What is the purpose of adding oil to the fire when there is already tension anyway? Head of Muslim Association in Greece labeled Prime Minister Antonis Samaras as Greece’s “biggest racist.” Naim El-Ghandour was speaking at a press conference in Athens, where writers, journalists and academics criticized the provocative film The Innocence of Muslims, a film that sparked violent reactions around the Muslim world. El-Ghandour condemned the film but also the extreme reactions on the part of the Muslims saying that such actions “cannot characterize an entire religion.”
Head of Muslim Union labels Samaras Greece’s biggest racist
The head of the Muslim Union of Greece, Naim El-Ghandour, has labeled Prime Minister Antonis Samaras as “the biggest racist in Greece.”
“The prime minister is a racist,” said El-Ghandour. “I live in a country, where the prime minister is a racist. I am basing this on the election campaign he ran, during which he labeled us conquerors.”
Samaras has adopted a tough line against illegal immigration and during the summer election campaign, he referred to migrants as “the tyrants of Greek society”.
El-Ghandour also warned that the harsh treatment of immigrants could backfire.
“It’s very dangerous to have migrants who are hungry, exhausted, without any future,” he told Proto Thema newspaper. “It is like a ticking timebomb. We should not put any more pressure on it.” ((ekathimerini)
Speaking to NewsIt, El-Ghandour said that Muslims in Greece feel as “second class citizens” then they have no places for worship but that they gather in basements in order to pray. As for the phenomenon of the increasing racist attacks, he said that it’s not only the Muslims being attacked but also the Christians from Egypt.”I am sure, as soon they finish with the Muslims, they will turn against others,” El-Ghandour said.
Naim El-Ghandour is an Egyptian born Muslim who lives in Greece since several years. The Muslim Union of Greece was established in 2003.
Government Comment
Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou commented on El-Ghandour statements:
“Obviously, this gentleman deliberately and defamatory misinterprets the statements by the Prime Minister, concerning illegal migrants, regardless of religion. We want to remind him that he must respect the Prime Minister and the laws of the country that hosts him.”
I could understand criticizing Golden Dawn but slandering our elected PM as “biggest racist” for trying to take action against ILLEGALS goes way too far.
Mr. Naim El-Ghandour claims to be a”moderate” but in reality is a Muslim extremist. He’s just learned to manipulate words “human rights” and racism to push Shiara into Greece. One look no further than his silence around Shiara oppression in Muslim dominated nations to see he lacks moral consistency.
This isn’t to say Greeks should support GD (who are indeed extremists) but Greeks should press the Muslim Union of Greece to expel Mr. El-Ghandour as its leader for his offensive language.
The Muslim Association in Greece, the Migrant Workers Association and the Pakistani Community in Greece are involved in an orchestrated smoke & mirrors PR (Public Relations) campaign of diversion, disinformation, unsubstantiated accusations, racial discrimination, endless demands and threats of violence.
By over emphasizing both acts of violence by racist elements of the Greek society against migrants and attention seeking inflammatory rhetoric, the forest is missed for the trees. According to the Hellenic Police, roughly half of the illegal immigrants are apprehended at the Greek-Turkish land and sea borders annually. The primary focus should be on exposing Turkey’s well coordinated four-pronged strategy against Greece. Namely, altering the country’s population make-up, benefiting from the smuggling of undocumented immigrants financially, destabilizing the Greek economy and causing social upheaval.
Get a life , will you. There is no evidence what so ever of a Turkish conspiracy to accomplish the ridiculous accusations you put forward.
There is however ample evidence of people everywhere being force of their land, ostracized from their communities on the basis of race, religion and even gender, and refused their basic human rights by dictatorial governments. Syria being a poignant current example, resulting in the enormous increase of Syrian refugees. Part of the Turkish conspiracy as well?
You would do a lot better to use your rhetoric to expose the real problems and find a solution for them instead of aping the propaganda and using deliberately misleading statistics, designed to create more division amongst people and divert the attention away from the real problems which are plain and simple economic dictatorship by the few.
