The bloodletting this week in Greece's southern strawberry fields shocked the nation and put the spotlight on the plight of the financial crisis' overlooked victims: hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, many undocumented, whose lot is becoming even tougher amid rising racist violence and dropping living standards.
After a two-day manhunt, Greek authorities on Friday arrested three suspects in the shootings, which drew strong condemnation from the government, political parties and labor unions.
Police said the shootings near the village of Manolada followed an altercation between the Greek foremen and some 200 workers demanding six months' unpaid wages.
In Manolada, many laborers live in tents or shacks, stifling in the summer and freezing in winter, without sanitation or adequate access to drinking water.
Kanakis accused local communities of hypocrisy, accepting the migrants' money in local shops but ignoring their plight, including lack of access to healthcare.
The wave of illegal immigration in recent years, coupled with a spike in violent crime, has fueled anti-migrant sentiment propelling the meteoric rise of Golden Dawn, a party so far to the right that its website brims with Nazi literature and references.
Foreign workers in Greece are in a particularly parlous position, as those who have violated immigration laws are under constant threat of arrest and deportation if denounced to authorities.
Even victims of racist attacks have been detained over alleged immigration violations, a practice condemned by international rights groups.
After a two-day manhunt, Greek authorities on Friday arrested three suspects in the shootings, which drew strong condemnation from the government, political parties and labor unions.
Police said the shootings near the village of Manolada followed an altercation between the Greek foremen and some 200 workers demanding six months' unpaid wages.
In Manolada, many laborers live in tents or shacks, stifling in the summer and freezing in winter, without sanitation or adequate access to drinking water.
Kanakis accused local communities of hypocrisy, accepting the migrants' money in local shops but ignoring their plight, including lack of access to healthcare.
The wave of illegal immigration in recent years, coupled with a spike in violent crime, has fueled anti-migrant sentiment propelling the meteoric rise of Golden Dawn, a party so far to the right that its website brims with Nazi literature and references.
Foreign workers in Greece are in a particularly parlous position, as those who have violated immigration laws are under constant threat of arrest and deportation if denounced to authorities.
Even victims of racist attacks have been detained over alleged immigration violations, a practice condemned by international rights groups.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sfgate.com |