks, 28.8 percent said they had good relations, whereas only 4.8 percent said their relationship to Turks was bad. 26 percent reported having no relation with Turkish citizens, which may be partly  because of having arrived in Istanbul very recently. A related question in the survey was on the greatest problems that African migrants face in Istanbul. “Discrimination” was cited as a problem in only 4.7 percent of the responses to that question and “ill treatment by neighbors” was cited in only 0.4 percent of them. However, the low report of “discrimination” might be misleading because of the wording of this option in the question. During the interviews, people’s perceptions about others’ treatment of them became apparent in their accounts of personal experiences and anecdotes, rather than through abstract concepts such as “discrimination.” Perhaps confirming this observation, 29.5 of the respondents mentioned “ill treatment by strangers” as a problem although they did not mention discrimination.
One of the reasons why respondents did not have much interaction with Africans from other nationalities, let alone Turkish citizens, may have to do with language barriers. Only 26.5 percent spoke English, 13 percent spoke Arabic and 11.4 percent spoke French. 47 percent spoke various native languages. Regarding the weakness of their interactions with Turkish citizens, African migrants’ weak Turkish language skills might be a hindrance. Only 13 people rated their knowledge of Turkish to be “quite well,” 18 said they knew some Turkish, 41 knew very little Turkish and 55 did not speak Turkish at all. The great majority of those who said they spoke some Turkish or knew Turkish well (20 out of 31) had been staying in Turkey for more than a year.
72 people who responded to the question “do you think Turkish police treats Africans differently than other migrants?” answered in the negative while 20 said “yes” and 33 said they did not have an opinion. The largest group who thought police treatment towards them was poor were Nigerians (6 people), but more Nigerians thought that police treatment towards them was no different (12 people) Regarding the question on the greatest problems of African migrants in Istanbul, only 1.7 percent of the respondents cited “ill treatment by police”.
	
Life in Istanbul: Problems

The respondents were asked how they provided for themselves financially. The largest number of responses was “I do odd jobs” (31.3 percent). 16 percent of the respondents said they had no source of income. 13 percent said they “worked for wages in a factory/workshop/firm,” 10.7 percent said they sold goods, 6.9 percent said they received money from charities. Some said they borrowed money from friends (6.1 percent), some of their families sent for them (5.3 percent). Among the 6.1 percent of the respondents who marked “other” in answering this question, some mentioned that they were living on money which they brought with them to Turkey, and a couple mentioned working for NGOs.
The greatest problem faced by the respondents was financial. In answer to the question “what are your greatest problems in Istanbul?” about 42 percent of the respondents pointed out “lack of income”. As mentioned in the previous section, the second most cited problem was “ill treatment by strangers” (29.5 percent) and the third most mentioned problem was housing (9.8 percent). Discrimination came fourth with 4.7 percent and “hunger” was cited in 3.8 percent of the responses. Those people who marked “other” in response to this question cited their health problems, psychological problems and feelings of hopelessness. An interesting finding is that the ratio of people who highlighted lack of incomes as their greatest problem did not show much variance across different nationalities. 
A significant problem for irregular migrants and asylum seekers who have children is access to education. People who do not have legal residency in Turkey are unable to send their school-age children to primary school, although there is a vague mention of education for asylum seekers’ and refugees’ children in the relevant government regulations. Among the respondents to the survey, 14 people said they had children in Istanbul. 5 of them were able to send their kids to a school program run by a church; while 8 said their children received no schooling here. One person’s child was too young to go to school.

Income Earning 

There are several small shops operated by Africans in Istanbul. In Tarlabaşı, there is a restaurant, Lady V’s, operated by a Nigerian woman, situated in an apartment on the second floor of an old building. The restaurant offered Nigerian food and also some imported items for personal care. In Tarlabaşı, several Nigerian men sell/rent African movie videos, music tapes and CDs, which are brought to Turkey by Nigerian traders. In Laleli, a small store operated as an “African café” where some imported food items were on sale. All of these establishments appeared to be informal.
There are a few formal establishments operated by Africans as well. The easiest way to have a legal business for a foreigner is to be married to a Turkish citizen and to have obtained a residence and work permit in this way. Some people can earn a residence and work permit in Turkey after graduating from a Turkish university and finding employment. A Sudanese man operated a music club in Beyoğlu frequented by Africans, Turkish citizens and European expatriates alike. Two Nigerians who were married to Turkish citizens also said that they had small trading businesses in Istanbul. Based on the accounts of the interviewees, other African-operated cafes existed a few years ago, indicating high turnover in such entrepreneurial activities.
Several Eritrean and Ethiopian women were reported working as domestic laborers in private homes. These women entered Turkey illegally through the Syrian border and had previously been working in Lebanon in domestic services. There is also evidence that members of evangelical churches who help African asylum seekers may employ them as domestic help.
Odd jobs such as cleaning or carrying boxes for storeowners are called çabuk çabuk by African migrants in Istanbul. Meaning “do it quickly” or “hurry up” in Turkish, çabuk çabuk refers to doing some work for food or for a little cash. From the perspective of the “employer,” this is something that needs to be done quickly. But from the Africans’ perspective, çabuk çabuk has a double connotation. On the one hand, it means that some Turks order them around. On the other, çabuk çabuk is literally a fleeting experience that fails to provide for their daily needs.

Conclusion

Turkey should take steps to provide access to healthcare, housing and education for the African asylum seeking population. It should also consider policies for granting work permits to asylum applicants and refugees and simplify the application for work permits by migrants.
Turkey plans to create reception centers for asylum seekers and refugees as part of its National Programme. On the one hand, the establishment of reception centers should be hastened. On the other hand, Turkish civil society should also assume a role in providing humanitarian and social assistance to migrants and asylum seekers. Although under-funded,
it is observed that the existing NGOs catering to asylum seekers (mainly Africans) played a vital role in helping these people adjust to the new realities of their lives in Turkey. Given that the number of asylum seekers is not overwhelming, if domestic NGOs also became involved, social and humanitarian assistance would become more widely available.


