Greece: 6,000 detained during raids on immigrants

[Nova78]

Greece: 6,000 detained during raids on immigrants | World News | Comcast

ATHENS, Greece — Greek police say they have detained some 6,000 people in Athens on suspicion that they have entered the country illegally and will deport more than 1,600 of them to their home countries.

Police said Monday that those arrested and awaiting deportation have been sent to temporary detention centers. The rest were freed. Some 4,500 police took part in the weekend roundups.

Debt-crippled Greece is Europe's main entry point for illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa, who are seeking a better life in the West. Some 100,000 are estimated to slip into Greece every year, mostly from neighboring Turkey, and the influx has coincided with a spike in crime.

Gee ,lets see 'debt crippled, and lots of crime, must be an Obama master plan....

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[waltky]

Granny says, "No wonder they're rioting - immigrants takin' their jobs...

Nearly Two-thirds of Greek Youths Unemployed
May 09, 2013 — Greek youth unemployment shot to a record 64 percent in February, underscoring the dire state of the recession-hit economy despite signs of improving business sentiment.

Repeated doses of austerity under international bailouts have almost tripled Greece's jobless rate since its debt crisis began in 2009, weighing on an economy in its sixth year of recession. Overall unemployment has risen to an all-time high of 27 percent, data showed on Thursday, while joblessness in the 15 to 24 age group jumped to 64.2 percent in February from 59.3 percent in January. “I've been looking for a job since 2010 and it has been extremely tough,'' said Angeliki Zerva, 24, a physiotherapy graduate. “Most employers do the job with interns and don't need to hire anyone.'' Greek unemployment is more than twice the average rate in the eurozone, which reached 12.1 percent in March.

Athens has cut the minimum monthly wage for those under 25 years by 32 percent to about 500 euros to boost hiring, but the jobless rate among young people has kept rising, even as some indicators suggest the worst of Athens' debt crisis is over. The IOBE think-tank's overall economic sentiment gage hit a 3.5-year high in April, it said on Thursday, the same day that the Athens bourse benchmark index hit its highest level since August 2011. The IOBE mood index based on consumer confidence and business outlook gages covering industry, construction, services and retail trade rose to 89.2 points in April from 88.1 in March.

However, the survey showed consumer pessimism worsened slightly in the face of the economic slump aggravated by tax rises and spending cuts demanded by Greece's international lenders, all of which have an impact on jobs. “I once dreamt that I could work in my field but after three years of searching, I have very little hope that I will get a job, any job. It looks almost impossible,'' said 23-year-old Evanthia Bouza, who has studied English literature.

The country's economic outlook remains uncertain, despite the progress it has made in recent months to cut its budget deficit and push privatizations, ratings agency Moody's said in a note on Thursday. “Consumption will continue to decline, led by rising unemployment, wage and pension cuts and weak domestic confidence, resulting in a deferral of spending,'' said Moody's analyst Alpona Banerji, who expects the economy to contract by 5.3 percent this year.

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[waltky]

64.2% Greek youth unemployment the highest in Europe...

Greece's young: Dreams on hold as fight for jobs looms
29 May 2013 > Greece's school exam season has arrived. But for many now facing the final-year tests known as the Panhellenics, the stress is twofold: last-minute cramming and the knowledge that they'll soon enter the worst jobs climate in Europe.

At 64.2%, youth unemployment in Greece is the highest in the continent. Those between the ages of 16 and 25 are now the crisis generation. At the Spoudi school in Athens, dreams have been put on hold. The school leavers longed for a stable job, for a future full of opportunity. But instead, unemployment and uncertainty beckon. In a final maths class, students pore over complex algebra problems. But how to stay positive in today's Greece might just be the most difficult equation to solve. "I'm not sure about my future," says Nathalie Scholden, an 18-year-old who hopes to study economics. "I think I won't stay in Greece because there's high unemployment and bad salaries. A lot of kids my age feel the same. If we're here and nobody gets the life they want, why should we stay?"

School leavers will enter a jobs market where almost seven out of 10 young people are out of work

Among the other students, few are optimistic. One thinks of leaving Athens for the countryside, another of going into farming because of a lack of opportunities. "In Greece today you can't do what you want," says Alexandros Delakouras, 17. "It will be very difficult to get a job in my country but I will try hard." He adds with a smile: "Maybe, with God's help, I'll succeed." Before Greece's first bailout three years ago - and the spending cuts that ensued - unemployment in the country was under 12%. Now it's at 27%. And among the youth, it's more than doubled from around 31% in May 2010. Recession has hit hard but it's the austerity demanded by the country's international lenders that has had such a devastating impact.

Brain drain

And so the brightest, like 23-year-old law graduate Christina Zahagou, are leaving. Greek emigration to Germany jumped by more than 40% last year. She is now following suit after failing to find work. "I don't want to leave my friends and family," she says. "Abroad I will struggle to find friends, at least in the first year. But I have no other choice. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make because I can't find anything hopeful here in Greece."

Glovo's trainees work unpaid at big events, but gain valuable work experience

The brain drain is quickening. A recent study by the University of Thessaloniki found that more than 120,000 professionals, including doctors, engineers and scientists, have left Greece since the start of the crisis in 2010. And when young, talented Greeks are emigrating, it spells trouble for the future. An ageing population and declining birth rate could stunt Greece's longed-for growth. "The economy won't recover," says Christina, "because the educated ones will go abroad and only the older people will stay here. That means Greece can't develop."

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[Stephanie]

64.2% Greek youth unemployment the highest in Europe...

Well get a good look folks, because that's where we are headed