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Expat Greeks in Switzerland Speak about Greece’s Situation

It’s not an easy time to be Greek and the Greek Diaspora is always by Greece’s side in the difficult times the country is going through.

Now that the Greek parliament voted for more austerity measures to meet the terms of the EU-IMF bailout and street protests turned violent, the anger and frustration of the Greek Diaspora finds a voice in Swiss homes. Expatriate Greeks follow the events every day and are very concerned about the future of their country.

“The Greeks love to discuss their homeland, democracy was born in Greece and the Greeks love conversation and feel very passionate about their country of origin. A large number of them travel to Greece regularly and there is a genuine affection and interest in Greece,” stated an expat Greek.

Having realized that Greece is going through difficult times, another expat Greek said: “All of society has to take part of the responsibility. In the last 30 years there has not been only one government or party in power. In a democratic system every population gets the government they deserve” and added that “We know Greece will survive the next months and won’t have defaulted this summer, but the problems remain. Based on the EU-IMF agreement, the Greeks have a lot of homework to do”. He views the Greek crisis not only as a matter of figures and information, but recognizes the problems that Greeks face.

“I have built a house in Greece and I’m closely connected to my home region, as well as to Greeks here in Zurich. The financial crisis is a very much talked about subject. My brother had a clothing store that went out of business,” said Theocharis Nastos of the Greek Epirotes’ Association of Switzerland.

The Greek community in Zurich is very well-organized with around 40 such clubs and associations. A significant group of Greek immigrants arrived in Switzerland in the 1960s, and there are now many successful Greeks, some of them third generation, in highly-ranked positions in Swiss society. There are also lots of  Swiss politicians of Greek origin as well as people involved in business and finance.

However, the Greek Embassy in Switzerland has not seen the numbers of people wanting to come to Switzerland rising. ”Switzerland is always a destination, a place to go and settle down. But we have not had a growing number of people looking for information on moving to Switzerland,” an official said.

The crisis is getting bigger and bigger. There is certain a wave of Greeks who want to leave Greece and settle down in a country where they can make a living, but where will they go? They will probably go to places they already like, such as Germany, France etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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