Greeks Ask Themselves: Who's A Greek?
When it comes to immigration, Greece faces a dilemma: the country needs new, young people because like the rest of Europe, it faces a falling birth rate and an aging population.
Yet it's also struggling with a backlash against immigrants, especially those from Africa and south Asia. Though Greece has become the main entry point into the European Union for undocumented migrants, the country of 11 million is also home to roughly one million immigrants who reside here legally and have started families here. Their Greek-born children want to become citizens.
So Greece is wrestling with a fundamental question: Who's a Greek?
Greece's highest administrative court recently struck down a 2010 law that made it easier for the children of legal immigrants to apply for citizenship. The conservative prime minister, Antonis Samaras, wants to replace it with legislation that would require immigrants to show they have a "genuine bond" with Greece.
In making it harder for legal immigrants to become citizens, the prime minister is tapping into centuries-old emotions about protecting an ancient national identity.
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