Identity is more than a passport: Athina Botigao says "I'm just a normal Greek kid." She and other children of immigrants born in Greece marched recently on the Greek parliament asking for citizenship. (Louisa Gouliamaki)
Being born in Greece may not make you Greek
A native Greek speaker and the star of a popular Greek music video to boot, Athina Bontigao – daughter of Filipino immigrants – is fighting for citizenship, along with thousands like her.
By Nicole Itano | Correspondent / November 12, 2008 edition
Athens, Greece
Athens, Greece
When Athina Bontigao walks down the streets of this city of her birth, most Greeks don’t see a compatriot, they see a foreigner, a xenos. Sometimes, especially lately, police stop her and ask to see her papers. On the bus, she hears old ladies complain about “all these dirty foreigners” coming to their country. They’re looking at her.
Ms. Bontigao has lived all her 18 years in Athens, but she has an Asian face and Filipino parents. And although she carries the name of a Greek goddess – the patron deity of this ancient city – as far as the state is concerned, she’s still a migrant, just temporarily passing through.
But that’s not how Bontigao sees herself.
“Inside me, it’s like everything is Greek,” she says. “Greek is my first language. I know the culture here, the history. I know everything.” She shrugs, adding with frustration: “I don’t even know the history of the Philippines.”
In her neighborhood school, Bontigao was the only non-Greek. She recently starred in a Greek music video by her favorite singer, but didn’t learn to speak Tagalog, her parents’ mother tongue, until she was a teenager. She prefers souvlakia – Greek grilled meat – to her mother’s Filipino cooking.
“Like, Filipino food, it’s just rice, rice, rice,” she says with a giggle. She’s only been to the Philippines a few times and never spent more than a month there – the smells, the crowds, the lack of privacy, she says, all feel foreign to her.
But the only passport Bontigao carries, and the only country she has permanent right to live in, is the Philippines.
Greece, like most European countries, does not give automatic citizenship to children born in the country. And becoming a naturalized citizen is a long, difficult process: Greece makes it harder than almost any other country in the European Union – only Austria is tougher. It’s also the only one of the original EU 15 that makes no special provisions for children born to immigrants in the country. Members of the Greek diaspora, in contrast, can get a passport easily.
• • •
It’s a workday evening and Athens’ central square, Syntagma, is bustling: Bankers rush to the metro as tourists snap pictures of the evzones – red-capped, skirt-clad soldiers with pom-poms on their feet who guard parliament.
Bontigao and several Filipino friends are clustered near a fountain, clutching creased petitions asking for Greece to grant citizenship to children like them. Nervously, they approach passersby, making their case for a signature: They were born here and should have the right to Greek citizenship.
Often, it’s disheartening work. Many people rush by, declining to stop with a wave of their hand. An old lady listens to their spiel – in Greek – shakes her head, and refuses to sign. Younger people are more likely to be supportive: A young man with a guitar adds his name to the list, as does a businesswoman in a smart suit and heels.
“Some of them are kind of racist. They give a lot of reasons for not signing the campaign,” Bontigao says. “It feels bad, but other people give us strength by saying, ‘yeah, you should have this citizenship, you were born here.’ ”
Not far away, another scene is playing out. Policemen have approached three Arab men sitting on a bench and are examining their papers. They search the men’s pockets; asking them what they’re doing, why they’re here.
The Filipino girls watch warily as one man is led away. In recent months, Athens has been cracking down on illegal immigration – authorities call it “Operation Sweep” – and the girls say they worry constantly about the police finding something wrong with their papers. Bontigao has been questioned twice.
Immigrants here, even legal ones, live in a constant state of insecurity. Most must renew their residence permits every two years, but Greece’s immigration bureaucracy is so overloaded that permits aren’t usually approved until just before they expire. So Bontigao, her parents, and most other migrants are trapped in an unending cycle of applications. They’re legal while they’re waiting for their permits to be processed, but can only leave the country during specific amnesty periods, usually at Christmas, Easter, and for two weeks in August. That instability is particularly hard on kids, like Bontigao, who have integrated culturally.
“They fall within the same exact rules that rule the lives of their parents and the lives of immigrants who arrived in the country yesterday,” says Miltiadis Pavlou, from the Institute for Rights, Equality and Diversity in Athens. “When they become adults, they have to find a job, find an employer to remain legally in the country, or face going to a country they have never known.”
• • •
Edwina and Danny Bontigao met in the Greek port city of Piraeas – today, effectively a suburb of Athens – more than 20 years ago. He was a sailor; she was a domestic worker. In those days, immigration was so new to Greece that the country lacked an official policy.
For most of the 20th century, Greeks themselves emigrated in large numbers for economic reasons. At the time Bontigaos arrived, at the vanguard of the current immigration wave, the country’s most recent immigration law dated to 1929. Baby Athina went with her parents as they marched and protested for legal status for immigrants.
They finally won that battle in 1997.
Today, Greece is a wealthy, EU country and immigration is a fact of life. There are half a million legal migrants and probably as many undocumented ones. Many of those are from neighboring Albania, but there are an increasing number of Africans and Asians. In certain Athens neighborhoods, like the seedy streets around the city’s central market, Greek faces are far out-numbered by those of other ancestry.