Instead of joining the easy option and bashing those who can’t defend themselves, inform yourself properly first, and then maybe try and do something about the cause of the problem…
@Ephilant
1) According to the stats provided by the Hellenic Police*, in 2010, 2011 and in the first 8 months of 2012 at the Greek-Turkish land and sea borders, 47,079, 54,974 and 29,927 illegal immigrants were APPREHENDED respectively. Turkey refuses to take them back and no one knows how many undocumented immigrants are entering Greece from Turkey UNDETECTED on an annual basis.
2) The Turkish economy benefits from the smuggling of migrants since they have to pay for transportation expenses, living expenses, fees to Turkish smugglers, etc.
3)The Turkish government allows citizens from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia to travel to Turkey with no visa and to stay there for up to three months. Afghan citizens can travel to Turkey with no visa and stay there for up to two months. According to the Greek Police, in 2011 at the Greek-Turkish borders, 28,528 Afghans, 19,975 Pakistanis, 5,416 Bangladeshis, 5,398 Algerians, 3,409 Moroccans and 1,095 Tunisians were arrested.
4) The Greek economy is destabilized since valuable financial resources are diverted to boost security at the Greek-Turkish borders, to pay for the incarceration and legal costs of criminal illegal immigrants and to provide free medical care to all illegal migrants. Moreover, some illegal aliens are fueling the Greek para-economy and employed illegally.
5) The rise of opportunistic and populist political parties such as the Golden Dawn is partly due to the social upheaval caused by the influx of undocumented immigrants.
6) Greece’s population make-up has been altered since more than 100,000 undocumented immigrants entering Greece annually and there’s a negative population growth among Greeks. {Death rate: 10.8/1000 population (July 2012 est.) > birth rate: 9.08/1000 population (2012 est.)}.
Turkey has everything to gain by maintaining the status quo and to benefit even more by facilitating the transfer of Syrian refugees to Greece. That’s why more than 1,800 Greek police officers were transfer to the Greek-Turkish land border recently, and the Hellenic Navy, the Hellenic Coast Guard and Frontex are all on a high state of alert.
* http://www.astynomia.gr/index.php?option=ozo_content&perform=view&id=5071&Itemid=429&lang=
we’ve read this before, haven’t we?
BTW: I didn’t know the police would publish also economic and political reports.
Dear KTG
It’s clear to me that the Golden Dawn is exploiting the social and economic upheaval caused by the uncontrolled flow of undocumented immigrants, the illegal commerce and the crimes committed by some illegal aliens. According to the president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, Constantine Michalos, the annual cost of sustaining the immigrant population – in terms of healthcare, crime and impact on legitimate businesses – is estimated at €6 billion.
According to Der Spiegel Online it costs up to €8,000 per person to make the trip from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Africa and cross the Greek-Turkish borders*. Even if the migrants are spending €4,000 per person in Turkey x 50,000 migrants arrested at the Greek-Turkish borders annually equals €2 billion. If the number of the undocumented immigrants who are successfully crossing the borders undetected is added, then the Turkish economy is benefiting even more.
Therefore, Turkey’s policy is causing a social upheaval, benefiting its economy, destabilizing the Greek economy and altering Greece’s population make-up.
*
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/thousands-of-illegal-immigrants-enter-europe-through-greece-a-834415.html
This just goes to show ho ridiculous your whole argument is. How, in the name of God, can you add the number of UNDETECTED immigrants???
Secondly, 4,000 x 50,000 adds up to 200 million, not 2 billion…
Mr. Michalos ESTIMATES the cost at 6 million. I would like to see the figures backing that estimation up. They are non existent, because if they did exist, it would not be an estimate, but an accurate figure. It may just as well be estimated a 6 euro or 60 billion. It is at best guess work, more than likely pure fantasy to serve the purpose of diverting attention from the real problems, rampant corruption and tax evasion by the ruling classes in Greece over the last 30 odd years.