* Mirekoc Research Projects

(BB)

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TÜRKİYE’YE GÖÇ

1980li yılların başından beri, Türkiye’nin Avrupa ve Orta Doğu’yla olan ilişkisi, düzenli ve düzensiz, transit göç ve sığınmacı akışları tarafından etkilendi.Türkiye üzerinden geçen ve Batıya yönelen ,sığınmacı ve transit göç akışının büyük bir kısmı Orta Doğu kökenlidir. Türkiye’ye akan bu geniş miktarlı düzensiz göç akışları, Batı Avrupa ülkelerine gitme hedefiyle yola çıkan değişik Asya ve Avrupa ülkelerinden gelmektedir. Türkiye’ye akan bu düzensiz göç , 3 ana eğilim tarafından şekillenmektedir.
Birinci grubu, iş aramak için Romanya ve Moldova gibi Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinden Türkiye’ye  gelen göçmenler içerir. Ülkenin batı bölgesindeki bazı çiftçiler ve inşaat firmaları, bu işçi göçmenlerden önemli ölçüde yararlanırken; zengin, yüksek sınıftan  aileler, özellikle  Moldovalı kadınları , ev işlerinde yardımcı olarak işe almaktadırlar. Büyük bir bölümü, Türkiye’ye yasal yolla gelmiş fakat vize süresi sona ermiş ve tekrar yenileyememiş göçmenlerden oluşmaktadır. İkinci grup ise Orta Doğu(özellikle  İran, Irak),farklı Asya(Bangladeş, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) ve Afrika(Kongo, Nijerya, Somali) ülkelerinden oluşur. Bu göçmenler genellikle Batı Avrupa ülkelerine gitmek için  Türkiye’yi transit bölge olarak kullanırlar. Üçüncüsü, ülkelerine dönmeye gönüllü olan, yasal olmayan iş arayan ve diğer ülkelere yasal olmayan yollarla göç etmek isteyen, sığınma talebi reddedilmiş düzensiz göç grubudur. 
Bazı yüksek makamların Türkiye’de 1 milyon civarında yasadışı çalışan işçi olduğuna değinmesine rağmen, Türkiye’deki düzensiz göç rakamını bildiren kesin ve güvenilir bir bilgiye ulaşılamamaktadır. Ancak BFBA (The Bureau for Aliens, Borders and Asylum at the Directorate of General Security in the Ministry of the Interior) verilerine göre, 2000 yılında düzensiz göçmen sayısı 95.000 kadardı.
Son büyük göç dalgası 1989’da Bulgaristan rejiminden kaçan Türk kökenli Bulgarların oluşturduğu 310.000 in üzerinde etnik türktü. Fakat bunların yarısı tekrar Bulgaristan’a dönerken,çok az bir kısmı diğer ülkelere göç etti, diğerleri Türkiye’de yaşamlarını sürdürdü. 1992’de Bosna ve Hersek’ten bir göç akımı gerçekleşti. Bunların bir kısmı geçerli yolculuk dokümanlarına sahipken, kalan büyük çoğunluk illegal yollardan ülkeye girdi. Müslüman Bosnalılar’ın birçoğu Türkiye’deki akrabalarında kalırken, diğerleri Batıya gitmeye ve orada yaşam kurmaya çalıştılar.Kesin bir rakam olmamakla birlikte Türkiye’de 20-25 bin arasında Bosnalı bulunduğu öngörülüyor. 5000 kadar Bosnalınınsa Batıda mülteci statüsü kazandığı tahmin edilmektedir.

Gündemdeki Konular

AB yetkilileri, kendi sınırları içinde insan ticareti, yasal olmayan göçle mücadelede Türkiye’yi daha fazla kaynak ve enerji harcaması için zorluyor. Bununla birlikte güvenlik ve insan hakları, ekonomi ve politika gibi AB ve Türkiye için merkezde duran sorunlar her iki taraf için de endişe  yaratıyor. 

Kanun, politikalar, uygulama

1934 yılında cumhuriyetin ilk yıllarında Türkiye’ye gelen etnik Türklerle ilgili olarak “Oturma” ‘yla ilgili yasa kabul edildi.Bu yasa halen yürürlükte göçmenlikle ilgili konulara değinen kanun olmayı sürdürüyor. Düzensiz göçmenler, özellikle sığınmacılar için Türk vatandaşlığı kazanmada dolaylı fayda sağladı.

Yoldaki gelişmeler 

       Meclis, “Oturum” yasasını değiştirmeyi düşünüyor. Yeni yasa taslağı ise  Türk kökenli göçmenlere öncelik tanımayı sürdürüyor.  Eğer geçmiş deneyim referans olarak alınırsa, bu ileride Türk kökene sahip olmayan diğer göçmenlerin tamamıyla homojenik olarak Türk kimliğine kavuşamayacağını gösteriyor.. Diğer bir deyişle,Arnavutların, Bosnalıların, Çerkezlerin, Tatarların ve Türklerin – çoğunlukla Balkanlardan olanların- Türkiye’ye göç edebilecekken, diğerlerinin kapalı bir kapıyla karşılayacağı anlamına geliyor. 

Türkiye’deki Afrikalı Göçmenler

Son 10 yıl içinde Türkiye’ye değişik yollardan birçok Afrikalı göçmen ve sığınmacı geldi. Bunlardan düzensiz göçmen olarak 4.000-6.000 arasında Afrikalı olunduğu öngörülmektedir.
2005’in başında Türk vize rejimi 48 Sub-Sahara Afrika ülkesi için değiştirildi. Polis yetkilileri vize rejimi değiştiği için ,ülkeye geçerli vizeyle gelen ve vize süresini aşan Afrikalı göçmen sayısında azalma olduğunu belirtti.


Anket

Katılımcılar, 11 değişik ülkeden oluştu. Bunlar içinde Somali ve Njerya en geniş gruptu. Diğer ülkeler  Gana, Kongo, Kongo,Mauritania, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi, Sudan and Djibouti. 78 erkek ve  55 were kadın..
“Türkiyeye neden geldiniz?” sorusuna karşılık, “Yunanistan’a götürüleceğime dair kandırıldım ve  Türkiye’de bıraktılar”, “Arkadaşlarım burada”,”Türkiye’ye legal ya da illegal olarak girmek ve buradan diğer Avrupa ülkelerine girmek kolay”,”Futbolcu olarak iş bulmak istiyorum” ve ekonomik, eğitim ve sosyal neden laerden dolayı geldiklerine dair cevaplar verdiler.