In a country whose modern identity is based on the myth that Greece is a homogenous nation, bonded by its shared Orthodox Christian religion, many find this wave of new arrivals unsettling.
Last year, in the country’s most recent election, a far-right, anti-immigration party won seats in parliament for the first time.
“I think, it’s older people who mostly don’t really accept the fact that there are foreigners coming to the country, because they’re not used to it,” says Athina. “The younger people, they go to school with foreigners. They see that we’re not like the bad things that people say, that we’re thieves and bad to Greeks.”
For her, time is running out. A few months ago, she turned 18 and her current permit expires in February. She worries she will have to leave school – she’s studying for a business degree – and get a job, that she’ll be pigeonholed into low-paying domestic work. In Greece, filipineza is slang for “maid.”
The government says it will amend the law to give immigrant children born in Greece five-year-long residence permits when they turn 18. It’s not citizenship, but it’s a step.
Athina just wants to be a teenager; to worry about school and boys and clothes. But she has to fight for the right to belong. “I’m just normal, a normal Greek kid.”
2. tommy johns | 11.12.08
It is a sad commentary that in 2008 we, as the descendants of long and hard struggles to overcome brutalities of the past, in many ways have the same barbaric tendencies as our distant ancestors. Can we not learn to recognize all people as our brothers and sisters, and to be kind, tolerant, and inviting to all our brethren? It is admirable to be proud of your national heritage and ethnic origins: it is alarming that some cannot accept others into that family.
3. Steve | 11.12.08
I completely agree with the Greek government, just because you are born in the country it doesnot give you the right to become a citizen automatically like here in the USA. I wish we would amend our laws to prevent citizen jumpers from coming here to have kids just to get automatic citizenship. Soon you will have an overburdened social services, higher unemployment, etc. Next they will want signs and services in their native language, wanting more more more. You will wind up like the united nations of America
4. humberto | 11.12.08
regarding Greek nacionality is the people will to change the nationality of many indocumented inmigrants,soon Spain,France,germany,Italy,Uk, will change to European citicenship ,then what will happend to Rumanias,Poles,Turks,Portugues,Albanias,Latvian,Ukraian.they get new Identities or be foreniers with not identites.
the people will change the world and will be travelers .
5. Vince | 11.12.08
This is the way things should be, and I am a firm believer in the integrity of a national identity. Greece, and neither any other nation in the EU, is the USA. There are only 10 million Greeks in Greece. Compare that with 90 million Filipinos. By letting these foreigners come in to Greece and turning “Greek” what will eventually become of this? I will tell you what… the extinction of the Greek nationality, that’s what.
A so-called “melting-pot” is the surest way of purging identity, and culture. It has nothing to do with being “old” or “young”. The “young” are too immature to realize the implications of immigration. If anyone in the US feels I am a “racist” then I propose you let 600 million Chinese come to the US. China will remain unharmed. Then in a few generations we will see what happens, but hey at least you won’t be labeled a “racist”.
6. papayiannakis tony | 11.12.08
They are not GREEK end of story. They will never be Greek.
They do not have Greek DNA.
If I was born in Antarctica does that make me Antarctician…where is my passport.
GREEKS left Greece because of the BRITISH, USA, RUSSIAN and FRENCH, GERMAN interference and destabilization….from supporting Ottoman Empire and Turks to support Civil Wars and Dictatorships….too much to write here about foreigners interfering with Greeks.
An ASIAN, AFRICAN, SCANDINAVIAN will NEVER EVER BE A GREEK!
Go back to your home country and make an improvement there.
7. Steve | 11.12.08
Greece really does less for foreigners than nearly any country I know, and it is a stain on the enormous pride of “the birthplace of democracy”. The older generation’s reputation for xenophobia goes directly against the Christian principles they claim to live by. On numerous occasions Christ had compassion on strangers, and he explicitly stated that Christians should be kind to the strangers in their land. Poor, poor examples of Christ and christians Greeks often are.
8. Lee | 11.12.08
Just would like to let Athina Bontigao know this :
“Being born in Philippnies definitely will also not make you a Filipino.”
9. John | 11.12.08
your comments that the modern Greek Identity is based on a myth in regards to the country being a homogenous nation shows the author’s lack of knowledge to the local country. Before the the wave of immigrant arrivals that started to come to Greece in the late 90’s. 98% of Greece’s population was Greek and Orthodox. Is that not a homogenous nation? Of course now with the arrival of immigrants the population is changing, but don’t state that the modern Greek Identity was based on a myth, because up to the last two decades it was. But thank you for revealing your globist new world order ideology. Thats the reason why I will always vote for the FAR-RIGHT.
kind regards
10. John | 11.13.08
How lucky we are in the USA where police don’t stop people based on the color of their skin and ask for their papers. Well… mostly.
11. Samuel Sukaton | 11.13.08
It’s a shame that the Greek government is denying the children of immigrants citizenship. Their attitude may drive away talent, innovation, and labor, which is bad for Greece.
One would think that they’ve learned the lessons of history, since they’ve been around so long. After all, isn’t the the country that gave us a culture adopted and adapted by the entire Western world, regardless of race?
