Irregular Migration toward Greece: Narratives of Irregular Migrants
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12416 |
| Date | 01 February 2018 |
| Author | Rubina Kauser,Madeline Bury,Muhammad Wajid Tahir |
| Published date | 01 February 2018 |
Irregular Migration toward Greece: Narratives
of Irregular Migrants
Muhammad Wajid Tahir*, Rubina Kauser* and Madeline Bury**
INTRODUCTION
Migrating irregularly to Europe is a popular choice among inhabitants of developing countries.
Access to appropriate employment, a rise in social status, and financial stability are core motiva-
tional factors that encourage young people to migrate irregularly. Greece is considered to be a gate-
way to Europe, hence, those who migrate irregularly are more likely to select Greece as an initial
destination. This study aims to highlight the role of the “irregular-migration-chain”in encouraging
young people to emigrate irregularly from Pakistan to Greece. The study also provides an insight
into their irregular voyage which begins in Pakistan and ends in Turkey. For this purpose, 20
unsuccessful candidates of irregular migration are given an opportunity to tell their stories about
attempted irregular migration. They have spoken individually and their narratives are recorded.
During conversations, they are further probed by various questions relating to their motivation for
irregular migration, contact with human smugglers, financial commitments, domestic travel, interna-
tional border crossing, and the facilities provided during travel by different members of the “irregu-
lar-migration-chain”. The article is structured according to the steps in which irregular migrants
travelled. Findings suggest that irregular migrants are encouraged and their travel is facilitated by
different human smugglers in Pakistan, Iran and Turkey to cross international borders. The law
enforcement agencies have accepted bribery and provided safe pathways to entrants. Irregular
migrants faced various difficulties while travelling, including threats to their life, physical and psy-
chological torture, lack of food, lack of water, and other problems. Human smugglers, security
forces, and various administrative departments of three countries are closely attached to the “irregu-
lar-migration-chain”which facilitates commute of irregular migrants to various destinations.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights offers “freedom to everyone for movement and resi-
dence within the borders of each state and also permits everyone to leave any country, including
his own, and to return to his country”(United Nations, 2002). Every day, people move from one
country to another for a variety of reasons. According to the United Nations (2016a), there are 244
million migrants in the world. Geographically, they are distributed as follows: Europe (76 million),
Asia (75 million), and Northern America (54 million), Africa (21 million), Latin America and the
Caribbean (9 million) and Oceania (8 million). International migration, from developing to devel-
oped countries, is increasing daily. Certain push and pull factors influence individuals’decisions
about migration. Most commonly, individuals choose to migrate for one or more of six reasons; 1)
to eradicate poverty and raise socio-economic status, 2) to avoid the adverse effects of international
* Philipps University Marburg
** Memorial University of Newfoundland
doi: 10.1111/imig.12416
©2017 The Authors
International Migration ©2017 IOM
International Migration Vol. 56 (1) 2018
ISS N 00 20- 7985 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
anarchy, terrorism, and insecurity, 3) to improve self-oriented socio-political prestige, 4) to access
education, 5) to mitigate religious intolerance, and 6) for family reunification.
A migrant is, for the purposes of this article, “any person who lives temporarily or permanently
in a country where he or she was not born, and has acquired some significant social ties to this
country”(UNESCO, 2016). People adopt different means to migrate from one place to another
between developed countries, between developed and developing countries, and between develop-
ing countries. It has been observed that developed and middle-income countries have bilaterally
introduced flexible migration policies and rules, for both immigrating and emigrating citizens, to
eliminate structural and cultural barriers to effective adaptation upon relocation. For instance, citi-
zens of many European countries (notably those within the European Union) are allowed to enter,
without the acquisition of a formal visa, many countries with whom their governments has estab-
lished “entry”agreements (Chateau, 2016). The situation is markedly different in many developing
or less developed countries where citizens endure strict visa acquisition processes. Migrants experi-
ence various and extensive procedural difficulties to acquire visas. Many applications are rejected
by concerned embassies or consulates due to certain observations.
This implies that any move of individuals or groups from any country of origin is coordinated,
facilitated, and welcomed by the countries of destination, if these movements do not violate inter-
national/national migration laws. Accordingly, destination countries adopt all possible measures to
stop irregular migration toward their nation. Thousands of migrants violate international borders
and attempt to enter destination countries without a formal visa, especially if authorities do not
allow visa application or decide negatively on their applications in a regionally divisive manner
(Jordan and D€
uvell, 2002). The rejected applicants make use of opportunities for irregular emigra-
tion. This situation supports the proposition that a great desire to emigrate coupled with discourage-
ment by the relevant authorities of destination countries increases the tendency of irregular
migration. In this context, transitional networks and human smugglers play a decisive role in facili-
tating the irregular commute from a place of origin to a destination.
Irregular migration is an unauthorized departure from the country or region of origin and an
undocumented entry into the country or region of destination. According to the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an irregular immigrant is a “person who has entered
in the country without official authorization and a migrant may be in an irregular situation from the
time of arrival by entering the country without authorization or can become irregular for a variety
of reasons”(Vasileios, 2009). This type of migration is often practised by dwellers of developing
or less developed countries. In recent time, many countries from the Asian region are experiencing
security challenges, violence, and slow economic growth –therefore these countries are more likely
to be sending irregular migrants to developed and relatively secure countries (King, Black, Collyer,
Fielding and Skeldon, 2010). Top rank irregular migrant sending countries are India, Bangladesh,
Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan (International Organization for Migration, 2014; Suter,
2012). At the recipient end, nations belonging to the European Union, especially Southern Euro-
pean countries are receiving more irregular migrants from developing countries (Chimanikire,
2005).
Greece is commonly considered a gateway to Europe. Hence, it is a first point of destination for
many irregular migrants from East Asian and South Asian countries. Since the 1990s, a massive
irregular migration has been observed from developing countries to Greece (Lianos, Petralias and
Boussoulas, 2004). Irregular migrants adopt different means and procedures for reaching Greece/
Europe from those who migrate legally. One of these is the facility offered by human smugglers
and transnational networkers located in different parts of Asia and Europe. Both actors have devel-
oped an “irregular-migration-chain”. The operators of the “irregular-migration-chain”facilitate tra-
vel of irregular migrants from different countries which does not require legal documentation (visa)
and is relatively less expensive. According to Cavounidis (2015), Greece is considered a gateway
for entry in Europe and movers from Asia use this path as a way to access assistance from strong
Irregular Migration toward Greece: Narratives of Irregular Migrants 79
©2017 The Authors. International Migration ©2017 IOM
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