Transnational Immigration in Rural Greece: Analysing the Different Mobilities of Albanian Immigrants

Abstract

In the last two decades, southern Europe has attracted a large number of immigrants due to its geopolitical position, its improved socioeconomic situation and the fact that it is part of the European Union, which is undergoing a gradual transformation into a global economic and political power. The number of immigrants pouring into Europe has increased tremendously, with the southern European countries hosting a significant proportion of the new waves of immigrants. The presence of immigrants in southern Europe is evident not only in urban areas but also in rural areas, where labour demand is significantly expanded in sectors such as agriculture, construction, tourism and services, due to the rejection of these fields by the indigenous labour force and due as well to an ageing population. The chapter aims to synthesise empirical findings from three research projects carried out at different times during the period of 2000–2008 in various parts of rural Greece in order to depict the role of Albanian migrants for the reconstitution of rural places in Greece. The mobility of immigrants looms large as a coping strategy against the immobility of farmers. For that purpose, the “mobilities” approach is utilised as a theoretical framework for analysing the remaking of rural locales by international immigrants.