Culture isn’t determined by a phenotype, and Filipino-Hellenes like Athina have much to contribute to Greek society. I hope that the EU can make Greece come around or (even better!) that the people of Greece see that this discrimination hurts them in the long run.
12. Patriot | 11.13.08
Great Article….i am a greek who lives in greece and I give 110% support to ppl like Athina. I dont believe greeks in general are racist…just the beuacracy of the govt makes it seem so. Not to mention the huge illegal immigration problem that we have here in comparison to other EU countries.
In any case…keep fighting… your patriotism will be recognized.
cheers !
13. Antonio Henrique Lopes | 11.13.08
Í´ts a shame to heard about this in Greece, The Greeks here in Brazil are wellcomed and most of them are estabilished with family and jobs or even business. The world is only one, the mankind made the bonderies. Antonio H. Lopes from Salvador, Brazil.
15. Va | 11.13.08
Greek DNA? That’s odd…I’ve never heard of that. Has a new nucleotide been discovered that I didn’t hear about? And if you want people to go back to their “home country” and base this on DNA…well then, we’ll all have to make our way back to Africa.
National identity has nothing to do with your DNA. It has nothing to do with your skin color or the shape of your face. It has to do with your pride in where you live, with your love and respect for your neighbors, and with your understand and admiration for your culture.
Its clear by some of these comments that it is not the bureaucracy of the Greek government that makes it appear that Greeks are racist. But Greeks (and everyone else in the world) will have to find a way to fight xenophobia. As our world becomes increasingly globalized, we all need to get used to seeing different faces. Personally, I enjoy the great mix of people I see around me on a daily basis.
16. Greek 100% | 11.13.08
How many Greeks in the Philippines? 100 if any.
In comparison to the population of the Philippines less than .001%.
Impact on the culture and ethnic composition of the Philippines - NOTHING.
How many Philippines in Greece 100,000 give or take. Percentage is large enough to impact the culture and ethnic composition.
When I go to visit Greece I want to seek Greek people and experience Greek culture. Not to see Africans, Asians or whatever other group.
Greek people are an ancient culture. Not some made up culture like the USA or Brazil or Canada. Let us not forget that the USA, Canada, Brazil ethnically cleansed their indigenous populations to a point that they are virtually non-existent. Indigenous populations in those countries listed above (many more) in some cases greeted the Europeans with open arms. How were they rewarded they were cultural and ethnically cleansed from their lands. There is no difference between the influx of foreigners to lands such as Greece which have been Greek since before Jesus Christ’s arrival. Those who think that Greece should accept foreigners are RACISTS against Greek people and wish to see Greek culture and ethnic Greeks destroyed. Is it funny that the people who say we are all part of the human race. Well who the heck decided that the Asians or Africans with their booming over population should be the only ethnic groups to populate this world. Greeks should not sit and accept foreigners. It is early enough to send them back so that they DO NOT have the same fate as the INDIGENOUS TRIBES of North and South America.
17. Ioannis | 11.13.08
Dears,
As a Greek citizen born in Brazil and recognized by brazilian laws as an authentic Brazilian althoug my name, as father of a multi-ethnic boy(half greek and half japanese), as a citizen who beleives in the integrity of the countries(as all of you) and in the future of human race, I´m shocked whith the opinions here.
You want or not, world and the humans will change.
If you really want peace and a new globalized world, will need accept the differences(religion, race, color, ideoligy), including inside yours countries.
That´s why, althoug all our problems, Brazil is the God’s Land.
Me, my family and Brazil are prove that respect is possible anywhere.
18. Manny | 11.13.08
I was born in Canada from immigrant parents and have made a few trips to the land of the gods recently and have seen the many changes to the country and the people.For this Pilipino girl I wish her luck in obtaining her goal.As for those that are wrestling with this issue one thing is certain the Greeks that have been there for ages do feel their identity and culture are under threat due to the fact there are only 10 million .One can never know how things might look like 10 years from now or 100 but I can assure you that it will always be an issue and it’s even tougher on mixed couples children that get automatic citizenship regaurdless if they look foreign they usually are treated like one.
19. confused | 11.13.08
As a Greek, I’m so sad about some of these comments.
Greek DNA? Jesus!
Remember what ancient Greeks was saying (sorry for the poor transletion, my English are very poor) “Greek is whom has Greek education”.
Didn’t said anything about DNA or color.
20. Macedonian | 11.13.08
Greece doesn’t even recognize it large ethnic minorities, like the large Macedonian minority in the north, who have lived in the region longer than the Greeks (Prosfyges). They also don’t recognize the large Turkish and Albanian minorities. How on earth are they going to recognize immigrants if the ethnic minorities don’t have any right? Greece is the shame of Europe and the 21st century!
21. Patriot | 11.13.08
to my greek compatriots out there…hellenism is to big to be confined by ethnic boundaries. This person in this article celebrated and assimilated completely into hellenic socienty. If we want to have more ethnic greeks in greece, then lets have more kids…simple.
We should appreciate ppl that are born here and feel greek. I hope these ppls problems will be worked through.Its just the illegal immigration thats killing us…
22. Kevin | 11.13.08
Greece is for Greek people! Population densities in Europe do not justify immigration. I think all ethnic groupings have (or should have) a respective homeland, and loading western Europe with greedy immigrants is wrong on multiple levels.