The issue at hand is that every year tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants are crossing the Greek-Turkish land and sea borders virtually unimpeded by the Turkish authorities. Not all of them are apprehended by the Greek authorities and Frontex. Moreover, Turkey is refusing to repatriate the ones arrested by the Greek authorities, unless the EU pays Turkey €1.4 billion annually. Wow, what a great deal for the Turkish economy to double benefit from the smuggling of illegal aliens. You’re right, it’s €200 million and not €2 billion. Ask the Athens Chamber of Commerce for more information about their €6 billion estimate.
Nicholas, the main reason Turkey refuses to repatriate undocum. immigrants is that it is trying to make deals with EU concerning its own EU-path – a painful chapter in TR-EU relations that has been frozen since a couple of years. Ankara would never do anything without striking a good deal for its own benefits. Bargain= reciprocity in diplomatic language is the A&O of its state policy. Turkey does not need the 1.4 billion annually.
Dear KTG
The repatriation of undocumented immigrants apprehended by the Greek authorities and Frontex is a bargaining tool for the Turkish government. Following EU’s refusal to pay Turkey €1.4 billion annually, both parties are negotiating to increase the number of EU visas issued to Turkish citizens in exchange for Ankara’s cooperation. Unfortunately, Turkey’s strategy has so far been successful killing two birds with one stone, obtaining economic benefits and causing social & economic upheaval in Greece.
The Greek government’s efforts to curb illegal immigration are doomed to failure if the Greek-Turkish and the Greek-Albanian land and sea borders aren’t secured.
it’s an egocentric interpretation matter, Nicholas. While Turkey seeks ways to benefit in bargains from the illegla immigration problem that affects Greece and EU, you’re stick to see the whole problem only from a ‘reality disorting’ Greek ankle.
@KTG
Stating the facts is by no means an expression of either an egocentric or a reality distorting Greek angle. It’s rather an expression of the truth and nothing but the truth.
I’m afraid in ausch a complicated issue, the truth is a bit more complex than just the truth.
Will you ever go and take your medication my friend. You are not just scraping the bottom of the barrel, you have well and truly gone right through it.
Police data, which you LOVE quoting, mean nothing if they are taken out of the context of the overall sociological context in which they belong. You keep isolating data from the overall picture. When are you going to understand that when taken out of overall context, your efforts to look up all this stuff are totally wasted.
I’ve given you the title of a study before. A study which puts all of this, including the statistic from the Greek police, in it’s relevant context. Of course, the study also totally debunks all the stuff you’ve come out with so far, so I suppose you haven’t bothered?
It’s schoolboy tactics to pick and chose fragments of statistical data in an effort to “prove” something that simply cannot be proven. Not only because out of context the data are irrelevant, but mainly because your proposed situation doesn’t exist…
But let’s, for the argument, suppose you are indeed right.
You maintain that by paying Turkish smugglers these people contribute to the Turkish economy? Since when is people smuggling part of a legit economy?
But if you insist it is, then why oppose the immigrant in Greece? Here they have to pay for their transport, housing, etc. as well. And more often than not they are forced to stay in places you wouldn’t dream of housing your dog in, leave alone pay for it!
Now, what IS fact is that the vast majority of the illegal immigrants who get stranded here have, as their final destination France or Germany. The Greek police in Patras for example can supply you with mountains of valid, stand-alone data on how many Greek truck drivers get caught trying to smuggle people into Italy.
So the Greek smuggler who takes them on to their final destination gets paid handsomely as well, thereby contributing to the Greek economy. Or does that reasoning suddenly not hold anymore when the recipient of payment isn’t Turkish anymore?
A Turkish smuggler can legalize the money his paid by undocumented immigrants by spending or investing it in Turkey. For example, he can buy a new car, or new furniture, or new appliances, make the required down payment for a house loan, open a new bank account and earn interest, buy company stocks and/or government bonds, etc.
I’m aware that some Greeks are involved in human smuggling, are renting rooms to undocumented immigrants, exploiting their labor, forming criminal gangs with illegal aliens, and selling fake IDs and immigration papers to some of them. Greeks involved in the illegal activities described above should be apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Next thing we’ll hear: a Greek smuggler invests his money in Turkey…
I’m sorry my friend, the main issue at hand in this discussion is that you go through life with not only big, big blinkers on, but the very limited view you do allow yourself is also extremely limited in it’s ability to accept the very little it does see. Life is not black or white, there is a lot of grey and many shades of it.