İstanbul’da yaşam

“İstanbul’da karşılaştığınız en büyük problem nedir?” sorusuna karşılık, katılımcılar;”ayrımcılık”, “komşularımdan kötü davranış”	, “yabancılardan kötü davranış” gibi cevaplar alındı. Bazıları ise hiçbir kötü davranışla karşılaşmadıklarını söylediler.
Diğer vatandaşlarla neden ilişki kuramadıklarına dair soruya karşılık cevap dil sorunuydu.”Türk polisi size diğer yabancılara davrandığından daha mı farklı davranıyor?” sorusuna karşılık 72 kişi hayır, 20 kişi evet, 33 kişi bi fikri olmadığı cevabını verdi. Polisin onlara kötü davrandığını söyleyen Nijeryalılar(6), ancak farklı davrandığını düşünmediklerini söyledi.

Problemler

Ekonomik olarak hayatınızı nasıl sürdürüyorsunuz sorusuna,bir kısmı tuhaf işleri olduğunu, bir kısmı çalışmadığını,bir kısmı fabrikada,atölyede, şirkette ücretli işçi olarak çalıştığını,bir kısmı eşya sattığını,bir kısmı yardım derneklerinden para aldığını söyledi. Bazı katılımcılar ailelerinden para aldıklarını, bazıları yanlarında getirdiği parayı harcadıklarını belirttiler.
Sığınmacılar ve düzensiz göçmenler için diğer büyük bir problem de çocukları için eğitim imkanı sağlanmamasıydı.Türkiye’de oturum izni olmayanların, çocuklarını okula gönderme fırsatları yok. Katılımcıların sadece 14 tanesinin çocuğu vardı. 5’i çocuklarını kilisenin sağladığı okula gönderdiğini söylerken, 8 kişi okul imkanı olmadıklarını söyledi. Diğer çocuk ise okula gitmek için küçüktü.

Para kazanma

İstanbul’da Afrikalılar tarafından işletilen bazı yerler olduğu bilinmekte. Tarlabaşı’nda Nijeryalı bir kadının restoranı olduğu, birçok Nijeryalının video, kaset, cd sattığı, Laleli’de bir Cafe Africa olduğu kaydedildi.
Yasal bir iş sahibi olmanın en kolay yolu bir Türkle evlenmek, böylelikle oturum ve çalışma iznine sahip olmak. Sudanlı bir adam Beyoğlu’nda bir club işletirken,Türkle evli olan 2 Nijeryalı ise ticaret yapıyor.
Eritreli ve Etiyopyalı kadınların ev işi yaptığı kaydedilirken,bazı Afrikalıların “çabuk çabuk” dedikleri hoş olmayan işlerde çalıştıkları belirlendi. Bu tür işler genellikle patronları tarafından kısa sürede çok çalışmaları beklendiği için çabuk çabuk olarak adlandırılıyor.

Sonuç

Türkiye sağlık, barınma, eğitim gibi konularda adımlar atmalı. Türkiye ulusal programı olarak sığınmacılar ve mülteciler için bazı merkezler açmayı planlıyor. Sosyal ve insani yardımın genişletilmesi gerekiyor.

Kaynak : Mire koç Araştırma Projeleri

(BB)

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6. EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP AND DEMOCRACY IN MOLDOVA
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Today, the 17th of September, I came back all the way from Moldova, where I attended a one week training course on Democracy and European Citizenship. At first I have to admit that I was a little bit surprised that I was going to Moldova, because I even didn’t know exactly where to find it on the map. But I am glad I went their, because I really had a good time and I learned a lot. I met young people from Moldova, Poland, Russia, Rumenia, Azerbaijan, Portugal and France and I learned about their cultures and the organisations they are working for. Almost all the participants of the training are involved in an NGO in their country, so we could share experiences and exchange our ideas about youth work and about the topics of the training course: democracy and European citizenship. We learned a lot about Youth in Action and what you can do within this program from the European Union. We even worked on the preparations for organizing a project ourselves. Where to start and what to do if you want to organise for example a youth exchange or a training course? This has really inspired me and I would really like to become more involved in these things, but I think with my European Volunteering Service at Circolo I will be able to do a lot. 

The training lasted for 8 days and the trainers were Asa from Sweden and Marta from Poland. They were very enthusiastic and made us think about democracy and European citizenship in many original ways. For example we talked about Europe: do you feel yourself European and why (not)? How do you see Europe? We found out that everybody saw himself as a citizen of Europe (next to being a citizen of his own village and country, what comes on the first place) and we had quite the same ideas about Europe. We all agreed that it is a rich continent and that we as citizens of Europe have a lot of freedom and opportunities. There are borders (literally and figurative), but you can easily cross them. Europe is a continent with a long history and a lot of diversity and it is good to look behind borders to see and taste these differences. It is good to know what is happening in the rest of Europe and feel somehow a kind of responsibility for this, because you feel connected to other people who live in Europe, even while they live in another country, with another culture. We also shared ideas about problems in and around Europe. How can you for example encourage people to go voting and what can be done to protect the environment?  How can you prevent discrimination and racism and what can be done against poverty? We did brainstorm sessions about these topics in which we wrote down a lot of ideas that we discussed later. 

Asa and Marta were very creative in the ways in which they tried to let us learn in an informal way. They teached us how to be creative and inventive, because that is what is needed when you work with young people and try to learn them things in an informal way. We did simulations, we painted, we played theatre and always at the end of the day we had reflection groups to evaluate the day. In the evenings we had dinner together and discovered the nightlife of Chisinau. The group went on very well with each other and everybody really wanted to share and learn from each other. We saw spectacular dances from Azerbaijan, Moldova and the other countries, listened to all kinds of traditional music, drank vodka and cognac with the Russian girls and ate the Dutch cheese I bought (in a shop in Chisinau, sssht….). Wednesday we had an excursion to the countryside, where we visited a church in a cliff. It was a very interesting historic place, where we could see how monks had lived in the cliffs. Everybody liked it to leave the capital of Moldova for one day to see the countryside. In my opinion the city Chisinau is not very special. There is one main street in which are all the important buildings and there are two very nice parks, but for the rest everything is very old and there is a lot of traffic which simply drives over you if you don’t be careful. That is why I liked the day at the countryside so much. The nature of Moldova is beautiful and the place we visited was very peaceful and quiet. When I saw the little villages I wondered how the people are living there. Moldova is a very poor country and you can see that everywhere. For me everything was very cheap, but compared to what the people earn there, life must be very hard. A teacher at university earns only 200 euro per month, so people have to work very hard. I saw people at the supermarket and the hotel who worked from the early morning until midnight and I spoke people who explained me that life in Moldova is v�The fact that Moldova is a poor country and that it can be hard for people to live here, makes Moldova one of the largest emigration countries in the world. Many Moldovian people migrate to Russia and Western Europe and the money they send back to Moldova is very significant for the Moldovian economy. Official remittances constitute over 20 percent of GDP and compared to other countries this is very much. These remittances helped to reduce household poverty in Moldova and provide essential foreign exchange. The number of immigrants in Moldova is quite small. The immigrants come foremost from Turkey (661 persons), Romania (241), Ukraine (138) and Italy (93) to work in Moldova. 46% of them have higher education. The African community in Moldova is very small. At an ethnic festival I talked with some African migrants who live in Moldova. Keita Abdramane from the NGO Fatima told me that the African community in Moldova has been larger, but nowadays there are only a few Africans left. It is hard to survive as a migrant in Moldova. 