23. Panayiotis - Sydney | 11.13.08
As an Australian-born Hellene, I can understand, and identify with, Athina’s dilemma. I do not however agree that simply being born in the Hellenic Republic entitles an individual to citizenship. This is a legal status that must be earned by more than a few statements of identifying as a Hellene.
There must be some qualification that must be met in order for those born in Hellas not of Hellenic ancestry to become citizens. Similar to the minimums required for American or Australian citizenship (knowledge of the country’s language, culture and history, as well as system of government).
Nor is it easier for Diaspora Hellenes to secure citizenship. Especially for those unfortunate enough to be born male. Even if you meet the bureaucratic criteria of proving a direct lineal relationship to a person born in the Hellenic Republic, and then manage to register your existence on the community record, there is the issue of compulsory military service to negotiate. No exemption certificate from the Hellenic Armed Forces, no citizenship.
This comment should not be read as an assault on the Hellenic citizenship laws. Rather, it is an appeal to the Hellenic State to develop clear-cut, straight-forward guides to registering and securing citizenship of the Hellenic Republic.
I believe that the biggest obstacle anyone faces is the lack of modern, uniform, procedures that people can follow. You usually get there eventually, but it requires great persaverence.
24. Theo | 11.13.08
I’m a Greek-Canadian, and I cannot imagine being considered a non-citizen of Canada simply because my parents were born in Greece.
I can understand Greece’s concern with the large amount of illegal immigrants; however, it is unfair to penalize everyone for this. I think as long as immigrants become Greeks in terms of language, culture and love of country, they should be granted citizenship REGARDLESS of their ethnic origins.
Going back to ancient times, I don’t believe Hellenism was ever supposed to be based on the concept of ethnic purity.
25. allos | 11.14.08
I believe that all of the children born in Greece should be given Greek citizenship. However, there should exist better controls to curb illegal immigration and in this area Greece like Italy and France will need help from the EU.
In addition, extreme care must be taken so that the cultural values and ideals of this country are not “watered down” or drastically altered to the point where the indigenous Greek population will become strangers in their own country.
26. Vassilis | 11.14.08
Children born in Greece to immigrant parents should be given Greek nationality because its the place they regard as their county.We live in a
globalisation age and Greece should move with the times.Outmoded racist
connotations have not place in today’s world.
27. Tom | 11.14.08
Greeks, do not be intimidated by the media! Don’t let them label you as racists! You have every right to control immigration and every right to set citizenship policy. If you don’t change Greace will just be an extension of Albania!
The US needs to get rid of birthright citizenship, I have Latino friends and they are as American as apple pie but we simply can’t support all the poor people of Mexico!
This world has 6.5 billion people and the 3rd world adds 100 million people each year! The 1st world can not take in all these people without going bankrupt!
28. JeR | 11.14.08
That is why being a “real American” is sometimes a good feeling. We are a nation of immigrants and sadly at times, idiots. I think we’ve progressed than any other country in the past 100 years or so. We elected the first black president, gone to the moon, engaged in so many wars, spent billions of dollars, gone through recessions, elected women to powerful positions, hunted terrorists in their caves. We can do anything we put our minds to and we empower immigrants to do the same. That is what America is all about.
29. Tsakonas | 11.14.08
I’m an American of Greek decent. In the US, we had a huge influx of Latino immigrants that angered many people because they took away many jobs for cheap wages. I was married in Greece in 2005 and saw how the Albanians have done much of the same. On the flip side, I wouldn’t be an American today if all my mother’s grandparents didn’t immigrate to the US around 1900 when the area around Sparti was hit by the currant famine. America is meant to be a multi-cultured melting pot, while Greece has had it’s land taken and abused for 1000’s of years by xenoi. Now that Greece is getting back up on it’s feet, it’s hard to blame the indigenous people from being upset by yet another invasion. It’s one of the most beautiful places on Earth, so people will naturally want to be there. This is a global world and we all need to adjust to the ever changing conditions. I don’t want to see the Greek culture get watered down, but we all need to accept the times.
30. Vasili | 11.14.08
I was born in Thessaloniki and so were my parents and grandparents. I’ve always considered myself Greek, but not because of I have Greek physical features. In my mind Athina is as Greek as I am and her children will be as Greek as my children. I don’t care about how she looks or where her ancestors come from. I have no idea if I have ancestors who are Nordic or Slavic; fair skin and blue eyes are dominant in my family so for all I know I’m a Viking. Who cares? The fact is that Athina was born, raised, educated and lives in Greece. She should have the all the rights and responsibilities I have.
31. George | 11.15.08
I simply can not believe that a country that has issues with immigration and borders Turkey, Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia, and Albania could be 98% homogenous. All of these other nations have diverse populations and yet only one nation in the whole of the Balkans can claim 98% homogeneity?
Greece has been a destination for immigrants for centuries. Modern day Greeks should recognize that there are substantial ethnic minorities within its borders.
32. Dan Asta | 11.15.08
Politicians should be smart enough to give citizenship to someone who has lived for 18 years in a country. There are ways to legislate this award of citizenship so that it isn’t abused.