And, shock horror, politicians do not always tell the truth! Neither do their statistics.
You are on a guaranteed road for a very, very rude awakening. Have the pills handy, you’ll need them, soon…
“bashing those who can’t defend themselves”
Wow, what a complete ignoramus. These are hordes of invaders definitely pass along by Turkey, and violent hordes definitely can defend themselves. Why don’t you save your pity for the people who are being invaded, a deliberate JIHAD tactic.
In the meantime, somebody should tell this Muslim idiot that Islam isn’t a race and that slinging the word “racist” around is a terrorist tactic.
The unholy alliance between socialists/communists and islamists is a partnership from hell.
It will be the downfall of the left all over Europe, possible even before the next decade.
Where do you get the notion of that partnership from? Denmark?
Simply because people stand up for the basic rights of all people, which does indeed include Islamists, but also Jews, Greeks, Danish, Africans, Socialist, Communists, and any other group you can think of does not mean there is a “partnership”.
The only partnership from hell is the current one involving Neo-Liberal politicians in partnership with vulture capitalists who are hell bend on taking over the EU a reducing complete nations and peoples to economic wastelands to protect their perceived wealth.
Why is there muslims in Greece in the first place. Don’t let ot become like Great Britain. All muslims should be thrown out, and Greeks should start breeding. Islam is a scourge on the human race.
Islam is a scourge on the human race.
I totally agree.
Double agree. Those who can’t see that fact really are morons contributing to the destruction of humanity. They should be ASHAMED o themselves.
Greeks to be the next Ubermensch?
The only scourge on the human race are those with the narrow minded, religious and racist intolerance as expressed so adequately by yourself. Crawl back into you box and pull the lid down. Hard!
If anyone is ignorant it’s you. Do you research numb nuts. If I am racist then I am racist against my African wife and daughter. Shut your mouth if you don’t know what you are talking about. What muslims are rioting in Athens? well who would have guessed.
Oh, shut up. Your stupid tactics won’t work anymore, as people are getting smart about evil Islam.
ISLAM ISN’T A RACE, you blithering idiot. Congrats on helping destroy the meaning of “racism.”
Fool.
I may be ignorant, but in my case it is of a passing nature…
Being married to an African woman is no guarantee for not being a racist.
I have and continue to do my research, every day. In fact, although I am not Muslim, and don’t belong to any other religious club either, I lived in a nearly 100%, extremely strict Muslim country for nearly 9 years, and have a much better idea what this is all about than you ever will.
Which is why I don’t go blindly repeating dumb, meaningless propaganda and shout obscenities out of indeed sheer ignorance. Before you start tarring all Muslims with the same brush, find out what is happening. 800 Muslims marched in Athens. Out of how many Muslims living in Athens?
The vast majority of them are thoroughly misguided and are being used by the few for very unsavoury reasons. Just like many Greeks are mislead by the few for very similar unsavoury reasons. By all means target the abusers on BOTH SIDES by every legal means going.
But don’t lash out at all Muslims, just like you don’t lash out at all Greeks for being GD supporters because of a few assholes decided it’s ok to go and take the law into their own hands (and get it all wrong!).
Being married to an African woman is no guarantee for not being a racist.
Living in a nearly 100%, extremely strict Muslim country for nearly 9 years is no garantee for getting a proper understanding of the true nature of Islam. 😉
But it helps, a lot.
Racism is NOT limited to a hatred for black people only. There are many, many racists amongst black people as well.
There would be no Islamophobes like yourself amongst Muslims. Disagreements on aspects of Islam yes, all you need to do is look at the often violent differences between Sunnies and Shiites, but neither are Islamophobes, and both are part of Islam.
Both phobias are however born out of ignorance.
With this I obviously mean racism and Islamophobia.
Well if you have a better idea about what this all about then you can tell me why, Boko Haram are killing innocent women and children in northern Nigeria. Why shiites and sunis are killing each other in their own lands. Why women are killed in the name off honour. All fundamentalists are evil, whether religious or political.