This trip to Moldova has made me realize that not in whole Europe life is as good as in Holland or Italy. For me it was the first time that I went so far to the east of Europe and it has really opened my eyes. Because many participants came from Eastern Europe, I learned a lot about how it is to live in Eastern Europe. I talked with them about their culture, their country, their way of live and we compared for example the democratic systems in the different countries. I think that if you have the possibility, it is good to travel, speak to people and see with your own eyes how it is to live in another country and discover other cultures. That is why I am so enthusiastic about the program of Youth in Action, because it gives youth this possibility. The training has really inspired me to promote Youth in Action and make more use of it myself, because I think it is very important and it gives lots of opportunities to learn in a nice and informal way. It broadens your view and makes you more aware of the world you are living in and how to participate in this world as an active citizen.   

(JvL) 
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Europees burgerschap en democratie in Moldavië. 

Vandaag, 17 september, ben ik terug gekomen uit Moldavië, waar ik met jongeren uit Europa een training heb gevolgd over democratie en Europees burgerschap. Ten eerste moet ik toegeven dat ik een beetje verbaasd was, toen ik hoorde dat ik naar Moldavië zou gaan voor een training. Ik moest op een kaart opzoeken waar Moldavië precies ligt en ik had geen idee wat ik kon verwachten. Hoewel het dus niet een land is dat ik zelf snel uit zou kiezen om heen te gaan, ben ik heel blij dat ik gegaan ben. Ik heb jonge mensen ontmoet uit Moldavië, Polen, Rusland, Roemenië, Azeraijan, Portugal en Frankrijk en ik heb een hoop geleerd over hun cultuur en de organisaties waar ze voor werken. Bijna alle deelnemers van de training werken voor een NGO in hun land, dus we konden onze ervaringen uitwisselen en met elkaar praten over jongerenwerk en de onderwerpen van de training. We hebben een hoop geleerd over Youth in Action en wat je kunt doen binnen dit programma van de Europese Unie. We hebben zelfs gewerkt aan een eigen project dat we in de toekomst misschien zelf kunnen organiseren. Dit heeft me heel erg geïnspireerd en wie weet kan ik de training die ik bedacht heb in de toekomst ook echt een keer organiseren, dat lijkt me geweldig. 

De training duurde 8 dagen en de trainers waren Asa uit Zweden en Marta uit Polen, twee enthousiaste meiden die ons op vele verschillende manieren na lieten denken over democratie en Europees burgerschap. We hebben bijvoorbeeld gepraat over Europa: voel je jezelf Europeaan en waarom (niet)? We kwamen erachter dat iedereen zichzelf zag als burger van Europa, terwijl iedereen zich op de eerste plaats natuurlijk toch meer verbonden blijft voelen aan zijn eigen land en stad. Iedereen had ongeveer dezelfde ideeën over Europa, namelijk dat het een rijk continent is an dat wij als burgers van Europa veel vrijheid en veel mogelijkheden hebben. Er zijn grenzen (letterlijk en figuurlijk), maar die kun je makkelijk passeren. Europa is een continent met een lange geschiedenis en veel diversiteit en het is goed om over grenzen heen te kijken en de verschillen tussen de landen en culturen te zien en proeven. Ik denk dat het belangrijk is om op de hoogte te zijn van wat er gebeurt in de rest van Europa en om hier een zekere verantwoordelijkheid voor te voelen, omdat je je verbonden voelt met andere mensen die in Europa leven, ook al leven ze in een ander land, met een andere cultuur. Tijdens de training hebben we ook ideeën uitgewisseld over problemen binnen Europa. Hoe kun je bijvoorbeeld mensen aanmoedigen om te gaan stemmen? Wat kun je doen om de natuur te beschermen? Hoe kun je discriminatie en racisme tegengaan en wat kun je doen tegen armoede? Over dit soort vragen hebben we gebrainstormd om vervolgens te praten over wat we opgeschreven hadden. 