Some of you need to understand the Greek point-of-view as well. It’s a transit country into the EU, it shares external borders with the Middle East and a sea with North Africa. It has a huge illegal immigration problem that’s worse than ANY other country in the EU by virtue of those borders. It simply cannot adopt a law such as the one in the USA. On the other hand, the writer of the article is incorrect to say that Greece is the worst when it comes to awarding citizenship. In the late 1990s it was awarded in a sweeping bill to hundreds of thousands of Albanian immigrants, many of whom were there illegally. That never would have happened in Germany or Switzerland where generations of German and Swiss born people are not awarded citzenship. Heck, in Switzerland, your neighbors vote on whether to give you citizenship.
Greece is a country if 10 million people by census (i.e legal residents) with up to 2 million immigrants beyond that.
They need a better immigration policy that will make a space for people like Athina but it’s just incorrect to assume that Greece is the worst when it comes to immigration.
The writer misunderstands what Greece means by homogeneity. That does not mean you are ethnic Greek, or even culturally Greek. Rather, Greece recognizes no minorities other than Muslim minorities. Everyone else is considered a Greek national (homogeneously) much as American citizens are considered Americans no matter their nation of birth. That’s what homogeneity means in Greece. There is no myth about minorities, as the writer put it. The only minorities to be recognized according to the Geneva human rights charters are indigenous minorities, of which Greece has Turks, Pomaks, Roma, Slavs, who are mostly recognized by religion: Muslim. Otherwise, recent immigrants such as Albanians, Northern Africans, Phillipinos, Russians, etc. are NOT recognized as minorities.
33. Bill | 11.16.08
No excuses! I am Greek-Australian and know how Athina feels. Athina is as Greek as anyone! She is a patriotisa with more passion than other frappe drinking high heeled malakou from Athens!
34. Steve New Port Richey, Florida | 11.17.08
Athina Bontigao’s plight is not unusual in a place like Greece. I support her completely in her plea for Greek citizenship. She was born in Greece, therefore it is her birthright. From an historical persepective, the fact remains that Greece is now becoming somewhat cosmopolitan. The first time Greece ever came into contact with large numbers of immigrants (who were actually exiled from their native Turkey), was in 1923-’24. At this time, Greece was forced to absorb nearly 2 million refugees, all of whom were Turkish nationals of the Greek Orthodox religion. My paternal grandparents were a part of this tragic, exiled group who fled the ashes of Smyrna in 1922. Their lives were completely destroyed. Although Greek Orthodox Christians, the dream of ‘patritha’ or ‘motherland’was destroyed by shouts of “Turks, refugees’ Turkosporoi, and Turkophones”. The native-born Greeks mistrusted and questioned the loyalty of the Anatolian (Asia Minor) Greeks. Many left Greece for America, Canada, and Australia. The majority eventually were accepted into the mainstream after escaping the Anatolian refugee communities throughout Greece. My paternal grandmother’s sister, after a 6 month stay in Greece and having gone through tremendous ridicule and humiliation, returned to Turkey and died there. She was never accepted as a ‘true Greek’ in Greece-proper. How sad that is!
35. John | 11.17.08
As a greek born and raised in germany i can totally understand athina. my ex-girlfriend is an us-american with parents from the phlilipines. i can totally understand athina’s story. for me, she is as greek as i am and for sure much more greek than many many “real by dna greeks” living in greece.
i have had the opportunity to get to know some immigrants in greece… all they are looking for is a better future for themselves and their children. and the amazing thing is that mostly all of them totally assimilate into the greek society.
i wish athina and all the other children of immigrants good luck, and strengh for the fight to getting their right. if you were born in greece, you accept the culture and everything else, than you deserve to get a stable base for your life. and that means citizenship.
best regards
36. Aleksandros | 11.21.08
Listen to you all, most of you don’t live in Greece but are judging a country the majority have not step foot in. BORN, RAISED and LIVE in Greece. I will never vote to change my country’s laws to reflect those of a country like America where no clear identity or heritage exist. Being born in the country it does not give you the right to become a citizen automatically. End of story. Who cares what outsiders who don’t live in Greece say about the matter. It doesn’t effect any of YOU personally. Another thing, it is not just the older generation that feel the way I do, that far-right, anti-immigration party that won seats in parliament was not elected there with just the votes of “out of touch” older generation people. This from the majority of younger generation Greeks who will never vote to make our country into an identity-less AmeriKA.
37. Theophanes | 11.30.08
Greeks have a right to preserve their ethno-cultural heritage. It is racist for people to demand that Greece change its ethnic makeup in order to accommodate the needs of foreigners. Greece is a small country and the Greeks fought and toiled countless times to have their country liberated. Greece belongs to the Greeks whether people like it or not. Period.
All of you go read Article 8 of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and open your eyes.
1. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture.
2. States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for:
(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;
(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources;
(c) Any form of forced population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;
(d) Any form of forced assimilation or integration;
(e) Any form of propaganda designed to promote or incite racial or ethnic discrimination directed against them.
If Athina Bontigao doesn’t want to admit that she is not Greek, then that is her problem. Greeks will not forsake their ancestry and their heritage just for her. She should grow up and stop pretending to be something she is not. Thank you.
