More than 8,000 Greeks have returned or migrated permanently to Victoria since 2010, as Greece has been in the grip of an unprecedented economic crisis.
The promising ‘Lucky Country” is here to welcome their dreams and meet their expectations. Only after they set foot into Australian reality do they realise they may have decided to set sail in a sea of loneliness and frustration.
An eye-opening study was presented earlier this week by the executive director of the Australian Greek Welfare Society (AGWS) Voula Messimeri; ‘The Journey of New Greek Migrants in Australia: Opportunities and Challenges’. The study is based on research conducted by Dr Constantine Tsigas, and was launched at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne by the Federal Minister of Human Services Kevin Andrews.
According to research done by the Australian Greek Welfare Society, from 2010 until the end of the financial year 2012-2013, about 6,000 Greeks have arrived in the state of Victoria alone in search of a better future.
It is estimated, though, that another 2,000 Greeks have settled in Victoria over the last five years. Sixty per cent of them are Greek Australians who had previously returned to Greece with their families, yet severely stricken by the economic crisis, they were forced to repack their bags and return to Australia.
However, 40 per cent of Greeks are taking the leap of migration for the first time, looking to Australia as the Greek-friendly motherland.
Commenting on the report, AGWS CEO Ms Messimeri said “that with jobs in Greece being scarce, many people are moving in search of work opportunities to other countries, including Australia”.
The report shows that difficulties arise across a range of areas during the pre-migration planning and preparation stage. It also shows that the challenges new Greek migrants face on arrival vary depending on the thoroughness of their pre-migration preparation, financial resources available, differences on visa stream, the presence of family, relatives or friends, the duration and quality of support they provide, awareness of and access to formal support services, and the capacity of those services to respond sensitively and effectively.
“The study reinforced that this group of people are mostly university educated, intellectually adept, articulate, confident and in search of opportunities to unleash their talent and drive to achieve,” Ms Messimeri said.
“They present a unique human capital for Victoria’s Australian Greek community and the general Australian community, which if harnessed appropriately will bring significant benefits to Australia.”
At the launching of the report, Alcmene Balda and Odysseas Tzibrakos recounted their experiences to the audience, underscoring the difficulties they both encountered when they arrived alone in Australia without money and connections.
Alcmene Balda stressed the struggle of young and highly-educated people from Europe and other countries to have their qualifications recognised, while Mr Tzibrakos shared his deeply touching story. He was given shelter in the monastery of Axion Esti and then managed to bring his family to Australia as well.
Even more migrants with university qualifications, especially when they have families, accept low-skilled positions, even high-risk jobs, in pursuit of employment in Australia. This fact is a growing concern, whilst Australia has become a cosmopolitan country with more guest workers than settled skilled migrants. It is no longer easy to be shortlisted for a job in one’s qualification – young migrants have a lot of competition to overcome. Young migrants and refugees face similar risks and challenges, with their vulnerability extending to both employment and accommodation.
Greek welfare services have had to adapt to the increased demand for support but many positives have come out of the newly arrived.
While Greece is going through a brain drain as the young leave the country in search of a better future, the diaspora of Australia seems to be entering a period of revival.
After settling down, the young are making positive contributions to businesses, economic growth and productivity. They are eager to share their knowledge and meet challenges in the workforce and society. The Greek Australian community has been offered the chance to polish its Hellenic cultural identity, strengthen Greek language education and help the aged care sector.
The AGWS survey was created to quantify the amount of newly arrived migrants and see where their needs lie. They hope to use the findings to seek funding from government bodies and show them if their service delivery is under-performing for this community group.
“AGWS looks forward to working closely with the state and federal governments, as well as the Australian Greek community, ensuring that the key recommendations made in this report are implemented in order to expedite the settlement of people newly arrived from Greece and Cyprus, thus enabling them to become fully engaged members of the Australian community,” Ms Messimeri says.