Asa en Marta waren erg creatief in de manieren waarop ze ons na probeerden te laten denken over Europees burgerschap en democratie. Ze leerden ons om creatief en inventief te zijn, want als je met jongeren werkt en je wilt hen dingen leren op een informele manier, dan moet je creatief zijn. We hebben simulaties gedaan, getekend, theater gemaakt en altijd aan het eind van de dag evalueerden we de dag. ’s Avonds aten we met zijn allen en daarna ontdekten we het nachtleven van Chisinau, de hoofdstad van Moldavië, waar we training gegeven werd. We hadden een leuke groep en iedereen wilde echt van elkaar leren en zijn ervaringen delen. We zagen spectaculaire dansen uit Azerbaijan, Moldavië en de andere landen, we luisterden naar allerlei soorten traditionele muziek, we probeerden de Russische meiden bij te houden met wodka en cognac drinken en we aten de Nederlandse kaas, die ik helaas in de supermarkt van Moldavië had moeten kopen. Woensdag hadden we een excursie naar het platteland, waar we een kerk in een berg bezocht hebben. Het was een hele interessante plaats, waar we konden zien hoe monniken in de bergen leefden. Iedereen vond het fijn om de hoofdstad van Moldavië voor een dag te verlaten en wat van de rest van het land te zien. Om eerlijk te zijn vond Chisinau niet zo’n mooie of interessante stad. Er is één hele grote straat waaraan alle belangrijke gebouwen van de stad gevestigd zijn en er zijn twee mooie parken, maar verder is er niet veel te zien. Veel gebouwen zijn vervallen en het verkeer raast door de stad. Daarom vond ik het zo fijn om een dag naar het platteland te gaan, het was er heerlijk rustig. Toen ik de dorpen zag, vroeg ik me af hoe de mensen daar leven. Moldavië is een heel arm land en dat kun je overal zien. Voor mij was alles heel goedkoop, maar als je kijkt naar wat men verdient, moet het leven er heel zwaar zijn. Een onderwijzer op de universiteit verdient maar 200 euro per maand. Ik zag mensen in de supermarkt en het hotel werken �Het feit dat Moldavië zo’n arm land is, zorgt ervoor dat veel inwoners emigreren. Veel inwoners van Moldavië emigreren naar West-Europa en naar Rusland en het geld dat zij terug sturen naar Moldavië is erg belangrijk voor de economie, het is ongeveer 20% van het BNP. Het aantal immigranten in Moldavië is er klein. De meeste immigranten komen uit Turkije (661), Roemenië (241) , Oekraïne (138) en Italië (93) om te werken in Moldavië. 46 % van hen is hoger opgeleid. De Afrikaanse gemeenschap in Moldavië is erg klein. Op een etnisch festival sprak ik met een aantal Afrikaanse migranten die in Moldavië leven. Keita Abdramane van de NGO Fatima vertelde me dat de Afrikaanse gemeenschap in Moldavië groter geweest is, maar tegenwoordig is er weinig meer van overgebleven. Het is moeilijk om als migrant te overleven in een land dat zo arm is als Moldavië. 

De reis naar Moldavië heeft me doen realiseren dat niet overal in Europa het leven zo goed is als in Nederland en Italië. Het was de eerste keer dat ik zover naar het oosten van Europa ben ggaan en het heeft mijn ogen geopend. Omdat veel deelnemers uit Oost-Europa kwamen, heb ik veel geleerd over het leven daar. Ik heb met ze gepraat over hun land, hun cultuur en hun manier van leven en we hebben bijvoorbeeld de democratische structuur van onze landen vergeleken. Ik denk dat als je de mogelijkheid hebt, het heel goed is om te reizen en met mensen uit andere landen te spreken. Je ziet dan met je eigen ogen hoe het is om ergens anders te leven en je ontdekt veel nieuwe dingen. Dit is waarom ik zo enthousiast ben over het programma van Youth in Action, want het geeft jongeren de mogelijkheid om dit te doen. De training heeft me echt geïnspireerd om Youth in Action te promoten en om zelf meer gebruik te gaan maken van de mogelijkheden die het biedt. Via Youth in Action kunnen jongeren op een leuke en informele manier leren en hun blik verruimen, waarbij ze zich meer bewust worden van de wereld waarin ze leven en hoe ze hierin kunnen participeren als actieve burgers.  

(JvL)


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7. SOMETHING ABOUT GREECE 
************************************


General Information

Greece is situated in Southeastern Europe, with an area of 131,957 sq.km. and a population of 10,964,020. 
Athens is the capital of Greece with a population of 3,192,606.
Local time is GMT +2 hours.
The Hellenic Republic is a Presidential Parliamentary Democracy.
President of the Hellenic Republic: Mr Karolos Papoulias.
Prime Minister: Mr  Constantinos Karamanlis
Parliament:  Three hundred elected members with elections held every four years
Greece is a member state of E.U. since 1981. 
The currency is euro.
The Greek economy adopts the principles of free enterprise and is bound by the regulations of international organisations such as ECOFIN and WTO, of which it is a member.

Climate - Weather

Greece has a Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine, mild
temperatures and a limited amount of rainfall. Due to the country's
geographical position, its rugged relief and its distribution between
the mainland and the sea, there is great variation in Greece's climate.
In summer, the dry hot days are cooled by seasonal winds called the
meltemi, while mountainous regions have generally lower temperatures.
The winters are mild in lowland areas, with a minimum amount of snow and
ice, yet, mountains are usually snow-covered. Moreover, a common
phenomenon is the occurrence of different climactic conditions during
the same season (for instance, mild heat in coastal areas and cool
temperatures in mountainous regions).
     
Time
 
Greek time is G ΜΤ +2 hours 
Public Holidays 2007 
1 January: New Year's Day 
6 January: Epiphany 
19 February : Ash Monday 
25 March: National Holiday
8 and 9 April : Easter 
1 May : May Day
28 May : Whit Monday ( Holiday only for public sector) 
15 August: Dormition (Assumption) of The Virgin 
28 October: National Holiday 
25 and 26 December: Christmas