P.S. For those of you who may wince at my comments, please feel free to open your minds to reality instead of preaching the usual multi-cultural gobbledeegook.
38. Andromedes | 12.05.08
To be Greek you have to have a Greek blood. One drop of greek blood will make you Greek by Alexander the Great.
40. icr | 12.09.08
Don’t be fooled by individual sob stories. The aim of the Globalists/One-Worlders(both capitalist and neo-communist) is the destruction of all distinct peoples and cultures and the transformation of the world into one big USA.
41. Atilla | 12.12.08
Countries like Greece are going to face a major dilemma in the coming years. These countries have essentially been able to hide / assimilate (forcefully or otherwise) their indigenous minorities, because in the past they have been white. The face of today’s economigrant changes that and they are struggling to come to terms with it.
As far as “Greek blood” is concerned, I think some of those who comment here need a reality check. Alot happens demographically in 3000 years, much of Greece has been overrun and settled many times, by many peoples, Albanians in Athens, Turks in the Kozani, Romananians in the Pindus Mountains, heck, the northern half of Greek Macedonia was Slavic at the beginning of the 20th century.
To quote Bob Dylan, “the times they are a changin’
42. Samuel Sukaton | 12.18.08
The Greeks posting here seem offended. So, you don’t want people to be Greek citizens because of “multicultural gobbledygook”?
Fine. Heritage, national identity, and civic spirit are important. Theophanes and Aleksandros are right in that birth shouldn’t necessarily be a guarantee of citizenship and that indigenous cultures have the right of self-preservation.
Make the Greek language compulsory in schools, make citizens eligible for the draft, and write curricula in schools acknowledging immigrant contributions, but focusing on Hellenic history (good and bad–if you talk about Alexander, be sure to talk about the Seleucids, too!) Reform the immigration system so that the children of resident aliens born in Greece are given citizenship, provided they enroll in public schools or give an affirmation of loyalty at the age of majority (in the US, 18). That ensures that these “anchor babies” are assimilated into the national culture and identity enough to ensure their “loyalty.”
Keep turning away foreigners, you turn away valuable labor, ideas, and capital. Whatever else might be wrong with an “identity-less AmeriKA” and our “multicultural gobbledygook”, Aleksandros and Theophanes, we keep people coming, we take the best they have, and we use it. Greece would be wise to do the same…in its own way, of course.
43. LoveGreece | 12.18.08
Well its true that all nations have some intermingling with others esp. neighboring ones…this new mass movements from entirely different parts of the worlds is something unassimilateable…
And it is in fact racist to demand that European countries accept millions of non-natives every year. Greece has already been generous 500,000 legalizations is more than generous for a population of 10,000,000.
I believe that their is an agenda by certain elites to transform all Western nations into multicultural countries so as to better control these nations.
I do not think this little girl is personally pursuing some evil agenda against Greeks…but the earth is only so big, and if philipinos are 90,000,000 then they need to practice birth control..Greeks are not obligated to accomodate philippinos. UK and France may have a guilt about their colonial histories…but that is their to bad. We did not colonize Africa or Asia to have some moral obligation to become a minority in our own house.
44. LoveGreece | 12.18.08
This is not about hatred, or superiority or inferiority etc.
This is about “family” we Greeks have a shared common history and genetic pool although it may not be “pure” so what. That does not then imply that we have to accept the teaming millions of Asia and Africa.
Christianity and Kindness start at home. We have high unemployment and low wages here. I believe wealthy phillipinos ought to practice Chrisitian charity so their compatriots do not flee their homes. Its not Christian to take the food from the mouth of your own child to feed someone elses.
If thats Christianity my dear I am not interested. Thats Suicidianity.
45. Lamia Volo alla me karo | 01.11.09
I would like to support not only Athina but, also, every Greek-born child in our country.
I don’t understand how can be denied the cityzenship to people who have been born and grown up in Greece, who speak our language as well as we do and, otherwise, state is begging people like Athina Onassis or many other rich and famous people - who have never born or lived in Greece, and never have appreciated Greece as a country - to take citizenship or to represent Greece in… Olympic Games. When it’s about rich and famous, everybody is doing like mad to give them nationality…
That’s a shame and a fault of respect to simple people who have offered a lot to Greece and to Greeks (never forget that without the contribution of those children’s parents, our houses would have been decayed many years ago…)
I know many people who are in the same situation as Bontigao: they have been born in a country by foreign parents, they speak the language like every other native person, but they have not citizenship (Surely, would be very different to argument that the parents of that child should have automatically the citizenship of the country). But, anyway, the problem are not the parents: are their sons and daughters who have been born here. All those people like Athina Bontigao who have the merit to be greek citizens, we ignore them.
I see utilitarist arguments like “denying citizenship to Athina, maybe would be a waste of talent” or other, purely neo-fascist about “Greek DNA”.