You have just answered your own question by modifying your statement and SPECIFY fundamentalists, which is not what you started of with. You started of by stating
.
If you are now trying to say that all Muslims are fundamentalists, then you are indeed totally ignorant of Islam and Muslims, and should inform yourself first instead of adding to the mountain of ignorance that is out there.
Fundamentalism, be it religious or political, is by the nature of things dictatorial and should indeed not be tolerated.
The conundrum with religious (or other) fanatics is that while they reserve the right to jump up and down and demand respect for their own belief system, they simultaneously deny others that very same right. That is in fact the whole basis of blasphemy, but in order to put this into practice the only possible action is to grant other belief systems the same rights they demand for themselves.
The root of the whole problem is the urge for religion to go out and “convert” people to its way of thinking. Fundamentalists of any creed take this urge to the extreme by insisting on their right to impose a religious belief system on anybody and everybody and denying peoples right to free speech and free thought.
immigration actually benefits hosting country. dont have greek statistics, but italy (wich for sure hosts many more immigrants than greece) gains a 10% in gdp from their work. bitching about purity of the race, greece to greeks etc etc it’s not only a narrowminded racist grunt, it’s also moronic.
ask to greek oil producers who goes to take olives under the sun (without regular contract, with more benefit to greek producers)
but those simply facts are too much for fascists, they barely can write their name.
islamic protesters, indeed, should learn good manners when living in the west. protesting is ok, burning cars is not. but these are religious zealots problems, christianity has them too, look at gd!
I dare say, that immigration benefits the hosting country, when shop owners pay taxes as so does the migrant street vendor outside the shop. Otherwise, that’s black economy with $$$$$+ revenues that go directly to gangs that exploit undocumented immigrants. And creates xenophoby and hate in societies suffering form financial crisis and economic hardship.
immigrants have their activities too, but in your blindness you see only ambulant vendors. immigrants do the hard work in industries, immigrants do the hard work in agriculture, and when they are in black, benefits are only for the greek employer. admit that it’s just racism without using fake economics arguments. you dont want them for racism, period.
every statistic will show thar immigrants actually make economy grow.
Saya, also Greeks work black nowadays and they also get no social benefits.
I hope we can all get along one day.
It reminds me a conference I went to years ago. It was a coalition of Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Hindus and during the event, they signed an international resolution confirming the mutual appreciation of chicken dishes. Whether it is breaded with matzo, served as shwarma, or covered in tikka masala sauce, chicken was the one meat upon which all faiths can agree on.
But, unfortunately, even after the signing, there was the altercation that broke out between factions with differing views on skewer length of the chicken kalamaki.
and this (greek people diseases) is in any way related to immigrants?
???
Europe is to blame for a lot of the problems Greece is having with the illegals coming from Turkey, because there is a law that states they must be sent back to the country they came from. Well, if they leave Greece they’re sent back, but they can’t be sent back to Turkey, because Turkey will not take them back… even though they signed an agreement a few years ago that they will do so.
What Greece should have done, is advertise in the nations they originated from, and tell them what they will suffer, because I read an interview of an illegal in a German magazine and he said the horrors he had to go through to reach Europe. Not only did he pay an enormous sum, but was chased at every border, and then told that if he didn’t get more money they will kill him and sell his organs. His sister was forced to sell her home to save him.
When he arrived in Istanbul, everything was just lovely. They treated him well, gave him fifty dollars and told him in which direction to swim to get to Greece instead of Bulgaria.
Indeed, you are referring to the Dublin 2 accord, which is being used by mainly Germany and France to send most of their illegal immigrants to Greece. Why Greece? The immigrants know that if the state they came from e.g. Italy, they get shipped back ti Italy and straight out again to where they came from. If they state Greece, because Greece has many other problems to deal with, they stand a very good chance of remaining here and have another go at reaching Germany or France to become “gast arbeiter”.
What Greece should do is simply give them the paperwork they need and send them on their way to Germany and France, legally. And let Germany and France face up to their own problems instead of passing them on to everybody else.