History

The earliest traces of human habitation in Greece date from the Palaeolithic period (120,000 – 10,000 B.C. approximately). 
During the subsequent Neolithic period (7,000 - 3,000 B.C. approximately), civilisation flourishes  in Greece.  A plethora of Neolithic settlements and cemeteries have been discovered in Thessaly (Sesklo, Dimini), Macedonia, the Peloponnese et al.
The beginning of the Bronze Age (3000 - 1100 B.C. approx.) is marked by the appearance of the first urban centres in the Aegean (Poliochni on the island of Limnos). Flourishing settlements are found on Crete, the Greek mainland, the Cyclades and in the Northeastern Aegean, regions where characteristic cultural patterns develop.  At the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. organised palatial societies appear on Minoan Crete, resulting in the development of the first scripts.  Using the palace of Knossos as their centre, the Minoans create a communication network with peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean, adopt elements of their cultures, and in turn have a decisive influence on the cultures of the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands.
On the Greek mainland, the Mycenaeans, taking advantage of the destructions caused on Crete by the eruption of the volcano on Santorini (around 1500 B.C.),   step forward and become the leading force in the Aegean during the last centuries of the 2nd millennium B.C. The Mycenaean citadels in Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Thebes, Gla, Athens and Iolkós constitute the centres of bureaucratically organised kingdoms. The extensive destruction of the Mycenaean centres around 1200 B.C. led to the decline of the Mycenaean civilisation and the migration of large parts of the population to the coasts of Asia Minor and Cyprus (1st Greek colonisation).    
After approximately two centuries of economic and cultural inactivity, known as the Dark Ages (1150 – 900 B.C.), the Geometric period follows (9th – 8th centuries B.C.), the beginning of the Greek renaissance.  It is marked by the formation of the Greek city-states, the creation of the Greek alphabet and the composition of the Homeric epics (end of the 8th century B.C.).  The subsequent Archaic Period (7th- 6th centuries B.C.) is an era of major social and political changes.  The Greek city-states establish colonies as far as Spain to the West, the Black Sea to the North, and North Africa to the South (2nd Greek colonisation) and lay the foundation for the peak of the classical period.  The hallmark of the classical period (5th – 4th centuries B.C.) is the cultural and political predominance of Athens; so much so that the second half of the 5th century B.C. is called the “Golden Age” of Pericles.  With the end of the Peloponnesian War, in 404 B.C., Athens loses its dominance.  
New forces emerge during the 4th century B.C.  With Philip II and his son, Alexander, Macedonians start playing a leading role in Greece.  Alexander’s expedition to the East and the conquest of regions as far as the Indus River radically change the situation in the then-known world.  With the death of Alexander, the vast empire that he created is divided among his generals, leading to the creation of the kingdoms that will prevail during the Hellenistic times (3rd -1st centuries B.C.).  During this period, the Greek cities remain more or less autonomous, but they have lost much of their old power and prestige.  The complete and final conquest of Greece by the Romans in 146 B.C. incorporates the country into the vast Roman Empire.  During Roman occupation (1st century B.C. – 3rd century A.D.), most of the Roman emperors, who are admirers of the Greek culture, are friendly towards the Greek cities, and especially Athens.  Through the travels of Apostle Paul during the 1st century B.C., Christianity, the new religion that will gradually dethrone the worship of the Dodecatheon (the Twelve Gods), is spread all over Greece. 
Nowadays visitors of the country can see the “fingerprints” of Greek history from the Palaeolithic period to the Roman era at the hundreds of archaeological sites, as well as in the archaeological museums and collections  scattered all over the country (the Greek mainland and the islands). 
The decision of Constantine the Great to move the empire’s capital from Rome to Constantinople (324 A.D.) shifted the focus to the eastern part of the empire.  This move marks the beginning of the Byzantine era during which Greece is part of the Byzantine Empire.  After 1204, when Constantinople is seized by Western crusaders, parts of Greece are given away to Western leaders, while the Venetians occupy strategic positions in the Aegean (islands or coastal cities), in order to control trade routes.  The reoccupation of Constantinople by the Byzantines in 1262 marks the last phase in the empire’s existence.  The Ottomans gradually start seizing parts of the empire from the 14th century A.D. and complete its destruction with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.  Crete was the last part of Greece to be occupied by the Ottomans in 1669.  Approximately four centuries of Ottoman occupation follow until the beginning of the Greek War of Independence in 1821. 
Numerous monuments from the Byzantine period and the Ottoman occupation still subsist, such as Byzantine and Post-Byzantine churches and monasteries, Ottoman buildings, enchanting Byzantine and Frankish castles, various other monuments as well as traditional settlements , many of which retain their Ottoman and, partly, Byzantine structure.  
The result of the Greek War of Independence was the formation of an independent Greek kingdom in 1830, which, however, covered only a restricted territory.  During the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, new areas with Greek populations are gradually integrated into the Greek state.  Greece’s territory reaches a maximum after the end of World War I, in 1920, with the substantial contribution of prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos.  The Greek state takes its contemporary form after the end of World War II with the incorporation of the Dodecanese Islands.
In 1974, after a seven-year dictatorship, a referendum was held and the system of government changed from a constitutional monarchy to a Presidential Parliamentary Democracy; Greece has been a member of the European Community/Union since 1981.

(DI)
-----------------------------------------------------------

ELLAS

Γενικές Πληροφορίες 

Η Ελλάδα βρίσκεται στο Νοτιοανατολικό άκρο της Ευρώπης με επιφάνεια 131.957 τ. χλμ. και πληθυσμό  10.964.020. 
Η Αθήνα είναι η πρωτεύουσα της Χώρας με πληθυσμό 3.192.606.
Η τοπική ώρα είναι GMT + 2 ώρες. 
Το πολίτευμα είναι Προεδρευόμενη Κοινοβουλευτική Δημοκρατία. 
Πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας: κ. Κάρολος Παπούλιας.
Πρωθυπουργός: κ. Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής. 
Βουλή: Τριακόσια μέλη που εκλέγονται κάθε τέσσερα χρόνια.
Η Ελλάδα είναι από το 1981 μέλος της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.
Το νόμισμα της Ελλάδας είναι το ευρώ. 
Η ελληνική οικονομία βασίζεται στο φιλελεύθερο μοντέλο αγοράς και δεσμεύεται από τους κανόνες των διεθνών οργανισμών στους οποίους μετέχει όπως το ECOFIN και το WTO. 

Κλίμα - Καιρός

Το κλίμα της Ελλάδας είναι μεσογειακό με μεγάλη ηλιοφάνεια, ήπιες
θερμοκρασίες και περιορισμένες βροχοπτώσεις. Χαρακτηρίζεται από μεγάλη
ποικιλομορφία, λόγω της γεωγραφικής θέσης της χώρας, του έντονου
ανάγλυφου και της κατανομής μεταξύ του ηπειρωτικού τμήματος της χώρας
και της θάλασσας. Το καλοκαίρι, οι ξηρές ζεστές μέρες συχνά δροσίζονται
από εποχικούς ανέμους που ονομάζονται «μελτέμια», ενώ οι ορεινές
περιοχές είναι πιο δροσερές. Οι χειμώνες είναι ήπιοι στα πεδινά με λίγο
πάγο και χιόνι, αλλά τα βουνά είναι, συνήθως, καλυμμένα με χιόνι.
Επίσης, είναι συχνό φαινόμενο να συνδυάζονται διαφορετικές
κλιματολογικές συνθήκες την ίδια εποχή (για παράδειγμα ήπια ζέστη κοντά
στη θάλασσα και δροσιά στις ορεινές περιοχές).