But the question is other:
has been born Athina in Greece?? - Yes…
Has she the required knowledge of the Greek language to be completely incorporated in Greek society?? - Yes… Has she the right to defend her 18 years of life in Greece by asking Greek citizenship?? - I think so, YES…
Greek constitution grants the posibility to have even a double nationality and permit like this to Athina to keep her contact with Philippines, her parents country?? - Surely; Greek constitution allows until 3 simultaneous nationalities…
So, if it would be in my hands, i would prefer to give Greek citizenship to those people who have born here and learned to respect this country despìte the terrible difficulties that have been experimented during their large stay here by a certain neo-fascist and racist “sector” of the Greek society (…which “sector’s” integrants shouldn’t have Greek nationality: they don’t deserve it).
46. Just Athought | 01.12.09
Given that modern Greeks only connection to the ancients is by way of address it seems strange that they should be at all xenophobic. Modern Greece only became a nation because France, Britain and Russia wanted it to exist in the mid 1800’s through some romantic ideal. The genetic makeup at the time was almost 100% Slav/Albanian…
So, given that modern Greeks aren’t actually as Greek as they would have the world beleive, I cannot think of one good reason why somebody born in Greece shouldn’t have a Greek passport…. Greeks are very quick to take British, American and Australian passports, so should reap what they sow and let young Athina live on her country of birth.
47. Emídio C. de Albuquerque | 01.16.09
Am a Brazilian, family established here coming from Portugal in the 1500’s to govern some portion of land (capitanias hereditárias). Would never change my nationality for whatever one. Would never live abroad. This land of ours is here to be worked. Nonetheless the bad governors, only a small part of the population goes to live abroad. I could (as I’ve done) visit other places but only as a tourist. No matter how long I could live in Greece or other country, my children would not be Greeks or whatever. They have their history, their traditions, the blood. Love Greece and Greeks but that is quite different from making me or another foreigner a Greek.
48. eaglecap | 01.23.09
These illegal alien Invaders make me very angry, as an ethnic Greek. If your parents entered a country illegally then being born there does not give you the right to be there. I would say to this philipino girl you are not Greek and ever will be so go home!! I do believe in limited legal immgration and if her parents had come to Greece legally I would have no problem but unless she marries a Greek her children will never be Greek-end of story.
Remember they came into Greece illegaly and are no different than invaders and I do not care if they are Chinese, white Americans, Russians or Philipinos. If I ever ran into the girl in the photo I would have no fear about telling her go home - you are an illegal invader. Like Michael Savage says; Border, langauge and culture!!! Deport all Illgals from Greece and no amnesty. I know many Greeks are against amnesty so where are the counter protests- wake up Greece!!! I know the majority of Greeks oppose these invaders because I travel to Greece/Turkey and I talk to many Greeks online but a few are infected by libaralism and live in a ideal world.
Don’t be fooled by individual sob stories. The aim of the Globalists/One-Worlders(both capitalist and neo-communist) is the destruction of all distinct peoples and cultures and the transformation of the world into one big USA.
I agree and this is one of the biggest reasons I oppose this illegal immigration but some liberals do not get it and would call me a racist and a bigot but in the words of Michael Savage, “Liberalism is a mental disorder!” Also the title of one of this boooks.
49. Mike | 01.26.09
I fear if she is allowed citizenship simply because of birth then it lead to a probelm the USA has with its illegal immigrants- anchor babies.
If these women from the Phillipines are granted citizenship because they were born there then so will many other illegal immigrants from around the world, adding thousand to the Greek population. Not all willing to sssimilate to Greek language or culture.
I really do not worry about the immigrants from the Phillipines, China or wherever but most of these immigrants are from Muslim countries. With the declining birth rate in Greek and the exploding Muslim population in Turkey and in the Islamic world in general I ask- could allowing citizenship, by birth, in Greece open the door for the Islamization of Greece? Turkey has to do something with its exploding populations in Anatolia- remember Tenedos.
She cannot be allowed citizenship!! Even as a Greek American I would not enter Greece to teach English without a work permits. I could do it illegally but I won’t. If they do not respect Greek law then they will not respect Greek culture. I would rather see her come to the USA where she would be treated better and have better opportunities- as long as it is legal. I have many friends, here legally, who are from the Phillipines and they are against illegal immigration. I wonder what would happen if I entered the Phillipines illegally?
50. Giorgos | 03.07.09
Sorry, But to be GREEK you have to be registered in a Greek family registry that derives from your hometown roots. ALL Greek rights and privilidges, including citizenship and voting rights derive from your family registry. Where would this girl be registered under? She has no family history in Greece and no Greek hometown to be registered in. There is no other “path” to citizenship unless she marries a Greek and is listed in HIS family registry as are Greek brides. THEN she could have all these rights. There is no other way for her to get them in a HOMOGENEOUS Greece. We are one tribe, one race, and one nationality. Everyone else who doesn’t derive from our towns and villages, or Greek diaspora, will remain a foreigner even if they live here for 500 years absent a hometown place where they could be registered according to their “GREEK” family’s roots and history.
51. Athena | 03.20.09
Greece has no ethic minorities. FYROM is Slavic and has nothing to do with Macedonia which is in Greece. The administrator ought to remove comments like that. Greece does not suppress any populations and the posting is misleading.
52. Iason Young | 04.12.09
It is odd to see “I WAS BORN HERE” …in English! while claiming you are Greek. Meaning you are asking non-greek people outside Greece- and in particular english speaking people - to intervene in another country? Or as a “regular Greek kid” to other “regular Greek kids”…in english? Which is it?
