Individual Attitudes and Settlement Perspectives of Refugees in Greece: The Case of Samos Island

Kostas Rontos (), Luca Salvati, Nikolaos Panagos and Maria Kourmoulaki
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Kostas Rontos: Department of Sociology, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilini, Greece
Luca Salvati: Department of Methods and Models for Economics, Territory and Finance, Faculty of Economics, Sapienza University of Rome, Via del Castro Laurenziano 9, I-00161 Rome, Italy
Nikolaos Panagos: Department of Sociology, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilini, Greece
Maria Kourmoulaki: Department of Sociology, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilini, Greece

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: Expanding refugee influxes have involved a rising number of European countries in recent years. In this context, our study investigates attitudes of international protection seekers regarding their prospects of staying permanently in a transit country such as Greece. This research was based on primary statistical data collected through the dissemination of structured questionnaires from a sample of refugees from the Closed Controlled Facility of Samos island, Eastern Greece, one of the most attended gates allowing access to Europe from Turkey and the Middle East. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics and results from a logistic regression contributed to the examination of factors that simultaneously determine the will of the refugees to stay in Greece instead of moving to another country. The main reasons they want to stay in Greece are primarily for employment opportunities and a better quality of life. They aspire to learn Greek to integrate better into the local society, actively seeking this skill from their initial arrival. However, their social integration into the local host community cannot be achieved effectively at the current time due to the absence of appropriate strategies at the local/regional levels. The need for employment (expressed by attempts to find work), the quality of life (access to public and private services), the country of origin, marital status and, finally, the sense of safety based on the existence (or, conversely, lack) of xenophobic and racist incidents are the main reasons that simultaneously determine their decision to stay permanently in Greece.

Keywords: social integration; refugees’ settlement; third-country nationals; closed controlled facility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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