Ώρα

Η τοπική ώρα είναι GMT +2 ώρες.
 Γιορτές / Αργίες 2007
1 Ιανουαρίου: Πρωτοχρονιά
6 Ιανουαρίου: Των Φώτων
19 Φεβρουαρίου: Καθαρά Δευτέρα
25 Μαρτίου: Εθνική Εορτή
6 Απριλίου: Μεγάλη Παρασκευή
8 και  9 Απριλίου: Πάσχα
1 Μαΐου: Πρωτομαγιά
28 Μαΐου: Αγίου Πνεύματος (Αργία για το Δημόσιο Τομέα)
15 Αυγούστου: Κοίμηση της Θεοτόκου 
28 Οκτωβρίου: Εθνική Εορτή
25 και 26 Δεκεμβρίου: Χριστούγεννα

Ιστορία

Τα πρώτα ίχνη ανθρώπινης κατοίκησης στον ελληνικό χώρο εμφανίζονται, ήδη, από την Παλαιολιθική εποχή (120.000 – 10.000 π.Χ. περίπου). 
Κατά την ακόλουθη Νεολιθική εποχή (7.000 – 3.000 π.Χ. περίπου) εμφανίζεται ανθηρός πολιτισμός στον ελληνικό χώρο. Πληθώρα νεολιθικών οικισμών και νεκροταφείων έχουν αποκαλυφθεί σε Θεσσαλία (Σέσκλο, Διμήνι), Μακεδονία, Πελοπόννησο κ.α.
Η αρχή της εποχής του Χαλκού (3000-1100 π.Χ. περίπου) σηματοδοτείται από την εμφάνιση των πρώτων αστικών κέντρων στον αιγαιακό χώρο (Πολιόχνη Λήμνου). Ανθηροί οικισμοί εντοπίζονται σε Κρήτη, ηπειρωτική Ελλάδα, Κυκλάδες και Βορειοανατολικό Αιγαίο, περιοχές στις οποίες αναπτύσσονται χαρακτηριστικά πολιτισμικά μορφώματα. Στην αρχή της 2ης χιλιετίας π.Χ. εμφανίζονται στην μινωική Κρήτη οργανωμένες ανακτορικές κοινωνίες και ως συνακόλουθο αυτών τα πρώτα συστήματα γραφής. Οι Μινωίτες, με κέντρο το ανάκτορο της Κνωσού, δημιουργούν δίκτυο επαφών με λαούς της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου, υιοθετούν στοιχεία και επηρεάζουν με τη σειρά τους αποφασιστικά τους πολιτισμούς στην ηπειρωτική Ελλάδα και τα νησιά του Αιγαίου.
Στην ηπειρωτική Ελλάδα, οι Μυκηναίοι Έλληνες, επωφελούμενοι από τις καταστροφές που προκάλεσε στην Κρήτη η έκρηξη του ηφαιστείου της Σαντορίνης (1500 π.Χ. περίπου), αναλαμβάνουν δράση και γίνονται η ηγέτιδα δύναμη στον αιγαιακό χώρο κατά τους τελευταίους αιώνες της 2ης χιλιετίας π.Χ. Οι μυκηναϊκές ακροπόλεις σε Μυκήνες, Τίρυνθα, Πύλο, Θήβα, Γλα, Αθήνα και Ιωλκό αποτελούν τους πυρήνες γραφειοκρατικά οργανωμένων βασιλείων. Εκτεταμένες καταστροφές των μυκηναϊκών κέντρων γύρω στο 1200 π.Χ. οδήγησαν σε παρακμή το μυκηναϊκό πολιτισμό και προκάλεσαν μετακινήσεις πληθυσμών προς τα μικρασιατικά παράλια και την Κύπρο (Α΄ Ελληνικός αποικισμός).
Μετά από δύο περίπου αιώνες οικονομικής και πολιτιστικής δυσπραγίας, που είναι γνωστοί και ως Σκοτεινοί Χρόνοι (1150 – 900 π.Χ.), ακολουθεί η Γεωμετρική περίοδος (9ος – 8ος αι. π.Χ.), κατά την οποία αρχίζει η ελληνική αναγέννηση. Σηματοδοτείται από τη μορφοποίηση των ελληνικών πόλεων-κρατών, τη δημιουργία του ελληνικού αλφαβήτου και τη σύνθεση των ομηρικών επών (τέλος 8ου αι. π.Χ.). Οι ακόλουθοι αρχαϊκοί χρόνοι (7ος – 6ος αι. π.Χ.) υπήρξαν εποχή μεγάλων κοινωνικών και πολιτικών αλλαγών. Οι ελληνικές πόλεις-κράτη δημιουργούν αποικίες έως την Ισπανία στα δυτικά, τη Μαύρη Θάλασσα στα βόρεια και τη Β. Αφρική στα νότια (Β΄ ελληνικός αποικισμός) και θέτουν τις βάσεις για την ακμή των κλασικών χρόνων. Οι κλασικοί χρόνοι (5ος – 4ος αι. π.Χ.) σφραγίζονται από την πνευματική και πολιτική κυριαρχία της Αθήνας, ώστε το δεύτερο μισό του 5ου αι. π.Χ. να αναφέρεται ως ο «Χρυσός Αιώνας» του Περικλή. Με το τέλος του Πελοποννησιακού Πολέμου, το 404 π.Χ., η Αθήνα χάνει την ηγεμονική της θέση. 
Νέες δυνάμεις αναδύονται κατά τον 4ο αι. π.Χ. Με το Φίλιππο το Β΄ και το γιο του Αλέξανδρο οι Μακεδόνες αρχίζουν να παίζουν ηγετικό ρόλο στον ελληνικό χώρο. Η εκστρατεία του Αλεξάνδρου στην Ανατολή και η κατάκτηση εδαφών έως τον Ινδό ποταμό αλλάζει άρδην  τα δεδομένα του τότε γνωστού κόσμου. Με το θάνατο του Αλεξάνδρου τα εδάφη της αχανούς αυτοκρατορίας που δημιούργησε μοιράζονται μεταξύ των στρατηγών του και δημιουργούνται τα βασίλεια που θα κυριαρχήσουν κατά τους ελληνιστικούς χρόνους (3ος – 1ος αι. π.Χ.). Την εποχή αυτή οι ελληνικές πόλεις διατηρούν σχετική αυτονομία, αλλά δεν διαθέτουν την παλιά τους δύναμη και αίγλη. Η εμφάνιση των Ρωμαίων στο προσκήνιο και η οριστική κατάκτηση του ελληνικού χώρου το 146 π.Χ. μετέτρεψε την Ελλάδα σε τμήμα της αχανούς Ρωμαϊκής αυτοκρατορίας. Κατά τους Ρωμαϊκούς χρόνους (1ος αι. π.Χ. – 3ος αι. μ.Χ.) οι περισσότεροι Ρωμαίοι αυτοκράτορες, θαυμαστές του ελληνικού πολιτισμού, θα ευεργετήσουν τις ελληνικές πόλεις, κατεξοχήν δε την Αθήνα. Με την περιοδεία του Αποστόλου Παύλου κατά τον 1ο αι. μ.Χ. διαδίδεται ο χριστιανισμός στον ελληνικό χώρο, η νέα θρησκεία ποΗ απόφαση του Μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου να μεταφέρει την πρωτεύουσα της αυτοκρατορίας από τη Ρώμη στην Κωνσταντινούπολη (324 μ.Χ.) οδήγησε στη μετατόπιση του κέντρου βάρους στο ανατολικό τμήμα της αυτοκρατορίας. Η μεταφορά αυτή σηματοδοτεί την αρχή των βυζαντινών χρόνων, κατά τους οποίους η Ελλάδα αποτελεί περιοχή της βυζαντινής αυτοκρατορίας. Μετά το 1204, έτος κατάληψης της Κωνσταντινούπολης από Δυτικούς σταυροφόρους, τμήματα του ελληνικού χώρου μοιράζονται σε Δυτικούς ηγεμόνες ενώ οι Βενετοί καταλαμβάνουν καίριες θέσεις στον αιγαιακό χώρο (νησιά ή παράλιες πόλεις), προκειμένου να ελέγχουν τους εμπορικούς δρόμους. Η ανακατάληψη της Κωνσταντινούπολης από τους Βυζαντινούς το 1262, σηματοδοτεί την τελευταία φάση ζωής της αυτοκρατορίας. Οι Οθωμανοί αρχίζουν να καταλαμβάνουν σταδιακά τα εδάφη της από το 14ο αι. μ.Χ. για να ολοκληρώσουν την κατάλυση της αυτοκρατορίας με την κατάκτηση της Κωνσταντινούπολης το 1453. Η Κρήτη ήταν το τελευταίο τμήμα του ελληνικού χώρου που κατακτήθηκε από τους Οθωμανούς το 1669. Ακολουθούν τέσσερις περίπου αιώνες Οθωμανικής κυριαρχίας μέχρι την έναρξη της ελληοΕπακόλουθό της ελληνικής Επανάστασης ήταν η δημιουργία, το 1830, ανεξάρτητου ελληνικού βασιλείου, με περιορισμένη όμως επικράτεια. Νέα εδάφη με συμπαγείς ελληνικούς πληθυσμούς θα ενταχθούν σταδιακά στο ελληνικό κράτος κατά τη διάρκεια του 19ου και στις αρχές του 20ου αι. Η Ελλάδα θα φτάσει στη μέγιστη έκτασή της μετά το τέλος του Α΄ Παγκοσμίου πολέμου, το 1920, με την ουσιαστική συμβολή του τότε πρωθυπουργού της Ελ. Βενιζέλου. Τη σημερινή του εδαφική μορφή έλαβε το ελληνικό κράτος μετά το τέλος του Β΄ Παγκοσμίου πολέμου και την ενσωμάτωση των Δωδεκανήσων.
Το 1974, μετά από μια επταετή Δικτατορία, η Ελλάδα ανακηρύχθηκε με δημοψήφισμα από βασιλευόμενη σε προεδρευόμενη Δημοκρατία, ενώ από το 1981 αποτελεί μέλος της Ευρωπαϊκής Κοινότητας / Ένωσης.