Is it how your parents fought to change the system to their benefit and the benefit of their children in the Philipines? Or did they just packed it up and left? Why?
Before entering Greece did your parents ask and were promised a passport for their unborn child and did the authorites say YES? Would they have stayed had the authorities said NO?
Is it ethical to enter a country knowing what to expect and accepting it just to get in and then fight to change the law from the inside in order to be accommodated and against the will of the local population? Why go there in the first place? Would your parents have done the same thing in Japan, or China, or Korea, or India, or Singapore, or Malaysia, or Dubai, or Saudi Arabia?, or as “illegal immigrants” in the US or Canada? I doubt that very much. I guess they made a wiser choice coming to Greece.
Is it ethical to use minorities to control the majority of the population of a country, based on some mindless EU beauraucrat executing orders set by a self-serving borderless and cultureless Capital?
Multiculturalism means that we accept all peoples and all cultures. It is also a way to aknowledge that multiple cultures and different people exist.
And in that respect we all are what we are and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We just have to accept and respect it. You are a Philipino, coming from a coutry with a population of 90,000,000 of Philipinos, living in Greece a country of 10,000,000 Greeks. You are just a normal Philipino kid times the thousand others from the thousand other parts of the world making the same wise choice to come to Greece and not somewhere else. Let’s keep that ratio intact.
It is better that way now, than Greeks applying for “First Peoples” autochthone status in their own coutry later. Greece is a small and wonderful county. Let’s not make it more fragile than what it already now is.
53. Andy | 05.18.09
Greek neo-nazis I’d say. What about all the Turks in Thrace that cannot be ethnically accurately defined. Grow up and call a racist a racist.
But overall, those racists can only stem the tide. They have a short time horizon perspective, what will Greece look like in 50 years, 100 years, 500 years? If you feel you need to romanticise about Alexander, Socrates and Pythagoras pick up a book. if you want to live a rich and fulfilled life then embrace and grow from the experience.
Athnina Bontigao looks like a breath of fresh air. From the comments I am reading it is a shame for her to be in Greece.
54. Ames | 08.02.09
Someone said that Greece only became a nation because the UK, France, and Russia wanted it to.
Just AThought, you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Greek independence was indeed supported by those countries, but it was because the Greek people stood up and rebelled against the Ottoman Turks, due to an awakening started by Greeks who had studied in Western Europe.
Any country can become independent on paper, but none can become a nation if it does not have the will to leap forth grab and its independence with both hands.
That’s what the Greeks did in 1821.
A friend of Greece from a land far away.
55. John Cowan | 09.24.09
It seems to me that Greece and Greeks have a stark choice: close the borders, as Albania did for so many decades (which would involve leaving the EU), or accept immigration and treat immigrants and their children justly.
It was Alexander the Great, after all, who established that one is Greek or barbarian because of what (and how) one acts and speaks, and not because of one’s genetic origins. (For that matter, the Macedonians of his day were despised as natural inferiors by the “true Greeks” of the South.) Alexander’s attitude established Greek culture from the south of Italy to the west of India, and was later transmitted by the Greek-derived culture of the Roman Empire southward to Africa and northward to Britain, which spread its remote descendant to America, Australia, and Canada.
The historical wrongs done to the Greeks since Alexander’s day are well known. Now that Greece is free and rich once more, can it not rise above thεμ and return to its former μεγαλοψυχία?
56. Kevin | 09.24.09
I would just like to say that I have looked at both sides and believe that there are valid arguments on both sides. However you cannot compare places like Canada and U.S. to a place like Greece. Greece traces its origins to thousands of years before the time of Christ. The U.S. is a new world country that was made from a melting pot. It needed people from other nations to grow. It has now fully matured and should have strict policies on nationalization.
The Country of Greece is free to ensure the purity of its culture because if in one hundred years there was no more kalamatiano that would be a very tragic loss for this world. People are obviously allowed to work there and cohabitate, but they should have some pride in where they came from as well…Athina should be proud of her own heritage. She likes the Greek culture and that is great…….I like the Hindu idea of Karma but I don’t want to call myself an Indian because I have my own heritage.
As for the DNA argument……….read the book about the seven daughters of Eve and you will see that your DNA can tell you what part of the world your ancestors came from. Someone with Greek DNA is going to definitely be distinguishable from someone who’s ancestors came from the Phillipines. I feel that there is something to be said about distinguishing races and different cultures……..it gives a richness to the world…….i would rather there be black, white, brown, yellow then all the same…….that is just my view on this whole situation. I am sure Athina is a very nice girl and I wish her much success in life but I also hope she can embrace her own family’s heritage and have some pride in it
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1. BORIS | 11.12.08
Greece has been largely homogenous till the 90’s, specially in Athens.
The influx of ‘xenos’ is an alien sight to people, and specially older people.
It will take some time for some people over here to get used to the idea.
On the other hand, the Greek word ‘Xenos’ has a positive connotation.
Greek people like foreigners, they always open their houses to them, offer them food and shelter if they need it.
When immigration in a 10 million country rises 300% in a year,
I think all nations would ‘react’ in one way or another.