(DI)

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8. LOESJE: SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 
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Have you heard about Loesje? Loesje is an international free speech organisation started in Arnhem (the Netherlands) in 1983. Loesje went international in 1989. Its charter is to spread creativity, positive criticism, ideas, philosophical ponderings and thoughts on current events by way of short slogans on posters, signed by a fictional character, Loesje (a Dutch female name).Loesje is currently active in over 30 countries to some extent including Argentina, Armenia, Bosnia, Belgium, Catalonia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States of America. At the moment Loesje's headquarters are located in Berlin (since September 2005) and from there Loesje implements and coordinates many diverse international projects around the world. Because I like the idea and the statements of Loesje very much, I will sometimes write some statements down in the newsletter. The sentences are short and simple, but in my opinion very catchy. I hope you will like it as much as I do!  

(JvL)


INTEGRATION: HOW COME TARZAN GOT ACCEPTED IN THE JUNGLE?

POLLUTION: JESUS, SOON WE CAN ALL WALK ON WATER

INDIVIDUALISING GLOBAL WORLD
AND THE LABEL SAID >> MADE BY LEE HO FUNG << 

IF THE GAP WIDENS, THE BRIGDE HAS TO GET LONGER

NATURAL RESOURCES:  WHAT IF COFFEE ENDS?

THE WORLD IS TOO ROUND TO SIT SILENTLY IN THE CORNER

WHEN THEY MAKE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR WHERE YOU ARE BORN, YOU ARE CALLED A REFUGEE

MY LIFE IS MY DAILY ART 

WHEN DEMOCRACY ISN'T WORKING, PEOPLE ARE

BANANAS TRAVEL EVEN MORE THAN I DO

DON'T FORGET TO STAND STILL EVERY NOW AND THEN TO ADMIRE THE VIEW

WORLD AIDS DAY 
THE ONLY THING UNHEALABLE SHOULD BE LOVE

THE BIGGER THE EU, THE MORE SPACE FOR IMMIGRANTS

INTEGRATION SIMPLY GOES EASIER, WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE WELCOME 

MOTHERS, LET YOUR CHILDREN PLAY WITH WHAT THEY WANT, OR THEY MIGHT BECOME POLITICIANS

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING, AND FOUND THE WORLD ON MY DOORSTEP


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9. EXCHANGE PROGRAMME IN TURKEY 
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There will be an youth exchange programme in Kırşehir in Turkey between 9-16 December 2007. 
Host organisation: Ahi Kulubu 
Participants needed: 4
It is important that the participants have some skills of playing instruments, dancing etc. Each country will show a relaxing activity of their country and teach others.
Participants will pay the 30% percent of the travel costs.

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